ROME - Obedience to the Pope and the magisterium of the Church is just one of the themes of the five decrees approved by the Jesuits upon concluding its 35th General Congregation.
The two-month meeting of 225 members of the Society of Jesus ended Thursday in Rome. The congregation approved five decrees on 15 themes, and a declaration that affirms adherence to the letter Benedict XVI sent to then superior general Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach in January. In the letter the Pope urged the congregation to reaffirm "its own total adhesion to Catholic doctrine" in areas such as interreligious dialogue, liberation theology and sexual morality.
The declaration titled "With New Fervor and Dynamism, the Society of Jesus Responds to the Call of Benedict XVI," was approved by a large majority, reported L'Osservatore Romano. Father Adolfo Nicolás, elected Jan. 19 to succeed Fr. Kolvenbach, 79, as superior general, said to reporters Friday that the Jesuits' tradition of fidelity and obedience never stopped them "in their theological research or in their way of living the Christian faith. At the same time," he noted, "we understood that we need more humility because conflicts and difficulties are what make us grow."
One of the five decrees addressed the topic of obedience to the Pope and the special relationship that unites the Jesuits to the Successor of Peter. Jesuit Father Tom Feely wrote on the Web page of the 35th Congregation: "Anyone who looks at the history of the Society will see that we have always understood our role of service in the Church in relation to the papacy. Therefore, the decree goes on to offer some reflections on living our relationship of obedience to the papacy today, especially with regard to our mission in the broadest sense."