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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

The following decree provides some clarifications as to when a Jesuit would make his final vows. In doing so, it makes changes to policies set forth by both the 12th General Congregation and the 31st General Congregation. For more from the 32nd General Congregation of the Society of Jesus, please consult this page.     1. 

The following decree from the 32nd General Congregation amends the Jesuits’ policy on the permanent diaconate as articulated in a decree from the previous congregation. The decree and amendments were necessary, as historian John Padberg notes, because the Holy See had requested religious orders to “clearly determine the juridical status of their permanent deacons” (see

As did the delegates in the previous congregation, the delegates of 32nd General Congregation examined the topic of grades within the Society of Jesus. The following decree endorses the promotion of “the participation of the temporal coadjutors in the life and apostolic activity of the Society,” as did a decree from the previous congregation. For

The 31st General Congregation’s tenth decree encouraged “new experiments” with the structure of the tertianship process, the time just before a Jesuit makes final vows. In the following decree, the delegates to the 32nd General Congregation revisit the topic. The decree approves two plans for tertianship to be adopted by in “different provinces and regions”

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.”

According to historian John Padberg, there was “something new” in the decision by the delegates at the 32nd General Congregation to issue the following decree, specifically commenting on the “work of inculturation of the faith and promotion of Christian life.” Padberg observes that previous congregations did not address the topic (see the congregation’s historical preface

The delegates of the 32nd General Congregation, in the following decree, reaffirm the “reverence and fidelity which all Jesuits should have toward the magisterium of the Church and in a special way toward” the pope. Their decree also regrets that “some members of the Society” had failed to adhere to the “long and venerable tradition

The 32nd General Congregation of the Society of Jesus convened nearly a decade after the previous congregation closed in 1966. During the intervening years, as the following decree states, “the life of the Society has been an effort under the leadership of Father General to implement the decrees of the 31st General Congregation.” So, rather