I often think of James Bond when I think of the Jesuits. No, not becuase they travel the world putting themselves in grave danger for the sake of others. Those are old school Jesuits. No, I think of James Bond when I think of the faith of many Jesuits. The faith of many Jesuits is just like a James’ Martinis.
Shaken, not stirred.
Language in the hands of a Jesuit theologian is like taffy. Sweet nothings boiled and stretched into something completely other. Sweet on the tongue and of no nutritional value.
So it is with Jesuit Priest James Keenan, professor of Theology at Boston College.
Fr. Keenan is aware that Pope Benedict has decried relativism. Most theologians should understand that relativism is a bad thing. Most Jesuit theologians also think that traditionalism is a bad thing. So, using their impeccable logic, if relativism is bad AND traditionalism is bad — ergo relativism and traditionalism must be the same thing. That was easy! And you didn’t even have to pay the $40k a year for Boston College.
Asked about what Pope Benedict XVI has termed as a “creeping secularism” and his call to address the moral relativism of today’s society, Fr Keenan said that the notion of relativism “ cuts two ways”.
“We can have a relativism in which we simply say; ‘what the church once taught in 1548 has never changed and always remains the same’”, which Fr Keenan notes, is not possible. “There is the relativism of those who want to objectify tradition is such as way that they want us to be living in the past with rules that do not address some of the contemporary challenges that we have. So there is a relativism that comes from objectifying the tradition”.
Got that.
Don’t get me wrong, its not that I think that most Jesuits are stupid, just that they are really really lazy. I mean they can’t even be bothered to come up with new words to describe heresies of the right, they need to re-use words that mean the exact opposite.
They are so lazy they can’t even put two words that combine normally-contradictory terms. What is that called again? Something….
MORON.
July 30, 2010 at 11:16 am
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“We can have a relativism in which we simply say; ‘what the church once taught in 1548 has never changed and always remains the same’”, which Fr Keenan notes, is not possible. “There is the relativism of those who want to objectify tradition is such as way that they want us to be living in the past with rules that do not address some of the contemporary challenges that we have. So there is a relativism that comes from objectifying the tradition”.
***
Actually, in comparative religion my good Jesuit, we call such positions religious absolutism. So, the exact opposite of your label. Get on board with the rest of the world and stop living in your fantasies.
July 30, 2010 at 3:29 pm
Patrick,
First, let me begin by saying that I greatly respect and admire much of your work and began reading the Creative Minority Report just a couple months ago. I must say that this post took me completely off guard. I realize that there are some people out there that need scrutinizing… but, grouping them all together in one bundle and calling them lazy and morons is definitely not the right thing to do. There ARE good Jesuits out there. I have been immensely blessed to call a few of them my good friends. One of them in particular is my spiritual director and an amazing priest on fire for the love and service of our Lord's work. He has helped countless people discover their vocations, come back to the Church, become more active in their faith and evangelize to others. I can't say enough good things about this man — I can truly see the Holy Spirit working through him. That being said, please take into consideration that grouping people as you did and making blanket-statements is incredibly off-putting and is something that is not constructive and causes divisiveness. God bless.
July 30, 2010 at 3:46 pm
Yeah Patrick, they are lots of excellent Jesuits out there, I know the order as a whole has a lot of goofiness in it, but they also have many very solid priests. So take a chill pill.
July 30, 2010 at 4:12 pm
Please remember there are VERY good Jesuits too. 😉
July 30, 2010 at 4:14 pm
You mean like Fr. Schall, S.J.? (Praised by George Weigel at First Things.)
Gerry
July 30, 2010 at 4:26 pm
Of course there are some good Jesuits out there. If you have been around here long enough, you would know that I have written about them in the past.
That said, I believe that a significant majority share the views of the good professor and therefore I can poke fun without regret.
I am quite sure that those good Jesuits feel the same way.
July 30, 2010 at 4:39 pm
Having gone to St. Joe's in Philadelphia, a Jesuit school… I saw firsthand how "good" those "good Jesuits" are…. Rainbow week? Coming out masses? Pro-choice groups on campus? Wonderbread distributed in lieu of hosts at Mass? Sunday night Mass being treated like social hall????
Hmmmm….
Yeah, I think I'll stick with my more orthodox parish priest… thanks much. I'm with Patrick on this one. And no, he doesn't need to take a chill pill. The order is pretty darn screwed up and way off base. The "solid" Jesuits are more far and few between than they are "common" these days.
July 30, 2010 at 4:51 pm
Yes, there are good Jesuits. But why is it that the whacked out ones are teaching at our universities? I was about to delve into horror stories of my Jesuit profs, but what's the point? Priests need prayers not gossip…
July 30, 2010 at 6:01 pm
I know personally three very impressive Jesuits (middle aged men) who are orthodox and traditional. They are keenly aware of the goofiness in their order, and they are capable of discussing that among friends, but I'm sure it is painful to them to see their order so frequently mocked and scorned.
Romulus
July 30, 2010 at 9:21 pm
Perhaps if these "good" Jesuits would not remain silent in the face of such dissent by fellow Jesuits many of us wouldn't ridicule thier order so much. My first recollection of the order was Pope JPII's disasterous trip to Central America. In the aftermath, it was said that the late Pontiff was just a breath away from disbanding the order entirely. And rarely does a week go by without some Jesuit ridiculing the Pope and Church teachings. Saint Teresea of Avila reformed the Carmelites; perhaps it is time for the "good" Jesuits to come forward and reform thier own order.
July 30, 2010 at 10:22 pm
TUHM – I went through a Jesuit education, and the only thing I can say is worse is a Marianist or Maryknoll education (I went through that too). Makes all the things you just described tame in comparison.
There ARE good Jesuits; I talk to one regularly on their blog. But out of a group of 8, I'd say just the one is worth talking to (the rest have their heads so far up the devils tailpipe it's not even funny). So, we need to foster/help the good ones while not shunning the entire order. And although it is hard to remember sometimes, they ARE still priests.
July 30, 2010 at 11:42 pm
Matthew 5:22
July 31, 2010 at 11:45 am
Wow. Crazy Keenan is at it again. When I was at BC, he went to Beacon Hill to testify in support of gay marriage. A few years later I heard he gave a sermon basically denying the doctrine of the Trinity at a local parish.
July 31, 2010 at 4:56 pm
I agree with your assessment, Patrick. I linked you — http://tunecedemalissedcontraaudentiorito.blogspot.com/2010/07/relativism-on-right-father-keenans.html
God Bless!
July 31, 2010 at 10:47 pm
Jesuits take an additional 4th vow at their ordination, loyalty to the Holy Father. This makes some Drinan-type Jesuits hard to tolerate.
That being said, Fr. Miguel Pro, one of my heroes in life, was a Jesuit, true Priest and martyr for his Faith.
August 3, 2010 at 5:08 pm
"My grandmother, who had only an eighth grade education, knew more than many theologians because she knew the truth."
Fr Corapi