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About The American. (Omaha, Nebraska) 1891-1899 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 11, 1892)
THE AME RICAN, JESUIT CRAFT. Tl Unl on Whith the "Company of Ju" Move i. I'mm lt rtrlotti Ahii ili'nn: t HAITI.H tit. "How tho lin.ny must conduct wards those who are Ml Mm helm of af fntrw, and toward others who, althoujli lin y tuny not W rich, are In some on paclty of liolng otherwise serviceable,: t. Mont of what ha Ih ii wild In n ollfiihlo hfiit. We must Iki Industrious to procure t tit) favor of men In station against nil who oniHmo um. Their In lluenoo ami counsels must courted for obtaining Influence and station for ourselves; hut wo must make It ajuxnir toothers, that wo Hot llttlo by tholr worldly advice, since wo havo a con tempt for wealth: but ut tho same tlmo, If tholr secrecy and faith may bo depended on. wo may privately uho their names to aid um In amassing temporal gtnsls, for tho benefit of tho Company. II. They must hIho 1x employed In winning popularity for uh among the meaner chumou, and In changing tho avoi'Hlon of tho populace Into an afTeC' tlon for our Company. III. Bishops and suporioroccloslas- tics must not bo importuned by our members, oxeeptfor those things which appear neeeMHary; and even for thoHo with a proper regard to out extremltloH, and their Hovoral Inclinations to nerve um. ThoymuHt not bo offended. Somo tlmoM It will Ihj asking quite enough, if wo prevail on prolateH and curatoH, to cause their subordinates to Bhow rover onoo to our Company; and If no more, to Hoeuro thorn at leant from interpoHlng any obstacles to tho dlMchargo of our mlnlHtry. In Germany, and other countrloH where the prleHthood Is not powerful enough to lord it over tho jwoplo, tho prelates muHt bo treated with tho profoundoHt resect, for thus tholr monasteries, parlMhoM, priorloH, patronages, foundations for masses, and religious places, with those of tholr princes, may ultimately bo got into our hands. This is by no moans difficult where Catholics aro intermixed with heretics and Hchlsmatlcs. This Is a field particularly favorablo to us, Tho hotter to gain our point, wo muHt show to thoHo prelates, tho prodigious advantages wo can bring to thorn through our influence, while wo could hardly ex pect to make any impression In this way ujnm dull priests and monks. Whenever thoy favor us under thoHo pretexts, their ,eal must Iw rewarded by public com mendations; and they must bo lead to suppose that their members will be transmitted by tho Company of Jesus to tho latest posterity. IV, In carrying out this plan, we must induce such prelates to make use of us, both as confessors and counsellors; and whenever their ambition aims at higher preferments from tho seo of Homo, their pretensions must bo backed by such strong influence on the part of our friends everywhere, that wo shall Ihj sure not to fall, V, Our motnlxtrs who havo inter course with prelates and princes, must see that wherever colleges or parochial schools are founded, tho Company can always nominate vicars forthocaroof souls; and that our members aro made suiorlntondont; for in this way only can wo grasp tho whole government of tho church; and thus, in every place, men will bo mado such vassala to us, that nothing wo ask for will they dare to deny. VI, Wherever tho governors of col- . jjv bamjK f m In oor iWIgn, or Catholic or h it tie tdtruct our y w nul, tUnnii.'h the prelates, vur the rlneil pulpit; for in thl way mt r or later, we can Imprv upon tho ople our wants, and In an affect log manm r, lay o-n our mii-tD.it lea, VII. Prolate must lm ieolally oaremd, whci any of oir tnemUra are to bo oanonUed; and at snob times, whatever It way cost, letter mut U got from prince and noble, which will fortify us at tho court of Home. VIII. Whenever prelate or nobles arts employed In foreign omlMwslos, they must at all hazards, M kept from using any religious order except our own, otherwise great harm would come to us In the governments they rcpro- sent, and at the courts to which they aro sent. Whenever ambassadors of this kind pass through places where wo havo colleges, let them bo received with all honor and esteem, and Ihj enter talned with as much splendor as re ligious decorum can possibly admit. Chapter fourth treats on tho chief things to k) recommended to preachers, and confessors of men In power. I, our rnemborM must so converse with princes and nobles, that they may seem to havo nothing else in view but tho glory of God. But we must not re commend to thorn any austerity, pon anco, or duty, which thoy are not wil ling to comply with. We must mske their load easy; and wo Bhall thus in sensibly obtain religious and secular dominion. We must preach justice to those that rule, and that God is offended with princes when they aro hurried away into wrong, by tho impulses of tholr passions; but wo must defend every prince who stands by us, even when ho 1b wrong, so far as we can con veniently. Our members must always gravely protest, and solemnly affirm, that thoy enter into secular and polifc- cal affairs with tho extremost reluct ance; but in speaking of public affairs, t must bo mode to appear that it is tho duty of our olllco often to speak such truths to tho great and the lowly, and to do many things which, in a wiuked world, wo should gladly avoid. Wo must bring to tho attention of princes such men as will bo serviceable to us, when anybody is to bo admitted into tho service of. the state; but tho recom mendation of our friends, in such cases, must not seem to come from ub, since it will como with afar bettor grace from favorites and familiars of princes, If they bo creatures of ours. II. Therefore, lot our confessors and preachers always bo informed by our friends, or persons who aro proper for every office, almvo all, tho names of those who are our benefactors and let those names bo carefully kept; for tho time will como, when they can, with projor dexterity, bo proposed with suc cess. III. Confessors and preachers must always remember to sootho princes by winning address; never to give them the east offence in their sermons or private conversations; to dispossess their minds of all imaginary doubts and fears; and a public, to exhort them only to faith, lopo and political justice. ' IV. Our mcmWs must seldom, or never, accept of small presents for their )j'lvato use; but look only after tho common interests of tho Company. At home, plainly furnished chambers or cells must content them. They must not appear in showy costume; but at evory"turn, bo ready to administer their advice to tho meanest iHjrsons, for tho world must never say that wo court tho groat. V. Tho moment any person in authority dl.-. Id one 4 our frhn,U I it In hi place; but thN inut I Htkit with Mteh tnaiiaircmctit a avoid gUiitg the lot ttpicion, h n,v wo must ml 1 wi n In It, but re t to lh artifice of a faithful friend, whee Niwer may, In any event, noreen us from the envy or ha'red, whlelt might oilier wlso fall heavily tiui the Siety. CIIAITKKV. Instruct u what conduct Is to H olt- served toward our rivals, or such v- oleslastlo a wo may come In collision with. I. Wo must not bo discouraged, or diverted, from our objects by such lenplo. Wo must convince princes, and others in authority, that the Company contains the Hrfectlon of all other societies, leaving out their cant, and outward austerity of life and dress. But if any other order eclipses us in any of these part iculars, wo must show that ours shines with pre-eminent splendor In tho church of God. Let tho defects of other religious orders be diligently canvassed, and gradually published to our friends; but always with Booming sorrow, and a spirit of charity, since wo know that they cannot acquit them selves so happily even in tho discharge of those functions which aro common to us both. II. But far greater efforts must bo mado against those who attempt to set up schools for tho education of youth, wherever wo have our foundations. In every case of this kind, princes and magistrates must bo told that such col leges and establishments will certainly provo nurseries of tumults and sedition; that children must necessarily imbibo those principles that aro taught to thorn; and lastly, wo must persuade them that no society but ours is quali fied to oducate tho young. To this ef fect, wo mupt show tho high endorse ment of popes; tho recommendations of cardinals, princes and nobles; with cor roboratlonB from magistrates In many places, of attestations to tho exemplary conduct and faithful instruction of those committed to our care. III. Especially let us bo mindful to give to tho public bouio signal instances of tholr virtue and learning, by show ing to tho gentry, tho magistrate, and tho populace even, that tho pupils of our colleges have conquered scholastic difficulties, and fairly won public ap lause. CHAPTKIt VI. Proper methods for Inducing rich widows to bo liberal to tho Company of Jesus: 1. In this business none of our mem bers must engage, except those of ma ture age, Ksrsonal accomplishments, and agreeable conversations. Lot such frequently visit widows, and tho moment they begin to show any affection for our order, let its good works and merits Ihj Ingeniously unfolded. If they lend a kind ear to these, and begin to visit our hurches, wo must bo Buro to provide them confessors, who will genially oil men lsh them to constant jHsrsevcranco In their utatoof widowhood; and thus, bo enumerating and exaggerating the felicities of a single life, they will Ihj in duced to pledge themselves to a firm ontlnuaneo in this pious resolution, which, if maintained, will Infallibly so- curo eternal salvation. II. These confessors must persuado them to undertake somo work of merit, for which they will receive tho reward here, and tho glory afterward such as beautifying somo chapel, or any other cllglous house, as a sacred place for their meditations and devotions, day by day. By such means they will bo more readily disengaged from tho conversa tion and adlrvie t imrtunat ml tor. And although th f may havo I'hapllati of their n, jet our ounfe r tmt go U ovlebi-t dim where aldnw are, to pv them jiri r and sublime exhortations and U keep their own rhaplalnn under if It can bo done. III. Tho management of widows' holmes mut tie changed Inwnsibly, and with extreme prudence regard lielng had to persons, plaevs, affections, pre judices, and sincere devotion. IV. All servants, who do not havo a good understanding with us, must bo removed but only llttlo by little and w hen wo have managed to work them out, let hitch bo IntroductHl as already are, or will cheerfully become our crea tures. Thus wo shall dive into tho se crets of, and wo will have a linger in, the affairs transacted in tho family. V. Tho confessor must manage to gain the confidence of the widow to such an extent that she will not do the least thing without his advice, and his advice only; which he may occasionally insin uate to bo tho only basis of her spiritual edification. VI. Sho must bo advised to the fre quent use of tho sacramentB, but es pecially that of penance, for there Bho will discover her secret thoughts, and most occult temptations. Sho must feel tho necessity of frequently applying to her confessor for advice, and instruc tions, to tho performance of which she must be invited by promises of prayer; specially adapted to her particular exi gencies; while she must every day re hoarso her litany; and strictly examine her conscience before God, after which sho must communicate tho result to her confessor. It will bo very well, also, to induce her to repeat a gonoral confes sion, although she may have formerly mado it to another, for this will give a moro perfect knowledge of all her in clinations. VII. Her confessor must often dwell on the advantages of the state of widow hood, and tho inconvenience of wedlock, osixjcially when it is repeated; with the dangers to which it may expose her. VIII. It may bo well, occasionally, to insinuate to her some match, but be sure to mention one she has an aversion to; whilo If she has a fondness for any person, lot his vices and failings bo rep- esented to her in a proper light, that she may abhor tho thought of changing her condition for an alliance with any jHsrson whatever. IX. When sho has firmly determined to continue a widow, then recommend to her a spiritual life but not a recluso one tho Inconveniences of which must Ihj magnified to her but such a ono as 'aulas or Eustachia s, etc., and when tho confessor has got so far that ho can irevail with her to make a solemn vow of chastity, for two or throe years, at least; then let him take due care to op- )ose all tendencies to a second marriage. la may then forbid her from all conver sations with men, and diversions even with her near relatives and kinsmen, under pretense of entering into a stricter union with God. Take learo, too, that no ecclesiastic of any order but our own visits that widow, or receives visits from her. If this cannot bo done, lot no mm seo her in a religious capacity, unless ho can bo trusted. Thus, for a time, our confessor may subside in tho arnestnoss or his vigilance, if he Is sure that his work is being done by somo ono else. X. When all this is cralned. tho widow must gradually bo excited to tho performance of good works, especially works of charity, which cost nothlntr but money and ostentation; but even this sho must not do on a large Bcalo, without tho consent of her confessor, since It is of lasting Importance to her soul, that her talent Ihj so laid out as to promote her spiritual interests; and she must Ihj reminded that charity, when ill-applied, often proves the cause of sin in others, which effaces tho merit and reward that would otherwise attend t.hn giver." (To oo Uontliiuuu,)
