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In the decree below, the Jesuit delegates attending the 34th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus argue, given the worldwide religious diversity and division, that it is “imperative that we collaborate with others to achieve common goals.” The decree offers guidelines for how Jesuits can foster dialogue within the Catholic Church and between different […]

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

The delegates of the 34th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus used the following decree to “renew our commitment to the promotion of justice as an integral part of our mission,” for, as they argue, “our promotion of justice both flows from faith and brings us back to an ever deeper faith.” Recent experience

The following decree, the first promulgated by the 34th General Congregation, explains that the congregation’s “major work” is the “revision of our law and the orientation of our mission for today.” The delegates went about this work by calling for an “annotated text of the Constitutions,” which would include complementary norms “to enable Jesuits to

Appearing below, the first decree promulgated by the 33rd General Congregation (an event convoked to accept the resignation of the Jesuits’ superior general) presents the views of the congregation’s delegates on the state of the Society of Jesus “in today’s world.” It consists of a brief introduction and conclusion but is primarily divided into two,

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 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