Letters from Canada – 7
Father Mark: A luxury enjoyed by Clergy and some fortunate people is to take a few days off from day to day responsibilities and reflect upon everything in one’s personal and public life. Throw in some prayers and you have restful minimal stress holiday called a Retreat. This year, I was fortunate to persuade a Jesuit University Professor in History and Psychology to conduct a retreat for the Catholic Priests in our diocese. He likes to be called the other Francis, so as to not be confused with His Holiness Pope Francis I. The following: One of his lectures at the Retreat.
Father Francis: As I watched Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio being elevated to Pope Francis I, many concerns rushed through my mind. First, would I have to respond with, yes my name is Francis, yes I am also a Jesuit , no I am not the Pope.
Second concern is like me the Pope is a Jesuit. For those not seeing the problem here means they do not know the history of the Jesuits, the Papacy, and the Catholic Church. As recent as the conclave in 2005 that elected Pope Benedict XVI another Jesuit Cardinal, Carlo Martini of Milan, was also on the 2005 ballot along with Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio. Cardinal Martini gave a scathing portrayal of the Catholic Church as pompous, bureaucratic and 200 years out of date. Cardinal Carlo Martini called for major reform starting with the office of the Pope. Both Jesuit Cardinals lost the election to Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, but now one them is the new Pope to the disappointment of some of the Italian Cardinals.
In a Church that needs redemption from corruption and sex scandals, what happens now is uncertain. But at the helm is a Pope who first steps seems to be acts of humility by just being himself. On the balcony at His introduction to the many millions of people, he did not wear the customary embroidered regal stole that signifies his office, but a simple white cassock. He paid his hotel bill in person, took time to thank the behind the scene staff who worked to organize, prepare and service the conclave events, and rode on the bus with the other Cardinals instead of being chauffeured in a Limo. News commentators referred to these events as symbolic, but again Pope Francis was just being himself.
This brings me now to the Jesuit chapter of the story. Since the 16th Century and beyond, the Jesuits a Catholic scholarly religious group of men founded in 1534 by a wealthy Spanish Nobleman St. Ignatius of Loyola grew rapidly and spread across Europe, Asia, Africa, North & South America. They became the special forces of missionaries and educators, caring for the poor and educating them. They established first rate universities and secondary schools across many continents. Today there are about 176 Jesuit Universities across 38 countries. An even larger number of secondary schools are under the Jesuit direction.
Their ranks included distinguished explorers, mathematicians, poets, zoologists, paleontologists, chemist, physicist, philosophers, Theologians, and scholars from many other literary and academic disciplines. After World War II, One Jesuit priest Joseph T O’Callahan was awarded the US Medal of honor for heroism.
Below a small sample of distinguished Jesuits:
Athanasius Kircher, 17th-century German scientist; discoverer of microbes.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955),
French Palaeontologist and philosopher involved in the discovery of the so-called Peking Man
Georges LeMaitre, Jesuit educated Belgian priest and physicist; one of the originators of the "Big Bang" theory. He also was a pioneer in applying Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity to Cosmology
In its 2,000+ year history, the Catholic Church had many periods of scandals that ranged from the very bizarre to the horribly immoral. But the Catholic Church recovered, reformed and survived, in part because of the Jesuits and other Super Outstanding Individuals, Groups and a lot of devoted Faithful.
We are going to touch upon just two events, the second event being how the Jesuits and Others save the Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation.
We start with the bizarre. In 896 AD, Pope Formosus dies and is succeeded by Pope Steven VI. Animosity between the two popes leads Pope Steven VI to order Pope Formosus corpse to be exhumed, dressed in full papal garments, propped up in chair and put on trial. Of course the verdict was guilty; the sentence communed to time served, and the corpse tossed into the Tiber River. Supporter of Pope Formosus believed he did not receive a fair trial and killed Pope Steven VI. From here the Papal history only gets worst. What followed was a lot of intrigue, sex, and violence.
This brings us to the Renaissance and the emergence of the Jesuits. During the Renaissance there were many and consistent voices for moral, spiritual, and institutional reform. One of them was Martin Luther a German religious reformer and in 1517 he challenged Pope Leo X to address some of the corruption. Pope Leo X did not respond resulting in the Protestant Reformation.
The Protestant Reformation put in motion the Catholic Church reform known as the Counter Reformation. The Jesuits, a religious group founded in 1534 by a wealthy Spanish Nobleman St. Ignatius of Loyola, grew rapidly and quickly assumed a prominent role in the Counter Reformation defense and revival of Catholicism. Jesuits from their very beginning were educated scholars who devoted themselves to the care of the helpless, young, sick, prisoners, prostitutes, and soldiers. The Jesuits, along with other heroic and exemplary moral individuals and religious groups saved the Catholic Church during the Reformation Period.
The Jesuits have always pledged loyalty to the Pope. God probably accepted this pledge, but the Popes were not always sure of their loyalty. In religious circles, the Superior General (The person in charge of all Jesuits) was known as the Black Pope because of his stature, power, and influence. In 1773, the Jesuit Order was abolished by Pope Clement XIV. Under the protection of Queen Catherine the Great, the Jesuits moved their headquarters to Russia (a non-Catholic country).
Because of popular demand, Pope Pius VII in 1814 reestablished the Jesuits order and welcomed them back into the Catholic Church. From that time they flourished, established many schools and produced many outstanding individuals including 61 scientists.
To understand the scandalous history of the Catholic Church Hierarchy, we need to understand the root of the problem. It started when the Roman Emperor Constantine proclaimed Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire in 313 AD. Once you entwined religious Institutions with political institutions it is to the detriment of both institutions. Over time the Popes lost political power and influence and were then able focus on their religious responsibilities. In turn the political institutions were able to develop into democracies.
In the next Chapter of “Letters from Canada - 8” Father Francis will talk about the current state of the Catholic Church and challenges Pope Francis 1 will encounter.
Father Mark: A luxury enjoyed by Clergy and some fortunate people is to take a few days off from day to day responsibilities and reflect upon everything in one’s personal and public life. Throw in some prayers and you have restful minimal stress holiday called a Retreat. This year, I was fortunate to persuade a Jesuit University Professor in History and Psychology to conduct a retreat for the Catholic Priests in our diocese. He likes to be called the other Francis, so as to not be confused with His Holiness Pope Francis I. The following: One of his lectures at the Retreat.
Father Francis: As I watched Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio being elevated to Pope Francis I, many concerns rushed through my mind. First, would I have to respond with, yes my name is Francis, yes I am also a Jesuit , no I am not the Pope.
Second concern is like me the Pope is a Jesuit. For those not seeing the problem here means they do not know the history of the Jesuits, the Papacy, and the Catholic Church. As recent as the conclave in 2005 that elected Pope Benedict XVI another Jesuit Cardinal, Carlo Martini of Milan, was also on the 2005 ballot along with Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio. Cardinal Martini gave a scathing portrayal of the Catholic Church as pompous, bureaucratic and 200 years out of date. Cardinal Carlo Martini called for major reform starting with the office of the Pope. Both Jesuit Cardinals lost the election to Pope Benedict XVI in 2005, but now one them is the new Pope to the disappointment of some of the Italian Cardinals.
In a Church that needs redemption from corruption and sex scandals, what happens now is uncertain. But at the helm is a Pope who first steps seems to be acts of humility by just being himself. On the balcony at His introduction to the many millions of people, he did not wear the customary embroidered regal stole that signifies his office, but a simple white cassock. He paid his hotel bill in person, took time to thank the behind the scene staff who worked to organize, prepare and service the conclave events, and rode on the bus with the other Cardinals instead of being chauffeured in a Limo. News commentators referred to these events as symbolic, but again Pope Francis was just being himself.
This brings me now to the Jesuit chapter of the story. Since the 16th Century and beyond, the Jesuits a Catholic scholarly religious group of men founded in 1534 by a wealthy Spanish Nobleman St. Ignatius of Loyola grew rapidly and spread across Europe, Asia, Africa, North & South America. They became the special forces of missionaries and educators, caring for the poor and educating them. They established first rate universities and secondary schools across many continents. Today there are about 176 Jesuit Universities across 38 countries. An even larger number of secondary schools are under the Jesuit direction.
Their ranks included distinguished explorers, mathematicians, poets, zoologists, paleontologists, chemist, physicist, philosophers, Theologians, and scholars from many other literary and academic disciplines. After World War II, One Jesuit priest Joseph T O’Callahan was awarded the US Medal of honor for heroism.
Below a small sample of distinguished Jesuits:
Athanasius Kircher, 17th-century German scientist; discoverer of microbes.
Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881–1955),
French Palaeontologist and philosopher involved in the discovery of the so-called Peking Man
Georges LeMaitre, Jesuit educated Belgian priest and physicist; one of the originators of the "Big Bang" theory. He also was a pioneer in applying Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity to Cosmology
In its 2,000+ year history, the Catholic Church had many periods of scandals that ranged from the very bizarre to the horribly immoral. But the Catholic Church recovered, reformed and survived, in part because of the Jesuits and other Super Outstanding Individuals, Groups and a lot of devoted Faithful.
We are going to touch upon just two events, the second event being how the Jesuits and Others save the Catholic Church during the Protestant Reformation.
We start with the bizarre. In 896 AD, Pope Formosus dies and is succeeded by Pope Steven VI. Animosity between the two popes leads Pope Steven VI to order Pope Formosus corpse to be exhumed, dressed in full papal garments, propped up in chair and put on trial. Of course the verdict was guilty; the sentence communed to time served, and the corpse tossed into the Tiber River. Supporter of Pope Formosus believed he did not receive a fair trial and killed Pope Steven VI. From here the Papal history only gets worst. What followed was a lot of intrigue, sex, and violence.
This brings us to the Renaissance and the emergence of the Jesuits. During the Renaissance there were many and consistent voices for moral, spiritual, and institutional reform. One of them was Martin Luther a German religious reformer and in 1517 he challenged Pope Leo X to address some of the corruption. Pope Leo X did not respond resulting in the Protestant Reformation.
The Protestant Reformation put in motion the Catholic Church reform known as the Counter Reformation. The Jesuits, a religious group founded in 1534 by a wealthy Spanish Nobleman St. Ignatius of Loyola, grew rapidly and quickly assumed a prominent role in the Counter Reformation defense and revival of Catholicism. Jesuits from their very beginning were educated scholars who devoted themselves to the care of the helpless, young, sick, prisoners, prostitutes, and soldiers. The Jesuits, along with other heroic and exemplary moral individuals and religious groups saved the Catholic Church during the Reformation Period.
The Jesuits have always pledged loyalty to the Pope. God probably accepted this pledge, but the Popes were not always sure of their loyalty. In religious circles, the Superior General (The person in charge of all Jesuits) was known as the Black Pope because of his stature, power, and influence. In 1773, the Jesuit Order was abolished by Pope Clement XIV. Under the protection of Queen Catherine the Great, the Jesuits moved their headquarters to Russia (a non-Catholic country).
Because of popular demand, Pope Pius VII in 1814 reestablished the Jesuits order and welcomed them back into the Catholic Church. From that time they flourished, established many schools and produced many outstanding individuals including 61 scientists.
To understand the scandalous history of the Catholic Church Hierarchy, we need to understand the root of the problem. It started when the Roman Emperor Constantine proclaimed Christianity as the religion of the Roman Empire in 313 AD. Once you entwined religious Institutions with political institutions it is to the detriment of both institutions. Over time the Popes lost political power and influence and were then able focus on their religious responsibilities. In turn the political institutions were able to develop into democracies.
In the next Chapter of “Letters from Canada - 8” Father Francis will talk about the current state of the Catholic Church and challenges Pope Francis 1 will encounter.
