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Section IV The Jesuits in the European Society
1. The Teaching of the Jesuits

“The pedagogic method of the Company”, wrote R.P. Charmot, S.J., “consists first of all of surrounding the pupils with a great network of prayers…” Later, he quotes the Jesuit Father Tacchini: “May the Holy Spirit fill them as alabasters are filled with perfumes; may He penetrate them so much that, as time goes on, they will be able to breathe in more and more celestial fragrance and the perfume of Christ!”

Father Gandier also has a contribution: “Let us not forget that education, as seen by the Company, is the ministry most similar to that of angels”. (1)

Later, Father Charmot has this to say: “Let us not be anxious as to where and how mysticism is inserted into education!…” “It is not done through a system or artificial technique, but by infiltration, by “endosmosis”. The children’s souls are impregnated because of their being in close “contact with masters who are literally saturated with it”.(2)

From the same author, here is “the aim of the Jesuit professor”: “Through his teaching, he aims to form, not an intellectual Christian elite, but elite christians”.(3)

(1,2,3) F. Charmot, S.J. op.cit., pp.413, 415, 417, 442, 493.

These few quotations tell us enough about the principal aim of these educators. Let us see now how they form these elite Christians, and what kind of mysticism is “inserted” (or inoculated), “infiltrated” or “pumped into” children submitted to their educational system.

At the front—it is characteristic of this Order—we find the Virgin Mary. “Loyola had made the Virgin the most important thing in his life. The Worship of Mary was the base of his religious devotions and was handed down by him to his Order. This worship developed so much that it was often said, and with good reason, that it was the Jesuits’ real religion”.(4)

This was not written by a Protestant, but by J. Huber, professor of Catholic theology.

Loyola himself was convinced that the Virgin had inspired him when he had drawn up his “Exercises”. A Jesuit had a vision of Mary covering the Society with her mantle as a sign of her special protection. Another one, Rodrigue de Gois, was so enraptured with her inexpressible beauty that he was seen soaring into the air. A novice of this Order, who died in Rome in 1581, was sustained by the Virgin in his fight against the devil’s temptations; to strengthen him, she gave him a taste of her Son’s blood from time to time and “the comfort of her breasts”.(5)

Duns Scot’s doctrine of the Immaculate Conception” was enthusiastically adopted by the Order which was successful in having it made into a dogma by Pius IX in 1854.

“Erasmus satirically depicted the worship of Mary of his time. During the fourth century, the tale of Loretto’s house had been invented; this house had apparently been brought from Palestine by angels. The Jesuits welcomed and defended this legend. Canisius went as far as producing letters from Mary herself and, thanks to the Order, great wealth started to pour in at Loretto (as at Lourdes, Fatima, etc..)

“The Jesuits brought forth all kinds of relics of the Mother of God. When they made their entrance into the church of Saint-Michael at Munich, they offered to the veneration of the faithful pieces of Mary’s veil, several tufts of her hair and pieces of her comb; they instituted a special cult, consecrated to worship these objects…”

“This worship degenerated into licentious and sensual manifestations, in particular in the hymns dedicated to the Virgin by Father Jacques Pontanus. The poet knew of nothing more beautiful than Mary’s breasts, nothing sweeter than her milk and nothing more delightful than her abdomen”.(6)

One could multiply these citations endlessly. Ignatius wanted his disciplies to have a “perceptible”, or even sensual piety, similar to his own, and they obviously succeeded. No wonder they were so successful with the Guaranis; this erotic fetichism suited them perfectly. But the good Fathers always thought it would suit the “whites” just as well. As the foundation of their doctrine is an utter contempt for people as human beings, “whites” or “reds” were just the same, and both had to be treated as if they were children.

(4) and (5) J. Huber, op.cit., pp.98-99.
(6) “Oeuvres completes” de Bucher (Munich 1819, II, p.477 ss.)

So they work relentlessly at propagating this spirit and these idolatrous practices; because of the influence they hold over the Holy See, which cannot do without them, they force them on the Roman Church, in spite of the resistance which has gradually decreased.

“Father Barri wrote a book entitled: “Paradise opens through one hundred devotions to the Mother of God”. In it, he expounds the idea that the way by which we enter paradise is not important: the important thing is to enter. He enumerates exercises of exterior piety to Mary which open heaven’s doors. Amongst other things, these exercises consist of giving to Mary morning and evening salutations; frequently charging the angles to greet her; expressing the desire to build her more churches than all those built by monarchs put together; carrying day and night a rosary as a bracelet, an image of Mary, etc…

“These practices are enough to assure our salvation and if the devil, when we are about to die, makes claims on our souls, we just have to remind him that Mary is responsible for us and he must sort things out with her”.(7)

In his “Pietas quotidiana erga S.D. Mariam”, Father Pemble recommends the following: “To beat or flagellate ourselves, and offer each blow as a sacrifice to God, through Mary to carve with a knife the holy name of Mary on our chest: to cover ourselves decently at night so as not to offend the chaste gaze of Mary; to tell the Virgin you would be willing to offer her your place in heaven if she didn’t have her own; to wish you had never been born or go to hell if Mary had not been born; to never eat an apple, as Mary had been kept from the mistake of tasing of it”.(8)

All this was written in 1764, but one only has to glance through similar works published today in great numbers, or just the Catholic press, to establish the fact that, for two hundred years, this wild idolatry had done nothing but grow and embellish. The late pope Pius XII distinguished himself as far as the ownership of Mary is concerned. Under his rule, a large part of the Roman Church followed suit.

Moreover, the sons of Loyola, who are always anxious to conform to the spirit of the age, try to today to accommodate these mediaeval puerilities, and there are several tracts published by some of these good Fathers under the grand auspices of the “Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique” (C.N.R.S.)

If we add to this the scapulars of various colours with their appropriate virtues, the worship of saints, images, relics, the apology of the “miracles”, the adoration of the Sacred Heart, we will have some idea of the “mysticism” with which “the children’s souls are impregnated” through their contact with masters “who are saturated with it”—as R.P. Charmot wrote in 1943.

(7) and (8) J. Huber, op.cit., 106-108.

There is no other way to form “elite Christians”. Nevertheless, if they were to win their fight against the Universities, the Jesuit colleges had to expand their teaching and include secular subjects, as the Renaissance had awakened a thirst for learning. We know that they gladly carried it out while taking all the necessary precautions to prevent this learning going against the aim of their teaching: maintaining the minds in complete obedience to the Church.

That is why their pupils are first of all “surrounded” by this “great web of prayers”, which would not be sufficient if the learning imparted was not carefully purged from all heterodox spirit and ideas. So, Greek and Latin, (Latin is regarded very highly in these colleges), were studied for their literary value; but the “antique” orthodox thought was expounded just enough to establish the so-called superior scholastic philosophy. These “humanists” they were training were able to compose discourses and latin verses, but the only master of their thoughts was saint Thomas Aquinas, a monk of the 13th century.

Listen to “Ratio Studiorum”, fundamental treatise of Jesuit pedagogy, quoted by R.P. Charmot: “We will carefully discard secular subjects which do not favour good morals and piety. We will compose poems; but may our poets be Christians and not followers of pagans who invoke Muses, mountain nymphs, sea-nymphs, Calliope, Apollo, etc… or other gods and goddesses. What’s more, if these are to be mentioned, may it be with the view to caricature them, as they are only demons…”(9)

So, all sciences—and especially natural sciences—will be “interpreted” in like manner.

In fact, R.P. Charmot doesn’t even try to hide it in what he said about the Jesuit professor in 1943: “He teaches sciences, not for themselves, but only with the view to bring about God’s greatest glory. It is the rule laid down by Saint Ignatius in his “Constitutions”. 10)

And again: “When we speak of a whole culture, we do not mean that we teach all subjects and sciences, but we give a literary and scientific education which is not purely secular and impermeable to the lights of Revelation”.(11)

The instruction dispensed by the Jesuits was therefore bound to be more flashy than profound, or “formalistic” as it is often called. “They did not believe in liberty, which was fatal as far as teaching is concerned”, wrote H. Boehmer.

“The truth is that the relative merits of the Jesuits’ teaching diminished while science and the methods of education and instruction progressed and developed, on the basis of a wider and deeper conception of Humanity. Buckle said: “The more civilisation advanced, the more the Jesuits lost ground, not merely because of their own decadence, but because of all the modifications and changes in the minds of those around them… During the 16th century, the Jesuits were ahead, but during the 18th century, they were behind their time”.(12)

(9,10,11) F. Charmot, S.J. op.cit., pp.318-319, 508-509, 494. (12) J. Huber, op.cit., II, p.177.