Jesuits
and Liberalism
The
Jesuits are generally known to have
positions spanning the whole spectrum
from left to right. If you have a position
on any issue that you would like endorsed
or defended by a priest, you need only
look for the right Jesuit. Crystal balls?
Hatred for the pope? Support for contraceptives?
Yes, I have met them.
The
Jesuits, long the rapid action strike
force of the papacy, has swung to the
left in the last few decades. Many have
become very liberal, supporting the
theology of liberation in Latin America,
opposing Church teaching of Humanae
Vitae, and now supporting the invitation
by Notre Dame of the rabidly pro-abortion
Obama.
Here
in Manila, several Ateneo professors
came out with their public endorsement
of the RH bill, which the Church opposes.
No correction or chastisement was heard
from school authorities. Most probably
they sympathized.
I
myself am an Atenean, as are my children.
I have been inspired by many Jesuits
who truly loved the Lord and gave top-notch
Catholic education. But it seems they
are a vanishing breed. Is there still
true spirituality in Jesuit campuses?
In the USA, they cater to homosexualist
groups. In the Philippines, many government
crooks are Ateneo graduates.
Quo
vadis, Jesuits?
God
bless.
frank
Counterstrike:
Archbishop Emeritus, Jesuit
Clergy Criticize Pro-Life Protests
of ND's Obama Honor
By
Kathleen Gilbert
NOTRE
DAME, Indiana, April 14, 2009
(LifeSiteNews.com) - As the
number of American Catholic
bishops, clergy, and laity condemning
the University of Notre Dame's
decision to honor President
Obama continues to grow, one
retired archbishop has criticized
the pro-life backlash against
the scandal. The president of
the Association of Jesuit Colleges
and Universities has also criticized
the condemnations and expressed
his support for Notre Dame for
honoring the president.
Notre
Dame stirred up a national controversy
after the university announced
that Obama, called the "most
pro-abortion president in history"
by numerous pro-life advocates,
had accepted an invitation to
give the commencement address
and receive an honorary doctorate
of law on May 17.
Retired
San Francisco Archbishop John
R. Quinn wrote an article for
the March 30 edition of the
Jesuit periodical America, in
which he questioned the outcome
of calls to revoke the invitation
and warned that the negative
feedback risks "public
embarrassment" for the
President.
"What
if the president is forced to
back out of his appearance at
Notre Dame either because he
withdraws or the university
withdraws its invitation?"
asked Quinn. "If this happens,
will that further the pro-life
effort in our country?"
The
archbishop emeritus also wondered,
"If the president is forced
to withdraw, will that bring
about fewer abortions in the
United States?"
Quinn
also questioned whether a turnaround
would be received as a way to
"link the church with racist
and other extremist elements
in our country."
"Will
the banishment of the first
African-American president from
Catholic university campuses
be seen as grossly insensitive
to the heritage of racial hatred
which has burdened our country
for far too long?" he mused.
"We
must step back and consider
the limitations - prudential,
moral and political - on the
role of bishops in public issues,"
wrote Quinn. "We must weigh
very seriously the consequences
if the American bishops are
seen as the agents of the public
embarrassment of the newly elected
president by forcing him to
withdraw from an appearance
at a distinguished Catholic
university."
The
Archbishop also expressed confidence
in Obama's character. "The
president has given ample evidence
that he is a man of good will,
of keen intelligence, desirous
of listening and capable of
weighing seriously other views,"
he wrote.
In
addition, the president of the
Association of Jesuit Colleges
and Universities told the National
Catholic Reporter yesterday
that he and the presidents of
the association's 28 member
institutions have privately
expressed support to University
president Fr. John Jenkins for
the invitation.
Jesuit
Fr. Charles Currie said that
he and other members "have
been talking to individual bishops
to see if we can't lower the
volume and lessen the heat of
the discussion."
"I
think that the bishops have
the responsibility to protect
the faith of their folks, and
so I think this is the kind
of thing that really has to
be talked out in a conversation
between bishops and university
presidents. We have to raise
the level of the dialogue beyond
condemnations," he said.
See
recent LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Bishops
of Knoxville and Palm Beach
Continue String of ND Scandal
Condemnations
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09041406.html
ND
Bishop Clarifies: Demonstrate
Sure, But Don't Disrupt Graduation
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09041404.html
Canon
Lawyer: Notre Dame Prez Reasoning
"Too Bizarre for Words"
http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2009/apr/09041403.html
"For
to me life is Christ, and death
is gain." (Phil 1:21)