Fifteen or twenty years ago, a Sacred Heart nun made a prediction to me,

[pnwmom]

when we were discussing our distress at the direction the Church had taken.

She said that if the Church was ever to be saved, it would be saved by the Jesuits.

Pope Francis, of course, is a Jesuit.

The Sister was right. The Jesuits have stepped in.

http://ncronline.org/books/2014/12/jesuit-dna-offers-hope-author-argues

Kaiser makes his feelings known in his 17th book, Inside the Jesuits: How Pope Francis Is Changing the World and the Church. Despite the title, the book isn't about how the church has changed so much as it is about how the church might change with a Jesuit at the helm.

The book offers a mini-biography of Francis, a history of the Jesuits, profiles of some outstanding Jesuits, and a memoir of Kaiser's own 10 years in the order. Highlights include the possibility that the 46-year-old Jesuit Fr. Jorge Bergoglio may have fallen in love while studying for his doctorate (evidence is flimsy); an exploration of the doctrines of sexuality and papal infallibility and how they skewered the thinking of the church; an examination of the controversies surrounding the careers of Jesuits like Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Gerard Manley Hopkins and, most recently, John Dear.

As Kaiser sees it, the hierarchy has a limited tolerance for the Jesuit way. He notes, among other stories, that Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese was fired from his job as top editor of America magazine under direct order from Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger for writing opinions not nearly as liberal as some espoused by Francis. (Reese now works as a senior analyst for the National Catholic Reporter.)

At times, according to Kaiser, the Catholic church bears more resemblance to the Pharisees and their legalism than it does to the message of Christ. One can blame it on the Curia, or Rome, or the College of Cardinals, or the old boys' network, or this or that conservative pope -- as Kaiser does. But the problem seems deeply entrenched and difficult to resolve.

SNIP

[Recursion]

1. Does it mention Fr. Boyle?

He's one of my favorites

[pnwmom]

2. I haven't read the book yet. I just saw the review today, and it reminded me

of what the nun had said. I'd almost forgotten.

[pnwmom]

11. I just saw this about Father Boyle.

He's among those planning the Pope's visit to Philadelphia.

http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-lopez-rudy-20141228-column.html

[Hekate]

3. I hope so, pnwmom. KnR

[freshwest]

4. Sorry that I don't know, but was St. Francis of Assissi a Jesuit, too?

I think any papacy modeled on his life would be a good one. Hope you don't mind my posting here, because I'm not a Catholic. Most of it is too complicated to me as I don't have years of that.

But I do respect those like that nun and the lay people for the things they have done in the way of social work for the poor and disabled.

I only speak of those I know, not the bogeymen they are often presented to be. I don't like that guy who is on the TV, the one who seems to talk like a conservative Republican. But those I know really seem to walk the talk, IMO.

[pnwmom]

5. No, he founded an order of brothers -- so Francis of Assisi wasn't even a priest.

But the Pope chose the name Francis in his honor and to signify the kind of Papacy he wanted to have.

Ever since Vatican 2, there has been a greater and greater divide between Church leaders who sound like "conservative Republicans" and those who do not -- with the former seeming to hold all the power. But that may be changing under Francis.

[rug]

8. He turned down ordination but he finally agreed to be a ordained a deacon so he could preach.

[pnwmom]

9. Thank you. I hadn't heard that.

[Fortinbras Armstrong]

6. When I read,

"At times, according to Kaiser, the Catholic church bears more resemblance to the Pharisees and their legalism than it does to the message of Christ." I thought of a lecture I once attended given by the late Bernard Lonergan, SJ. Fr Lonergan was asked, "What relationship does Canon Law have to the love of Christ?" He replied, "None whatsoever."

[rug]

7. When he was elected I didn't think anything of this.

All the conservative attacks he's getting is somewhat ironic since they were founded as defenders of the papacy and orthodoxy. The traditionalists can't have it both ways.

I have to get the book now.

[pnwmom]

10. I think the Jesuits are trying to defend the Church and the Papacy

from the Opus Dei.

The meaning of "traditionalist" depends on your viewpoint. In my opinion, Francis appears to be much more of a traditionalist than Benedict and his ilk, but they would obviously disagree.