Jesuit Notes

! Jesuits Tutorial ! Contents Jesuits and the State: A Comparative Study of their Expulsions (1590--1990) -- B. M. Roehner ! Christianity under the Ancien Regime 1648--1789 -- W. R. Ward ! Jansenism and the international suppression of the Jesuits -- D. K. Van Kley ! The Suppression and Restoration -- J. Wright ! The Popes and European Revolution -- O. Chadwick ! Church and Society in Eighteenth--Century France: The Religion of the People and the Politics of Religion -- J. McManners ! The Jansenists and the Expulsion of the Jesuits from France, 1757--1765 -- D. K. Van Kley ! Europe in the Eighteenth Century 1713--1783 -- M. S. Anderson ! The Expulsion of the Jesuits from Spain and Spanish America in 1767 in Light of Eighteenth--Century Regalism -- M. Morner ! Jansenism and Politics in the Eighteenth Century -- J. McManners ! Catholic Conciliar Reform in an Age of Anti--Catholic Revolution: France, Italy and the Netherlands, 1758--1801 -- D. K. Van Kley ! Clerics and Crown in Bourbon Spain, 1700--1808: Jesuits, Jansenists and Enlightened Reformers -- C. C. Noel ! Late Jansenism and the Habsburgs -- W. R. Ward ! The Suppression of the Society of Jesus -- S. F. Smith ! The Suppression of the Society of Jesus viewed from the twenty--first century -- R. W. Truman ! General Notes ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Jesuits Tutorial Enthusiasm -- negative word in relation to religion ~ Idea of direct connection to God ~ More positive towards the end of the century with the emergence of evangelism ~ Pocock -- Enlightenment v. enthusiasm Colonies -- Jesuits have more independence and a geographical sphere of influence Less of a colonial problem in France Extent of personal influence in their expulsion is debated Probabilism and casuistry -- it is permissible to do something wrong if your intent was pure and with the right end ~ Allows much political manoeuvring ~ Logic developed within the Jesuit order Mariana condoned regicide -- illustrates casuistry ~ Thomas Aquinas said something similar Never clear what the rules were Jesuits were linked to the assassinations of Henri III and IV ~ Henri IV was Louis XIV's grandfather Jesuits were important in education in the 16th and 17th centuries -- had been modern compared to scholastic education ! Far East and colonial policy as evangelists ~ Thought that the most efficient way to convert people was to understand the local culture ~ Wrote the first Latin--Japanese dictionary ~ China -- accused of being too understanding ~ Lack of obedience to the pope -- seen as despotic Obedience to the pope yet often at odds with the pope Reluctant to abandon native settlements -- saw themselves as protecting them and their cultures ~ Conflict with the Spanish and the Portuguese Educational policy of teaching languages in Jesuits schools -- not normally done ! ! ! ! Confessors to royalty Counter--Reformation -- reinforced by the Inquisition Spiritual devotion Poverty -- less anticlericalism ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Advantages became disadvantages for their reputation Nobles disliked their influence at court Education system -- refused to change it to include science and history ~ Rise of the Republic of Letters -- schools are no longer the only source of knowledge ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Land and commerce -- use of natives ~ Casuistic approach to the law -- were not allowed to participate in commerce themselves but could use natives In the context of rising military costs, states look to the wealth of the Jesuits Centralisation of power -- Jesuits do not fit with this ~ Previous centuries were more ideological -- loss of power to the Jesuits was for religious reasons Jansenism could be an Enlightenment doctrine -- mechanistic and scientific Jansenism could be seen to be anti--Enlightenment -- Christian as opposed to secularisation ! ! Utilitarian retention of the Jesuits in Prussia and Russia German states -- retention for education system ! France -- bishops, parlements and philosophes dislikes the Jesuits ~ Boussuet -- bishop who created Gallicanism ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 1814 -- came back stronger ~ 1801 -- confirmed in Russia 1901 suppression in France Port--Royal -- Louis XIV shut this Jansenist monastery down on the advice of the Jesuits Universities resented the Jesuits Papacy was less strong -- lacks any convincing diplomatic tools => cannot compete militarily ~ Threat of excommunication is less important ~ 18th century is less religious Jesuits and the State: A Comparative Study of their Expulsions (1590--1990) -- B. M. Roehner (Religion, 27, 2 (1997)) pp. 165--182 ! ! ! ! ! Ideal for studying national relations with such a supranational congregation Question of contagion of anti--Jesuit policies Methods used to set up and enforce the expulsions show a high degree of continuity over 3 centuries ! Expulsions ~ Economic -- confiscation of estates and property ~ 1789 France -- as much as 15% ~ Sociological -- can be compared to expulsions of Jews, Protestants, Catholics etc. ~ Historical -- clear indication that national resentment against the Holy See reached a critical level ! Society of Jesus -- permanence and universality ~ Has existed for more than 4 centuries By the very objectives of their order they raised strong resentment and provoked sharp ! reactions ! Had to pledge total obedience to their General in Rome -- target of nationalistic agitation ! Managed to win favour of kings and princes => jealously of nobility and high clergy ! Success of colleges => seen as unfair competitors by universities ! 1550--1990 about 35 Jesuit expulsions ~ Tend to look almost identical -- yet each has a specific context ~ Share a number of features => comparison ! ! Dominicans are very different from Jesuits yet they have similar phases of expansion ~ 1550--1730 expansion ~ 1730--1840 contraction ! Growth was beginning to level off by 1740 -- about 20 years before the major wave of expulsions 1758--1773 ! Immediate causes have no more but an anecdotal interest as far as waves of expulsion ! 3 successive classes -- depending on the strength of the connection between state and Church ~ Monarchies -- kings basically drawing authority from God => Church could pretend to an essential role ~ Transition period from autocratic rulership to democratic governments ~ Progressive separation between Church and state -- particularly in the field of education ! Public finance -- the expulsion of the Jesuits can be seen as a special instance of confiscation by the state of part of Church property ~ Wave of confiscations in the French Revolution Importance also of 'failed expulsions' ! ! Expulsion -- conjunction of permanent and circumstantial factors ~ Circumstantial -- determined monarch confronted with a strong--minded Pope or Jesuit General ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Weak or clever Pope => compromise ~ Louis XIV forbade the Jesuits to obey the directives of the Holy See -- yet a complete rupture was avoided ! Many of the numerous conflicts between the Parlement of Paris and the Jesuits could have led to an open confrontation without the protection extended to them by the monarch ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Parsimony hypothesis is largely confirmed by available evidence -- greater similarity between expulsions from France in 1594 and 1764 than between the French expulsion in 1594 and the Portuguese one in 1588 Contagion hypothesis -- some confirmation from the clustering of events within rather narrow intervals Structural causes overlaid with momentary circumstances which triggered debates about expulsion ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Temporary versus more permanent causes of Jesuits expulsions from France in 1764 The Jesuits ! Special position among religious orders -- members live among communities but do not have to comply with stringent rules => facilitated position in lay society ~ Could present members for ordination without any ecclesiastical title and without having made solemn vows ~ Almost absolute authority for the General ~ Permission to read heretical books prohibited and condemned by the Holy See ! Pope Gregory XIV absolutely forbade under pain of excommunication any direct or indirect attack on the Society of Jesus ! Tradition in the French monarchy for a Jesuit confessor ! Jesuits drew much of their influence from their teaching activities ! 'In short, by their position next to the king the Jesuits aroused the resentment of the Parliament; as successful competitors in the education business they had to face the opposition of the universities; by the control they exerted upon ecclesiastical nominations they excited the jealousy of bishops and other Church dignitaries' (p. 172) ! ! ! ! Parlements -- most often disputes did not have a dramatic outcome University of Paris was granted special privileges by the king -- in return, it sided with the king in his disputes with Rome by challenging the theses of Roman theologians Opposition between congregations was not rare ~ France -- Jesuits were the principal opponents to the Jansensists => this conflict lasted for more than a century 

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