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The Jesuits’ superior general, acting in accordance to the wishes of the 31st General Congregation, provided new statutes on poverty for experimental use in 1967. When the 32nd General Congregation convened nearly a decade later, its delegates revisited the topic and its spiritual as well as juridical elements. Their decree, appearing below, notes the need […]

This lengthy decree is the response of the delegates to the 32nd General Congregation to the “rather large number of postulta” (or petitions) they received on the “spiritual life”—especially prayer and obedience—and on common “spiritual discernment,” notes historian John Padberg (see the congregation’s historical preface in Jesuit Life & Mission Today (2009), pg. 274–276). The decree

Postulta (or petitions) sent by Jesuits in advance of the 31st General Congregation requested that the congregation’s delegates revise the norms that previously censored some books. The delegates, in the following decree, respond to those requests by giving the superior general the authority to later “adapt the particular norms of our own law in this

Historian John Padberg observes that the delegates to the 31st General Congregation did not have the necessary time or expertise to properly revise the Jesuits’ catalog of censures and precepts (see the congregation’s historical preface in Jesuit Life & Mission Today (2009), pg. 39). Therefore, the delegates gave authority to the superior general to “abrogate the

The decrees promulgated by the 31st General Congregation required changes to how future congregations would operate as described in the Formula of the General Congregation. The following decree outlines those changes. Among the alterations are those concerning the postulta (or petitions) Jesuits send for consideration at a general congregation. The decree notes that such postulta

Among the postulate (or petitions) received in advance of the 31st General Congregation, several expressed a desire for more regular general congregations. The delegates rejected those requests, in part because of historical precedent but also because the purpose of such gatherings could be fulfilled by meetings of other individuals (for example, of procurators or of

The following decree is the attempt of the delegates of the 31st General Congregation to explain the nature and reaffirm the purpose of Jesuit missionary work within the context of the Second Vatican Council. It attributes to Ignatius and his companions the reason why Jesuits have the “task of announcing the Gospel that God in

The following decree of the 31st General Congregation of the Society of Jesus responds to several postulata (or petitions) received that contained different concerns on the nature of a Jesuit’s priestly work. Many postulata, according to historian John Padberg, expressed a “fear” that “the present-day Society be too much given over to apostolic works of

In the following decree, the delegates of the 31st General Congregation assert “the importance of prayer,” while proposing “specific orientations on the manner and conditions of prayer” for members of the Society of Jesus. The decree closes with a reminder for “every Jesuit that personal daily prayer is an absolute necessity.” To that end, it

Academic formation of young Jesuits proved a popular topic in advance of the 31st General Congregation, as historian John Padberg notes that some 600 postulta (or petitions) were received from across the Society of Jesus (see Jesuit Life & Mission Today (2009), pg. 19–20). The delegates responded with the following decree, which begins with the statement