By Hilary White
ROME, January 21, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) – For only the second time in its history, the Superior General of the Jesuits, Peter Hans Kolvenbach, retired, citing age. For nearly five hundred years, the Superior General of the Society of Jesus has been elected for life. At their General Congregation in Rome on January 19, the 217 voting delegates elected Spaniard, Adolfo Nicolas SJ, as the 30th “Black Pope”.
In December, Nicolas told reporters, “I have a feeling, still imprecise and difficult to define, that there is something important in our religious life that needs attention and is not getting it.” Ordained in Tokyo, most of Nicolas’ ministry has been spent in Japan and the far east, where he was the President of the Jesuit Conference of East Asia and Oceania and the former Provincial of Japan.
“We have certainly been diligent in addressing our problems whenever we have seen them, but the uneasiness in the society and in the church has not disappeared.”
In a Jan. 10 letter to the Jesuits, Pope Benedict XVI asked the order to re-dedicate themselves to “total adhesion to Catholic doctrine,” particularly in sexual morality and the pastoral care of homosexuals.
In an interview with the Province Express, the newsletter of the Australian Jesuits, Nicolas said, “The question for us is: Is it enough that we are happy with our life and are improving our service and ministry? Isn’t there also an important factor in the perception of people (‘vox populi’) that should drive us to some deeper reflection on religious life today?”
“How come we elicit so much admiration and so little following?” he asked.
The Society of Jesus is the largest Catholic religious order for men in the world, with 19,216 members serving in 112 nations on six continents. Founded in 1534 by St. Ignatius Loyola, a Spanish knight, it was renowned through most of its history as being the most influential and loyal force, promoting and defending the Catholic religion in the world, with a special dedication to the Pope. Jesuits were, and are still, known as being the most formidably educated men in the Church.
But since the 1960’s, the Jesuits have been deeply involved in the movement to bring the teachings of the Church into line with the secularist values of the world particularly in matters of sexuality.
In 2002, the prominent US Jesuit school, Boston College was the locus of a programme, the “Church in the 21st century” that provided a platform for dissidents to push for a “re-examination” of the Church’s sexual teachings. Issues of the programme included priestly celibacy, homosexuality, and women’s ordination.
Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Top Vatican Cardinal Tells the Jesuits to Clean Up their Act
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jan/08010708.html
Pope to Jesuits: Reaffirm “Total Adhesion to Catholic Doctrine” on “Sexual Morality”
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jan/08011805.html
Boston College Students call on Jesuits to Choose: “Jesuit Values or Catholic Doctrine”
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2005/dec/05120705.html
Jesuit Colleges Host Vagina Monologues, Fund Pro-abortion Internships, and other Scandals
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jan/08011509.html
English Translation of Pope Benedict XVI letter to the Jesuit Superior General
https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/jan/080118a.html