The following is a partial transcript—as translated by Jerome Aixala and published by Jesuit Sources—of an interview Pedro Arrupe had an Italian television program “Encounter” in September 1975. Among the interviewer’s admittedly “provocative questions” to the Jesuits’ superior general are those on Arrupe’s own personal history (he provides a vivid account of the bombings and […]
“An Hour with Father Arrupe” (1975) Read More »
Pope Clement XIV suppressed the Society of Jesus on July 21, 1773. In the preceding decades, the Jesuits had suffered expulsions from the Catholic empires of Portugal (1759), France (1764), and Spain (1767), where they had become handy scapegoats for kings or princes under civic pressure. In Portugal, for example, charges against the Society included
Dominus ac Redemptor (1773) Read More »
On February 1 and 2, the Institute of Jewish Studies at the University of Antwerp and the University Centre Saint-Ignatius Antwerp co-host a two-day conference on “Jews and Jesuits: Contacts Across the Ages.” The event celebrates the tenth year of Antwerp’s Chair for Jewish-Christian Relations. According to the program, the conference examines “the interactions and
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Pierre-Antoine Fabre and Flavio Rurale have edited a new collection of essays on Claudio Acquaviva, the long-serving Superior General of the Society of Jesus. The Acquaviva Project: Claudio Acquaviva’s Generalate (1581—1615) and the Emergence of Modern Catholicism examines both the expansion of Jesuit works and “the consolidation of the Jesuit institute.” This volume addresses a significant
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Oxford University Press has published Uncertainty in Post-Reformation Catholicism: A History of Probabilism by Stefania Tutino. The book examines the development and implications of probablism, a moral theology first articulated in the sixteenth century that, according to Oxford, “maintained that in situations of uncertainty, the agent can legitimately follow any course of action supported by
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The Macau Ricci Institute has launched a new, bi-annual publication — the Journal of the Macau Ricci Institute. Dedicated as a “Journal of Moral Leadership, Social Innovation and Comparative Spirituality,” the Journal of the Macau Ricci Institute is edited by Stephan Rothlin and co-edited by Dennis P. McCann and Mike J. Thompson. Thierry Meynard is the associate
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One September 8, 1973, after much deliberation and preparation, Superior General Pedro Arrupe issued a letter that announced the 32nd General Congregation of the Society of Jesus would begin in December 1974. The appointed delegates gathered in Rome not to elect Arrupe’s successor but rather to because of what historian John Padberg has described as
General Congregation 32 Read More »
The last decree issued by the 35th General Congregation concerned the “dynamism” begun by the previous congregation of Jesuit delegates in 1995. The decree below contains the delegates’ call for renewal by the members of the Society of Jesus of “our commitment to apostolic collaboration and to a profound sharing of labor of the life
Decree 6: “Collaboration at the Heart of Mission,” General Congregation 35 (2008) Read More »
The fifth of six decrees promulgated by the 35th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus concerned the order’s “governance structures and ways of proceeding.” The decree, appearing below, is a highly technical and internally focused document. Among its measures, the decree directs the new superior general “to undertake a comprehensive review of the central
The delegates at the 35th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus address the topic of Jesuit obedience in the following decree. They define “obedience” in the context of the vow the members of the Society of Jesus make to the pope as a vow “grounded in the desire to be sent effectively, to serve
