Search Results for: Amati

Decree 4: “Our Mission and Culture,” General Congregation 34 (1995)

The delegates of the 34th General Congregation recognized the challenges facing the fulfillment of the Jesuits’ mission in “critical postmodern culture,” and yet, in the following decree, they maintain an insistence “on the inseparability of justice, dialogue, and the evangelization of culture.” To pursue the Jesuits’ mission, the delegates articulate some guidelines “to further the […]

Decree 4: “Our Mission and Culture,” General Congregation 34 (1995) Read More »

Decree 2: “Servants of Christ’s Mission,” General Congregation 34 (1995)

All Jesuits, according to the following decree from the 34th General Congregation, “are servants of Christ’s mission,” and all Jesuits have experienced a “time of testing” and a “time of grace” since the general congregations of the 1960s and 1970s.  The delegates at the 34th General Congregation note here now the previous decades have made

Decree 2: “Servants of Christ’s Mission,” General Congregation 34 (1995) Read More »

Decree 6: “The Formation of Jesuits,” General Congregation 32 (1975)

The delegates to the 32nd General Congregation approved the following decree, a lengthy statement on the process of Jesuit formation in light of the “many changes in the world at large.” The influence of those changes meant that “constant adaptation is required in order to be sure of achieving the essential purpose of our formation.”

Decree 6: “The Formation of Jesuits,” General Congregation 32 (1975) Read More »

Decree 3: “The Task of the Society Regarding Atheism,” General Congregation 31 (1966)

Pope John VI opened the 31st General Congregation by noting the “fearful danger of atheism threatening human society.” Through the Jesuit delegates gathered for the congregation, the pontiff gave to the entire Society of Jesus (the “champion of the Church and holy religion in adversity”) a special task: “the charge of making a stout, united

Decree 3: “The Task of the Society Regarding Atheism,” General Congregation 31 (1966) Read More »

Letter of Father General Peter-Hans Kolvenbach to Pope Benedict XVI on General Congregation 35 (2008)

In one of his last acts as superior general of the Society of Jesus, Peter-Hans Kolvenbach issued the following brief letter to Pope Benedict XIV. The correspondence was sent in reply to the pontiff’s own letter to the 35th General Congregation, then having recently begun at the Jesuits’ Curia in Rome. For more from the

Letter of Father General Peter-Hans Kolvenbach to Pope Benedict XVI on General Congregation 35 (2008) Read More »

Decree 2: “A Fire that Kindles Other Fires,” General Congregation 35 (2008)

In 1965, the Second Vatican Council issued Perfectae caritatis, a proclamation that mandated religious orders seek renewal through reflection and honoring “their founders’ spirit and special aims.” In 2008, the delegates at the 35th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus, in part, responded to that mandate with their second decree, “A Fire that Kindles

Decree 2: “A Fire that Kindles Other Fires,” General Congregation 35 (2008) Read More »

Address of Pope Benedict XVI to General Congregation 35 (2008)

One month after they elected Alfonso Nicolás to succeed Peter-Hans Kolvenbach as the Jesuits’ superior general, the delegates of the 35th General Congregation gathered, at the pontiff’s invitation, in the Vatican’s Sala Clementina. There, Pope Benedict XVI addressed the men with words of gratitude. He states, “I very much hope, therefore, that the entire Society

Address of Pope Benedict XVI to General Congregation 35 (2008) Read More »

Decree 4: “Our Mission Today: The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice,” General Congregation 32 (1975)

General Congregation 32 signified a major transition in how the Jesuits understood the connection between their mission and the service of faith and promotion of social justice. That connection was articulated in the congregation’s fourth decree, “Our Mission Today.” “In short,” as the decree’s introduction observes, “our mission today is to preach Jesus Christ and

Decree 4: “Our Mission Today: The Service of Faith and the Promotion of Justice,” General Congregation 32 (1975) Read More »

Cardinal of State to Father General Pedro Arrupe on General Congregation 32 (1975)

The Cardinal of State, replying to Pedro Arrupe, provided the responses of Pope Paul VI to the decrees of the 32nd General Congregation. After “carefully” examining the decrees, the pontiff found some “somewhat confusing and could, because of the way they are expressed, give grounds for misinterpretation.” Therefore, Cardinal Jean-Marie Villot provides Arrupe with Paul VI’s “Particular

Cardinal of State to Father General Pedro Arrupe on General Congregation 32 (1975) Read More »

Scroll to Top