Edmond Paris - The Secret History of the Jesuits

"The Jesuits only appeared to submit to this verdict which condemned them... They wrote innumerable pamphlets against the pope and to incite rebellion; they told lies and slanders without number concerning so-called atrocities committed when their properties in Rome were confiscated".(24) The death of Clement XIV, fourteen months later, was even attributed to them by a section of European opinion.

"The Jesuits, in principle at least, were no more; but Clement XIV knew very well that, by signing their death warrant, he was signing his own as well:

"This suppression is done at last", he exclaimed, "and I am not sorry about it.. I would do it again if it was not done already; but this suppression will kill me".(25)

Ganganelli was right; soon, posters started to appear on the palace walls which invariably displayed these five letters: I.S.S.S.V.,and everyone wondered what it meant. Clement understood immediately and boldly declared: "It means "In Settembre, Sara Sede Vacante", (In September, the (22) Pierre Doninique, op.cit., p.209.

(23) Baron de Ponnat, "Histoire des variations et des contradictions de l'Eglise romaine", p.215. t i l .

(24) J. Huber, op.cit., p.365.

(25) Caraccioli: "Vie du Pape Clement XIV" (Desant, Paris 1776, p.313).

THE ECLIPSE OF THE COMPANY

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See will be vacant', (that the Pope will be dead)".(26) Here is another testimony: "Pope Ganganelli did not survive long after the Jesuits' suppression", said Scipion de Ricci. "The account of his illness and death, sent to the Court of Madrid by the Minister for Spain in Rome, proved that he had been poisoned; as far as we know, no inquiry was held concerning this event by the cardinals, nor the new pontiff. The perpetrator of that abominable deed was then able to escape the judgement of the world, but he will not be able to escape God's justice!"(27) "We can positively affirm that, on the 22nd of September 1774, Pope Clement XIV died by poisoning".(28)

Meanwhile, the empress of Austria, Marie-Therese, had also banished the Jesuits from all her States. Only Frederik of Prussia and Catherine II, empress of Russia, welcomed them in their countries as educators. But, in Prussia, they only managed to stay for ten years, until 1786. Russia was favourable to them longer but, there also, and for the same reason, they e v e n t u a l l y aroused the animosity of the government.

"... The suppression of the schism and the rallying of Russia to the pope attracted them like a lamp attracts a moth. They launched an active propaganda programme in the army and aristocracy and fought against the Bible Society created by the Czar. They won several successes and converted prince Galitzine, nephew of the Minister for Worship. So the Czar intervened and we have the Ukase of the 20th of December 1815".(29) No need to say that the grounds for this Ukase, which banished the Jesuits from Saint-Petersburg and Moscow, were the same as in all the other countries. "We came to realise that they did not fulfill the duties expected of them... Instead of living as peaceful inhabitants in a foreign country, they disturbed the Greek religion which has been since ancient times, the predominant religion in our empire and on which rests the peace and happiness of the nations under our sceptre. They abused the confidence they obtained and turned the youth entrusted to them and inconsistent women away from our worship... We are not surprised that this religious Order was expelled from every country and that their actions were not tolerated anywhere".(29)

In 1820 at last, general measures were taken to drive them out of the whole of Russia.

But, because of political events favouring it, they had set foot again in western Europe when their Order was solemnly reestablished by Pope Pius VII in 1814.

(26) Baron de Ponnat, op.cit., p.223.

(27) Potter: "Vie de Scipion de Ricci", (Brussels 1825), I, p. 18).

(28) Baron de Ponnat: "Histoire des variations et contradictions de l'Eglise romaine"

(Charpentier, Paris 1882, II, p.224). (29) Pierre Dominique, op.cit., p.220.

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THE SECRET HISTORY OF THE JESUITS

The political significance of this decision is clearly expressed by M. Daniel-Rops, a great friend of the Jesuits. He wrote, concerning the "reappearance of the sons of Loyola": "It was impossible not to see in it an obvious act of counter-revolution".(30)

(30) Daniel-Rops, of the French Academy: "Le retablissement de la Compagnie de Jesus"

(Etudes, September 1959).

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Section IV

Chapter 4

Rebirth of the Society of Jesus during the

19th century

We mentioned that, when Clement XIV was constrained to suppress the Jesuit Order, he apparently said: "I have cut off my right hand".

The phrase seems plausible enough. The Holy See must certainly have found it hard to part with its most important instrument in the domination of the world. The Order's disgrace, a political measure imposed by circumstances, was gradually attenuated by the successors of Clement XIV: Pius VI and Pius VII; and if the official eclipse of the Jesuits lasted forty years, it was because of the upheavals in Europe resulting from the French Revolution. In any case, that eclipse was never total.

"Most of the Jesuits had stayed in Austria, France, Spain, Italy, mingling with the clergy. They met with each other or gathered in large numbers as much as possible. In 1794, Jean de Tournely founded the Society of the Sacred Heart in Belgium as a teaching body. Many Jesuits joined it. Three years later, the Tyrolean Paccanari, who thought he was another Ignatius, founded the Society of the Brothers of Faith. In 1799, the two Societies merged with Father Clariviere as the head; he was the only surviving French Jesuit. In 1803, they joined the Russian Jesuits.

Something coherent was coming back to life again, but the masses, and even most of the politicians, did not recognise it at first".(31) The French Revolution, and then the Empire, gave the Company of Jesus an unexpected credibility again; it was a defensive reaction against new ideas springing up in the ancient monarchies.

Napoleon the First described the Society as "very dangerous; she will never be allowed in the Empire". But, when the Holy-Alliance triumphed, the new "monarchs" did not disdain the help of these absolutists in bringing ( 3 1 ) Pierre Dominique, op.cit., p.219—Here is, according to M. Daniel-Rops, the strange death of Paccacaci, founder of the Brothers of Faith: "He was brought before the Holy See, imprisoned at the castle of Saint-Ange and finally was "assassinated". (Etudes, September 1959).

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back the people to a strict obedience.

But times had changed. All the skill of the good Fathers could only delay and not stop the propagation of liberal ideas and their efforts were more harmful than useful. In France, the Restoration experienced it in a bitter way. Louis XVIII, an unbeliever and clever politician, tried to contain the rise of "ultras"

as much as he could. But under Charles X, narrow-minded and very devout, the Jesuits had it easy. The law which expelled them in 1764 was still being enforced. No matter. They enlivened the famous "Congregation", first kind of Opus Dei. This pious brotherhood, composed of ecclesiastics and laymen, was found everywhere, pretending to "purge" the army, the magistracy, the administration, the teaching profession; it held "missions"

all over the country, planting commemorative crosses wherever it went; many of these are still there today; it stirred up the believers to fight the infidels and made itself so hateful that even the very catholic and very legitimist Montlosier exclaimed:

"Our missionaries have started fires everywhere. If something has to be sent to us, we would rather have Marseille's plague than more missionaries".