Jesuits
1080. Were not the Jesuits the very embodiment of the intolerant moral theology of the Catholic Church?
The Jesuits are members of a Religious Order whose members pledge themselves to love Jesus Christ as much as possible, to labor solely in His interests and in order to win as many souls as possible to His service.
1081. Did not Clement XIV. suppress the Jesuits because he was so shocked by their crimes, and die shortly afterwards from poison?
No. The Jesuits were very active in stemming the tide of the Reformation, and many of the Protestant princes and rulers were so persecuting the Church because of this that Clement XIV., in a moment of weakness and against his own convictions, suppressed the Order "for the peace of the Church." He did this under a great misapprehension, and under pressure. And the Order 'was rightly reinstated by another Pope. It is true that Clement XIV. died shortly after his action in suppressing the Jesuits, but to say that he was poisoned is sheer romance and without a trace of historical foundation. The anxiety of the whole case certainly undermined his health, and the medical certificate states that he died from a condition of scurvy and hemorrhoids, aggravated by worry. In other words, natural factors only accounted for his death.
The Jesuits are members of a Religious Order whose members pledge themselves to love Jesus Christ as much as possible, to labor solely in His interests and in order to win as many souls as possible to His service.
1081. Did not Clement XIV. suppress the Jesuits because he was so shocked by their crimes, and die shortly afterwards from poison?
No. The Jesuits were very active in stemming the tide of the Reformation, and many of the Protestant princes and rulers were so persecuting the Church because of this that Clement XIV., in a moment of weakness and against his own convictions, suppressed the Order "for the peace of the Church." He did this under a great misapprehension, and under pressure. And the Order 'was rightly reinstated by another Pope. It is true that Clement XIV. died shortly after his action in suppressing the Jesuits, but to say that he was poisoned is sheer romance and without a trace of historical foundation. The anxiety of the whole case certainly undermined his health, and the medical certificate states that he died from a condition of scurvy and hemorrhoids, aggravated by worry. In other words, natural factors only accounted for his death.