Edmond Paris - The Secret History of the Jesuits

In a book recently published, we can read the following concerning the Jesuits' punishments: "The culprit, dressed in the clothes of a penitent, was escorted to church where he confessed his fault. Then he was whipped on the public square according to the penal code... The culprits always received this chastisement, not only without murmurs, but also with thanksgivings..."

"The guilty one, having been punished and reconciled, kissed the hand of the one who struck him, saying: "May God reward you for freeing me, by this light punishment, from the eternal sorrows which threatened me".(10) After reading this, we can understand Mr. H. Boehmer's conclusion:

"The Guarani's moral life enriched itself very little under the Fathers'

discipline. He became a devout and superstitious Catholic who sees miracles everywhere and seems to enjoy flagellating himself until blood appears; he learned to obey and was attached to the good Fathers, who cared so well for him, with a filial gratitude which, even though not very deep, was nevertheless very tenacious. This not very brilliant result proves that there was some important defect in the educative methods of the Fathers.

What was that defect? The fact that they never tried to develop, in their "red"

children, the inventive faculties, the need for activity, the feeling of responsibility; they themselves invented games and recreations for their christians, they thought for them instead of encouraging them to think for themselves; they merely submitted those who were under their care to a mechanical "breaking in" instead of educating them".(11) How could it be otherwise when they themselves had gone through a

"breaking in" lasting fourteen years? Were they going to teach the Guaranis and their white pupils to "think for themselves", when they were absolutely (10) Clovis Lugon: "La Republique communiste chretienne des Guaranis" p.197. (11) H.

Boehmer, op.cit. pp.204-205.

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THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE JESUITS

forbidden to do so?

It is not a Jesuit of old, but a contemporary one who writes: "He (the Jesuit) will not forget that the characteristic virtue of the Company is total obedience of the action, the will, and even the judgement... All the superiors will be bound in the same way to higher ones and the Father General to the Holy Father... It was so arranged as to render the Holy See's authority universally efficacious, and saint Ignatius was sure that teaching and education would henceforth bring back to Catholic unity a Europe torn apart".

It is with the hope of "reforming the world", wrote Father Bonhours, "that he particularly embraced this means: the instruction of youth..." (12) The education of Paraguay's natives was done on the same principles the Fathers used to apply, now apply and will apply on everyone and everywhere; their aim, deplored by Mr. Boehmer, but which is ideal to the eyes of those fanatics: the renouncement of all personal judgement, all initiative, a blind submission to the superiors. Is it not that "height of freedom", "the liberation from one's own bondage" praised by R.P.

Rouquette and which we mentioned earlier on?

In fact, the good Guaranis had been "liberated" so well by the Jesuitical method for more than one hundred and fifty years that, when their masters left during the 18th century, they went back into their forests and returned to their ancient customs as if nothing had happened.

(12) F. Charmot, s.j.: "La Pedagogie des Jesuites" (Edit. Spes, Paris 1943, p.39).

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Section IV

The Jesuits in the European

Society

Chapter 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)

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.

" L o y o la 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) (1,2,3) F. Charmot, S.J. op.cit., pp.413, 415, 417, 442, 493..

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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.