The Changing Face of Roman Catholicism—Part Two

In This Issue:

The Changing Face of Roman Catholicism—Part One

The Changing Face of Roman Catholicism—Part Three

The Existence of the Jesuit Order

The most powerful movement within the Roman Catholic Church today is the formidable male religious congregation commonly called the Jesuit Society or the Society of Jesus. Though the society was founded by Ignatius of Loyola in 1534, he was initially joined by six other young men, two of whom became prominent figures within the early movement—Francis Xavier and Peter Faber. Collectively, these men began the Jesuit movement after Ignatius’ supposed religious experience following a wound in battle. Part of the fabric of this movement was the trilogy vows of “poverty, chastity, and obedience” (with a specific vow of obedience to the pope).

The Jesuits have been called “God’s Marines” of the Romanist Church in that they will go anywhere and do anything requested of them by the pope; they will live under the most difficult circumstances and extreme conditions in order to do the will of the pontiff. There are no bounds or limitations to their duties and responses. Pragmatically, the “end” will justify whatever means they might use, including assassinations for the Church (within or without). They became a motivational influence at the Council of Trent (1545–1563) in reaction to the Reformation. Over the centuries they have been able to gain footings and strongholds within strategic positions and places within the universal Romanist Church and specifically within the Vatican. Their influence was also strongly felt at the Second Vatican Council beginning in 1962.

Over the centuries they have become the power and authority behind the educational system of Romanism, controlling its schools, colleges, universities, and seminaries. Time has witnessed the Jesuits move to the forefront of control, making them “the Pope behind the Pope”—or more commonly, “the Black Pope.” They truly have become the most powerful force within Romanism, even greater than the pope himself. They are all over the world and with a presence strongly felt where Romanism is found. They are totally independent in authority with their leader, the “Superior General,” voted upon from within their ranks rather than from the Church. Their patron saint is the Virgin Mary under her title of Madonna Della Strada (“Our Lady of the Way”).

Though the Jesuits throughout the centuries have been strong in the traditional garb of Romanism, they recently have radically changed and become the progressivists of the Roman Church. Their global ideology has mutated over the centuries forwarding in a strong Marxist movement. The Jesuits have been the motivational and financial force behind the Liberation Theology movement in South America (a very brutal approach to the overthrow of conservative governments) and the orchestration behind the takedown of top leaders in governments. The aggressive means of accomplishing their goals have no boundary of conscience. The French statesman and general Marquis de Lafayette (1757–1834) once made a poignant observation:

It is my opinion that if the liberties of this country, the United States of America, are destroyed, it will be by the subtlety of the Roman Catholic Jesuit priests, for they are the most crafty, dangerous enemies to civil and religious liberty. They have instigated most of the wars of Europe.

President John Adams, in a letter to Thomas Jefferson on May 5, 1816, stated, “I do not like the reappearance of the Jesuits. . . . Shall we not have regular swarms of them here, in as many disguises as only a king of the gypsies can assume, dressed as printers, publishers, writers, and schoolmasters?” He went on to state, “If ever there was a body of men who merited damnation on earth and in Hell, it is this society of Loyola’s. Nevertheless, we are compelled by our system of religious toleration to offer them an asylum.”

Avro Manhattan, in his writing The Dollar and the Vatican, declares, “The Vatican condemned the Declaration of Independence as wickedness and called the Constitution of the United States a satanic document.”

The Society of Jesus obsessively believes that God (a false god) has raised them up to be His right arm to accomplish the global domination of the Church as well as the controlling force of the leadership of the Church. Until the days of John Paul II and Benedict XVI, the Society had been content to be the power behind the pope. In 2013 Pope Francis became the first Jesuit pope. This may be the indication that they believe they now need to step forward and gain the public control of the papacy rather than simply be a power behind the office. We must perhaps take careful note of their reason.

The Papacy versus the Jesuits

We must remember that the Jesuit Society that commenced in 1540 was a “fighting unit” that was to come directly under the pope (whoever that might be). Two predominant purposes controlled their existence: to promote the Roman Catholic doctrine as specifically taught by the Roman pope and

to stand firm in the protection of the office of the pope and his perspective of doctrine and practice. It truly was an exclusive organization within the Romanist Church for the pope and singularly under his authority. But over the decades of the twentieth century, there has arisen a strong contradiction in that the leanings of the papacy have created a wedge between itself and the Jesuits. A strong battle is found between the two even leading to the present papacy.

When Pope Pius XII’s pontifical rule (1939–1958) found itself in the post-war new world, where two superpowers were rising against one another (the USA and the USSR), Pius rose in support of Western civilization, which was centered in Europe and protected by the USA, while having strong feelings against the USSR. But when Pope John XXIII rose to papal power from 1958 to 1963, he introduced a policy called “open windows, open fields” by which he hoped to cause countries to reappraise their governmental policies and attitudes; he hoped that the Soviets would do the same. To sweeten the pot for change, he promised to diminish a number of barriers that existed between the Church and the world; he even guaranteed the USSR that he would no longer attack them, which was a radical change in Church policy. But the world, including the USSR, viewed this as a growing weakness within the Church.

The USSR viewed the Church under Pope Paul VI (1963–1978) even weaker; this pope became known as the “gentlest” of all modern popes. Nonetheless, Pope Paul VI realized towards the end of papal reign that the Society of Jesus was radically changing from its original dual purpose. A different influence had now come among them, and they were leaning strongly into the winds of the political correctness of Marxism. A dossier had been gathered by those close to the pope revealing the changes taking place. It pressed Pope Paul VI to meet on several occasions in 1973 with Father General Pedro Arrupe, the head of the Jesuit Society. The meetings grew into an intense, emotional storm with the pope pressing for Arrupe’s resignation. When Arrupe refused, the pope strongly declared, “Our demand is that the Jesuits remain loyal to the Pope.”

In the aftermath of these meetings, an international assembly of the Order, a General Congregation (as such an assembly is called), gave them some time to regroup, and Pope Paul had to wait. The pope made a final plea during the 96-day international assembly of the Jesuit leaders in 1974–1975 to remain loyal to him. The Jesuits refused to comply believing they, rather than the pope, had the greater ability to know what the Church needed to do.

In 1978 Cardinal Albino Luciani of Venice became the next pope. Even before he became Pope John Paul I, he had strong thoughts against the Jesuits, and it was evident the Jesuits were against him. As soon as he became pontiff, the Jesuits stepped forward aggressively against him. One of the four general assistants to Arrupe, Father Vincent O’Keefe informed a Dutch newspaper that the pope should “reconsider the Church’s ban on abortion, homosexuality, and priesthood for women.” Of course, the interview was published. The newly-appointed John Paul I was angered over this as it implied that the Society of Jesus knew better than the pope. And only the pope had the authority to make such an exclusive statement of such a nature. When John Paul I demanded an explanation from Arrupe, the Jesuit general simply stated that he would investigate the matter; but John Paul knew the schism was coming between the papacy and the Jesuits.

As a result, John Paul I prepared a very strong speech of warning to be publicly presented against the Jesuits. This speech was scheduled for another General Congregation on September 30, 1978. One of the features to be given in this speech was a repeated reference to “doctrinal deviations” on the part of Jesuits. He wrote, “Let it not happen that the teachings and publications of Jesuits contain anything to cause confusion among the faithful.”

This momentous speech was to give the clearest threat from the pope to the Jesuits: they must return to their dual purpose, or the pope would be forced to take action against them. It is now known from John Paul’s notes and memoranda written for himself and for his staff, that he was ready to liquidate the Jesuit Order as it stood and reconstruct it to a more controllable society. It is interesting to note that many Jesuits desired for this to happen because another presupposition had taken hold of the Jesuit Order that was taking it into a direction many did not want to go.

The pope never lived to deliver his speech. On September 29, 1978, only thirty-three days after his papl appointment and one day before he was to address the Jesuits’ General Congregation, John Paul I was found dead in bed, mysteriously so. The rumors later surfaced at the Vatican of his being poisoned that night before going to bed.

Arrupe formally petitioned Cardinal Jean Villot (who at that time was the Vatican’s secretary of state and who took the place of the papacy in the interim period between John Paul I’s death and the election of his successor) for a copy of the speech that was to be given by John Paul I. The cardinal refused and stated, “It is high time the Jesuits put their affairs in order.”

John Paul II and the Jesuits

When Karol Wojtyla from Poland was elected as John Paul II on October 16, 1978, his strategy was to embrace three worlds: the world of capitalism, the world of Soviet Communism, and the world of so-called underdeveloped and developing countries. He believed the previous popes were too soft in foreign affairs. He believed his concept of the three worlds was sealed in a cold chill of superpower rivalry in the face-off between Marxist Leninism and unyielding capitalism with nothing to be salvaged. Note his strong-armed approach:

Where Catholics constituted majorities or sizeable minorities in closed societies, there they should lay claim to the socio-political space that was rightfully theirs—make an assertion of their rights, in other words, on the basis that their very presence as Roman Catholics would be enough to make such self-assertion stick.

No other world leader of his contemporary personally spoke to Soviet leaders as often and as directly as John Paul II, a practice he undertook from the beginning of his pontificate. He wanted to present a new world leadership which would demand from him a leadership in two key areas:

[1] His supreme authority in doctrine and morality would have to be vindicated and reasserted within his worldwide Church; and [2] a concrete example would have to be forthcoming of what such leadership could provide by way of solution to the international dilemma.

The two most visible presentations of John Paul were his worldwide trips and his careful guidance of the solidarity movement in Poland. His appearance in all of these countries reestablished his authority as a global leader. He brought about freedom in Poland and was a strong influence in the tearing down of the Berlin Wall.

This approach by John Paul II brought him into confrontation with the globally powerful Jesuits. The pope would help bring about the social, cultural, and economic freedom from the military grip of Marxism. We must remember that at the same time the Jesuits and others were carrying on their own policy as creators and chief fomenters of a new movement called “Liberation Theology” (a theology based on Marxist revolutionary principles with the goal to establish the Communist system of government throughout the world). We also must remember that John Paul II had read the dossier on the Jesuits compiled under Paul VI, and he had the undelivered speech of condemnation of the Jesuits written by John Paul I. In November of 1978, within a month after his election, John Paul II sent a copy of the speech to Arrupe; it was to be a warning with the words, “I make this speech my own.” Arrupe responded with the normal protocol of words that they were loyal and obedient. But it was evident, his response was empty and meaningless.

The following words are given in the classic writing of Malachi Martin entitled The Jesuits, telling what happened some weeks later on the last day of 1978:

On the evening of December 31, as a gesture of goodwill, the Pope went to the Jesuit Church of the Gesù, in order to honor the Society by his presence during their traditional year-end religious ceremonies of thanksgiving to God. John Paul let the Jesuits know beforehand that he wanted to see no Jesuit in civilian clothes. Nor did he. It was perhaps a small enough concession to the Pope, to whom each and all present had important and unique vows. But it was the only concession.

Even John Paul’s retinue remarked on the polite coldness of the Jesuit notables gathered for the occasion. After the religious ceremonies, the Pope dined with the Jesuits in their refectory. He was pleasant in his remarks, one Jesuit present at the meal complained later, but “he gave us no hint about the future of the Society.”

That complaint spoke volumes. The Jesuits had been able to ignore Paul VI and John Paul I. Why should they heed John Paul II? Jesuits would simply have to hold on and outlive this Pope, as they had the previous two.

Within two months of that year-end meeting between the Pope and his Jesuits, during February and March of 1979, Father General Arrupe called press conferences in Mexico and Rome at which he asserted blandly that there was no friction between the Holy Father and the Jesuits. Yes, Arrupe acknowledged to journalists at the International Press Office of the Holy See, he had received that speech of John Paul I, which John Paul II had made his own. Rumor had it, he went on, that “it had a pejorative sense and was a reprimand” for the changes made in the Society under Arrupe’s fourteen-year leadership. But that was nonsense, Arrupe said. The Pope knew that “of course, the Society of Jesus had changed,” he went on. “It could not do otherwise, seeing that the Church herself has changed.” There was, in reality, no friction, he concluded.

His Holiness saw it otherwise: There was grave friction. What John Paul called “friction about fundamentals” (pp. 47, 48).

The Undermining Powers of the Jesuits

The Jesuits had already undermined the powers of the pope when it came to the people throughout the world. Since they were in charge of all the education, the universities, the various schools, and the writings of Romanism, they were teaching somewhat the basics of Romanist doctrine but doing so in a subtle way that opposed any teaching coming from the pope. Their writings strongly undermined the teaching of papal infallibility and authority. They had already established the foundation for a new Church in wedding Marxism with Christianity, that to them was truly the emerging “Society of Jesus.” Their writings and teachings were now covering every subject matter of the Church: the concepts of morality, including homosexuality and all of its diversified concepts and lifestyles in a more acceptable way; a reappraisal of the Mass, the divinity of Jesus, the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary, the existence of Hell, the priesthood, etc. They were fast redefining and reshaping the entirety of Romanism including the very warp and woof of the fabric of the Church.

Father General Arrupe had brought radical changes during his tenure of Jesuit leadership and pressed for more publications of books that would undermine all of the traditional teachings. It was evident that no pope could stop him and his loyal Jesuit followers. No matter what concerns or appeals came from the pope to him, he always had a way of delaying the responses and any action that was requested. He would claim “misunderstandings” or that he was endeavoring to correct for the pope the “vicious rumors” that were coming to the pope’s ears. He accused the pope of being vague in his requests. He would ask for time periods, dates, persons accusing, etc., stalling investigations while his men manipulated the facts.

John Paul II deepened his press for the Jesuits to once again become “the Pope’s men.” But Arrupe would not back off from the pursuit of the Jesuits’ rewriting Romanism. Behind the scenes he would support writings that were pro-sodomy and pro-abortion, and pro-everything the pope was against in the traditional mold. He even encouraged more Jesuits to write controversial books with his stamp of approval that promoted the moral changes America and Europe were wanting. When Roman Catholic members of Congress voted against the traditional views of the Church in these matters, and the pope demanded Arrupe and the Jesuits to put pressure on these political leaders, he simply would tell the pope: “We reject the idea that Jesuits must systematically avoid all political involvement.”

The die was cast. The pope now clearly realized that the Jesuits had their own agenda and were out to redefine the Church and its doctrines, from the divinity of Jesus to the infallibility of the pope. Since that time the battle has been continuing with intensity between the pontiff and the Jesuits. Though with political veneer the leadership of the superior general of over 27,000 Jesuits around the world will give allegiance to the Vatican, the heart of rebellion and intent of overthrow of the past of Romanism is still the hallmark of their present existence.

Conclusion

Though the Jesuits have been the power behind the popes of the past 450 years, they have also maintained an allegiance to the popes. They have kept a low profile before the public with the unseen manipulative powers behind the papacy. But in the past century they have created their own agenda in a communist worldview, believing that Christianity and Marxism can be married ideologically. And thus, they have been on a race in time to assimilate their ideological agenda throughout the world. From within the Church they have used the Church to bring this about in governments where Romanism is found. Since the Romanist Church is found throughout the entire world, they believe this is a feasible task to accomplish.

However, in the past forty years the papacy has discovered their pervasive intent and has realized it has lost all control of the most committed of their priests, who have been the Jesuits. And now, by some strange set of circumstances, the Society of Jesus has brought forth one of its own to be the pope himself. To date, Pope Francis I has given evidence that he is “Jesuit” in heart and mind. He has endeavored to minimize the “papacy” while giving greater prominence to being “Bishop of Rome.” His agenda has been one persistently pressing radical change to Romanism in every area of its existence: from doctrine to practice. He is a man of intent, of will, and of commitment for such changes to take place; his nativity is certainly from a sympathetic climate of socialism and Marxism. Since his incumbency as pontiff, he has endeavored to override the infrastructure of the Vatican and exercise his authority of papal rule. Perhaps God will permit the Malachy Papers to render the verdict of the dismantling of Rome by this last pope, and after him, the popes may not be as they were before. His progressivism and contemporary perspective of the Romanist Church, if permitted to continue, will be a revelation to the changes that have been rumbling in the global thought of the Jesuits for a long time. They now have a man who can bring about a “new” Romanism; but how long will it take to overthrow the traditionalists and the hard-line Romanists? Only God knows.

We are in the End Time of the last days; radical changes are sweeping the world at record speed. We are facing the dawning of a new world order both in global government, in global Christianity, and in the religious world. The Christian must be ready to face the flood of change in logic, in living, in communication, and in powers now rising with deep hatred for the true Christ and His Word. (In our next Straightway we want to view the powers of Postmodernism and what we are facing today.)

Straightway: A Publication of the Foundations Ministries

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Related Links

The Existence of the Jesuit Order

The Papacy versus the Jesuits

John Paul II and the Jesuits

The Undermining Powers of the Jesuits

Conclusion