Pope praises Jesuits, urges them to pledge loyalty to church doctrine

Published: 2008-01-17

ROME (CNS) -- Pope Benedict XVI praised the Society of Jesus for its great contributions to evangelization and urged the order to reaffirm its fidelity to contested points of church doctrine. As the Jesuits meet to elect a new superior general and discuss major issues the order is facing, the pope said they should take the opportunity to defend the church's teaching in areas such as interreligious relations, liberation theology, marriage and pastoral care of homosexuals. The pope's comments came in a Jan. 10 letter addressed to Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, outgoing Jesuit superior general. The letter was posted on a Jesuit Web site Jan. 17. Some 225 Jesuit representatives opened their general congregation in Rome Jan. 7. The pope lauded Father Kolvenbach for guiding the order in an "enlightened, wise and prudent manner" since 1983 and noted that the Jesuit superior had asked several times to be relieved of "so heavy a post."

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