Wednesday, September 27, 2006

 

This Day in Mid-15th Century History

On this day in 1540, the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) is founded by Ignatius Loyola.

Comments:
For those whose knowledge of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation is a bit lacking, the SOJ was explicitly formed as a debating society to counter the arguments of the Protestants. (Public criticism of the policies of the church was a standard tactic used by Protestant preachers.)

By all accounts, this history explains much of the character of the SOJ even today.
 
I admire the Jesuits, a lot. And they did a good job of cleaning up a lot of the corruption and idiocy which led good Catholics like Luther to leave the Church and start their own. Except for the sex with altar boys problem, the Church has been pretty much a beacon of goodness for nearly 200 years.
 
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