Word: jesuits
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...Though more recently established, more traditionalist movements and religious orders such as Opus Dei and the Legionaries of Christ have gotten more attention of late, the Jesuits are still far and away the largest clerical order in the Church. They too, however, have suffered from declining ordinations, down to fewer than 20,000 members from a peak of 36,000 in the 1960s. The election for the latest successor of St. Ignatius, the 16th century founder of the Jesuits, will take place in the days following next Monday's opening of the 35th General Congregation, a meeting of 226 delegates...
...Like the Cardinal electors in a papal conclave, the Jesuit delegates will be considering candidates' prayerfulness, leadership and organizational capacity, language skills and geography. Some wonder if the Jesuits may elect their first ever leader from Asia, with Father Lisbert D'Sousa of India mentioned. Australian Father Mark Raper, former head of the Jesuit Refugee Service, is also among those on insiders' lists, as is Italian Father Federico Lombardi, the current papal spokesman and longtime head of Vatican radio and television channels...
...Jersey-born, Rome-based Jesuit, Father Keith Pecklers, says the ideal successor "will be a combination of the two" most recent superior generals. "We need someone with Arrupe's prophetic vision and courage but also it's absolutely key the leader will be someone with the diplomatic skills Kolvenbach has to maintain close ties with Holy...
...Church," says Jose de Vera, head spokesman for the order. "It is not our job to just repeat the catechism, but to do research. Sometimes looking for real truth, you can step over the line." Just last year, the Vatican's doctrinal office issued a "Notification" to Spanish Jesuit scholar Jon Sobrino, a proponent of Marxist-inspired liberation theology, for what they called "erroneous ... and even dangerous" writings...
...Most Jesuits steer clear of offending the Vatican hierarchy, focusing on frontline missionary work amongst the poor and oppressed. Noted in particular for their vast network of schools and universities, the Jesuits are widely considered the day-to-day educational and intellectual motor for Roman Catholicism. Pecklers, who teaches liturgy at the Gregorian University in Rome, has lately been working on an education project in the hinterlands of Mongolia. "Whereas a Benedictine is centered around his monastery, the Jesuit's life is the road. The way we've achieved our credibility is getting our hands dirty, getting involved in issues...