Editing Jesuits (section)

===Post-Vatican II===
The 20th century witnessed both growth and decline of the order. Following a trend within the Catholic priesthood at large, Jesuit numbers peaked in the 1950s and have declined steadily since. Meanwhile, the number of Jesuit institutions has grown considerably, due in large part to a post–[[Vatican II]] focus on the establishment of Jesuit secondary schools in [[inner-city]] areas and an increase in voluntary lay groups inspired in part by the [[Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola|''Spiritual Exercises'']]. Among the notable Jesuits of the 20th century, [[John Courtney Murray]] was called one of the "architects of the [[Second Vatican Council]]" and drafted what eventually became the council's endorsement of religious freedom, {{lang|la|[[Dignitatis humanae]]}}.

In Latin America, the Jesuits had significant influence in the development of [[liberation theology]], a movement that was controversial in the Catholic community after the negative assessment of it by [[Pope John Paul II]] in 1984.<ref>{{cite news |last=Novak |first=Michael |author-link=Michael Novak |date=21 October 1984 |title=The Case Against Liberation Theology |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/21/magazine/the-case-against-liberation-theology.html |work=The New York Times Magazine |access-date=31 May 2017 |language=en-US |archive-date=20 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170620230247/http://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/21/magazine/the-case-against-liberation-theology.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

Under Superior General [[Pedro Arrupe]], [[social justice]] and the preferential option for the poor emerged as dominant themes of the work of the Jesuits. When Arrupe was paralyzed by a stroke in 1981, Pope John Paul II, not entirely pleased with the progressive turn of the Jesuits, took the unusual step of appointing the venerable and aged [[Paolo Dezza]] for an interim to oversee "the authentic renewal of the Church",<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/homilies/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_20121999_card-dezza.html |date=20 December 1999 |title=Eulogy for His Eminence Cardinal Paolo Dezza |author=John Paul II |website=The Holy See |access-date=31 May 2017 |archive-date=1 February 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200201113639/http://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/homilies/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_hom_20121999_card-dezza.html |url-status=live }}</ref> instead of the progressive American priest [[Vincent O'Keefe]] whom Arrupe had preferred.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,922654,00.html |title=Religion: John Paul Takes On the Jesuits |date=9 November 1981 |magazine=Time |access-date=31 May 2017 |language=en-US |issn=0040-781X |archive-date=20 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170720193630/http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,922654,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In 1983, John Paul gave leave for the Jesuits to appoint [[Peter Hans Kolvenbach]] as a successor to Arrupe.

On 16 November 1989, six Jesuit priests ([[Ignacio Ellacuría]], [[Segundo Montes]], [[Ignacio Martín-Baró]], Joaquin López y López, Juan Ramon Moreno, and Amado López), Elba Ramos their housekeeper, and Celia Marisela Ramos her daughter, were murdered by the [[El Salvador|Salvadoran]] military on the campus of the [[Central American University (San Salvador)|University of Central America]] in [[San Salvador]], El Salvador, because they had been labeled as subversives by the government.{{sfn|Müller|Tausch|Zulehner| Wickens|2000}} The assassinations galvanized the society's peace and justice movements, including annual protests at the [[Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation]] at [[Fort Moore|Fort Benning]], Georgia, United States, where several of the assassins had been trained under US government sponsorship.<ref>{{Cite news |first=Tony |last=Krickl |date=3 February 2007 |title=CGU Student Josh Harris to Spend Two Months in Federal Prison for Protesting |journal=Claremont Courier |url=http://www.claremont-courier.com/pages/Topstory020307.1.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070205085909/http://www.claremont-courier.com/pages/Topstory020307.1.html |archive-date=5 February 2007 |access-date=19 September 2015 }}</ref>

In February 2001, the Jesuit priest [[Avery Dulles]], an internationally known author, lecturer, and theologian, was created a cardinal of the Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II. The son of former Secretary of State [[John Foster Dulles]], Avery Dulles was long known for his carefully reasoned argumentation and fidelity to the teaching office of the church. An author of 22 books and over 700 theological articles, Dulles died in December 2008 at [[Fordham University]], where he had taught for twenty years as the Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society. He was, at his passing, one of ten Jesuit cardinals in the Catholic Church.

In 2002, [[Boston College]] president and Jesuit priest [[William P. Leahy]] initiated the Church in the 21st Century program as a means of moving the church "from crisis to renewal". The initiative has provided the society with a platform for examining issues brought about by the worldwide [[Catholic sex abuse cases]], including the [[priesthood]], celibacy, [[Human sexuality|sexuality]], women's roles, and the role of the [[laity]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Scot |last=Lehigh |title=BC is leading the way on church reform |work=The Boston Globe |date=19 June 2002 |url=http://www.boston.com/globe/spotlight/abuse/stories2/061902_lehigh.htm |access-date=16 June 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926015446/http://archive.boston.com/globe/spotlight/abuse/stories2/061902_lehigh.htm |archive-date=26 September 2018 }}</ref>

[[File:Visita do Papa PUG 2.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|The visit of [[Pope Benedict XVI]] to the Jesuit-run [[Pontifical Gregorian University]]]]
In April 2005, [[Thomas J. Reese]], editor of the American Jesuit weekly magazine ''[[America (Jesuit magazine)|America]]'', resigned at the request of the society. The move was widely published in the media as the result of pressure from the Vatican, following years of criticism by the [[Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith]] on articles touching subjects such as [[AIDS|HIV/AIDS]], [[religious pluralism]], [[Catholic Church and homosexuality|homosexuality]], and the right of life for the unborn. Following his resignation, Reese spent a year-long [[sabbatical]] at [[Santa Clara University]] before being named a [[fellow]] at the [[Woodstock Theological Center]] in Washington, D.C., and later senior analyst for the ''[[National Catholic Reporter]]''. President [[Barack Obama]] appointed him to the [[United States Commission on International Religious Freedom]] in 2014 and again in 2016.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.uscirf.gov/about-uscirf/rev-thomas-j-reese-sj-chair |title=Rev. Thomas J. Reese, S.J., Chair |work=United States Commission on International Religious Freedom |access-date=1 June 2017 |language=en |archive-date=2 June 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170602134818/http://www.uscirf.gov/about-uscirf/rev-thomas-j-reese-sj-chair }}</ref>

In February 2006, [[Peter Hans Kolvenbach]] informed members of the Society of Jesus that, with the consent of [[Pope Benedict XVI]], he intended to step down as superior general in 2008, the year he would turn 80.

On 22 April 2006, during the Feast of Our Lady, Mother of the Society of Jesus, [[Pope Benedict XVI]] greeted thousands of Jesuits on [[Christian pilgrimage|pilgrimage]] to Rome, and took the opportunity to thank God "for having granted to your Company the gift of men of extraordinary sanctity and of exceptional apostolic zeal such as St Ignatius of Loyola, St Francis Xavier, and Blessed [[Peter Faber]]". He said "St Ignatius of Loyola was above all a man of God, who gave the first place of his life to God, to his greater glory and his greater service. He was a man of profound prayer, which found its center and its culmination in the daily Eucharistic Celebration."<ref>{{cite web |author=Benedict XVI |author-link=Benedict XVI |title=Address of his Holiness Benedict XVI to the Fathers and Brothers of the Society of Jesus |date=22 April 2006 |url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2006/april/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20060422_gesuiti_en.html |website=The Holy See |access-date=23 October 2007 |archive-date=30 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930125248/http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2006/april/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20060422_gesuiti_en.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In May 2006, Benedict XVI wrote a letter to Kolvenbach on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Pope Pius XII's encyclical {{lang|la|[[Haurietis aquas]]}}, on devotion to the [[Sacred Heart]], because the Jesuits have always been "extremely active in the promotion of this essential devotion".<ref>{{cite web |author=Benedict XVI |author-link=Benedict XVI |title=Letter to the Superior General of the Society of Jesus on the 50th anniversary of the Encyclical Haurietis Aquas |date=15 May 2006 |url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20060515_50-haurietis-aquas_en.html |website=The Holy See |access-date=23 October 2007 |archive-date=30 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930124809/http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2006/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20060515_50-haurietis-aquas_en.html |url-status=live }}</ref> In his 3 November 2006 visit to the [[Pontifical Gregorian University]], Benedict XVI cited the university as "one of the greatest services that the Society of Jesus carries out for the universal Church".<ref>{{cite web |author=Benedict XVI |author-link=Benedict XVI |title=Visit of the Holy Father to the Pontifical Gregorian University |website=The Holy See |date=3 November 2006 |url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2006/november/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20061103_gregoriana_en.html |access-date=23 October 2007 |archive-date=30 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930123629/http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/speeches/2006/november/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20061103_gregoriana_en.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

In January 2008, the 35th [[General Congregation]] of the Society of Jesus convened and elected [[Adolfo Nicolás]] as the new superior general on 19 January 2008. In a letter to the order, Benedict XVI wrote:<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2008/february/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20080221_gesuiti.html |title=To the Fathers of the General Congregation of the Society of Jesus |date=21 February 2008 |author=Benedict XVI |website=The Holy See |access-date=31 May 2017 |archive-date=14 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514113447/https://w2.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/speeches/2008/february/documents/hf_ben-xvi_spe_20080221_gesuiti.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{blockquote|As my Predecessors have said to you on various occasions, the Church needs you, relies on you and continues to turn to you with trust, particularly to reach those physical and spiritual places which others do not reach or have difficulty in reaching. Paul VI's words remain engraved on your hearts: "Wherever in the Church, even in the most difficult and extreme fields, at the crossroads of ideologies, in the social trenches, there has been and there is confrontation between the burning exigencies of man and the perennial message of the Gospel, here also there have been, and there are, Jesuits".|source=''Address to the 32nd General Congregation of the Jesuits'', 3 December 1974; ORE, 12 December, n. 2, p. 4.}}

[[File:Pope Francis at Vargihna.jpg|thumb|Pope Francis, the first Jesuit pope]]

In 2013, the Jesuit cardinal Jorge Bergoglio became [[Pope Francis]]. Before he became pope, he had been appointed a bishop when he was in "virtual estrangement from the Jesuits" since he was seen as "an enemy of liberation theology" and viewed by others as "still far too orthodox". He was criticised for colluding with the [[National Reorganization Process|Argentine junta]], while biographers characterised him as working to save the lives of other Jesuits.<ref name="ncronline.org">{{Cite news |url=https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/understand-pope-francis-look-jesuits |first1=David |last1=Gibson |title=To understand Pope Francis, look to the Jesuits |date=12 March 2014 |work=National Catholic Reporter |access-date=30 May 2017 |language=en |archive-date=28 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160828172510/https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/understand-pope-francis-look-jesuits |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |url=http://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/pope-francis-and-the-dirty-war |first1=Jon Lee |last1=Anderson |title=Pope Francis and the Dirty War |date=14 March 2013 |magazine=The New Yorker |access-date=1 June 2017 |archive-date=19 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181219055314/https://www.newyorker.com/news/daily-comment/pope-francis-and-the-dirty-war |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2016/10/25/vatican-argentine-church-open-dirty-war-archives-2/ |title=Vatican, Argentine church to open 'dirty war' archives |date=25 October 2016 |work=Crux |access-date=1 June 2017 |language=en-US |agency=Associated Press |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630211729/https://cruxnow.com/global-church/2016/10/25/vatican-argentine-church-open-dirty-war-archives-2/ |archive-date=30 June 2017 }}</ref> As a Jesuit pope, he has stressed discernment over following rules, changing the culture of the clergy to steer away from clericalism and to move toward an ethic of service, i.e. to have the "smell of sheep", staying close to the people.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.jesuits.org/stories/five-years-later-changes-under-pope-francis-are-revealing-his-jesuit-dna/ |title=Five Years Later Changes under Pope Francis are Revealing his Jesuit DNA |first=William |last=Bole |date=5 March 2018 |website=jesuits.org |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230811001454/https://www.jesuits.org/stories/five-years-later-changes-under-pope-francis-are-revealing-his-jesuit-dna/ |archive-date=11 August 2023 }}</ref> After his papal election, Superior General [[Adolfo Nicolás]] praised Pope Francis as a "brother among brothers".<ref name="ncronline.org" />

In October 2016, the 36th General Congregation convened in Rome, convoked by Nicolás, who had announced his intention to resign at age 80.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://jesuits.org/gc?dtn=dtn-20160711030307 |title=General Congregation 36 |website=jesuits.org |access-date=30 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171031030221/http://jesuits.org/gc?dtn=dtn-20160711030307 |archive-date=31 October 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/6206/0/dominican-master-urges-jesuits-to-adopt-audacity-and-humility-in-electing-superior-general |title=Dominican Master urges Jesuits to adopt 'audacity and humility' in electing Superior General |last=Curti |first=Elena |website=www.thetablet.co.uk |access-date=30 May 2017 |archive-date=23 August 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170823045241/http://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/6206/0/dominican-master-urges-jesuits-to-adopt-audacity-and-humility-in-electing-superior-general |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=http://gc36.org/first-session-aula-father-nicolas-resignation/ |title=The first session in the aula and Father Nicolás' resignation – General Congregation 36 |date=3 October 2016 |work=General Congregation 36 |access-date=30 May 2017 |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170710025607/http://gc36.org/first-session-aula-father-nicolas-resignation/ |archive-date=10 July 2017 }}</ref> On 14 October, the 36th General Congregation of the Society of Jesus elected [[Arturo Sosa]], a [[Venezuelans|Venezuelan]], as its thirty-first superior general.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2016/10/14/jesuits-elect-first-latin-american-general/ |title=Jesuits elect first Latin-American general |date=14 October 2016 |work=Crux |access-date=30 May 2017 |language=en-US |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630200030/https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2016/10/14/jesuits-elect-first-latin-american-general/ |archive-date=30 June 2017 }}</ref>

In 2016, the General Congregation that elected Arturo Sosa, asked him to complete the process of discerning Jesuit priorities for the time ahead. Sosa devised a plan that enlisted all Jesuits and their lay collaborators in the process of discernment over a 16-month period. In February 2019, he presented the results of the discernment, a list of four priorities for Jesuit ministries for the next ten years.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2019/03/28/how-jesuits-four-new-universal-apostolic-priorities-support-social-enterprise |title=How the Jesuits' four new universal apostolic priorities support social enterprise |date=28 March 2019 |website=America Magazine |language=en |access-date=1 October 2019 |archive-date=2 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200102221039/https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2019/03/28/how-jesuits-four-new-universal-apostolic-priorities-support-social-enterprise |url-status=live }}</ref>

{{blockquote|
# To show the way to God through discernment and the [[Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola]];
# To walk with the poor, the outcasts of the world, those whose dignity has been violated, in a mission of reconciliation and justice;
# To accompany young people in the creation of a hope-filled future;
# To collaborate in the care of our Common Home.}}

Pope Francis gave his approval to these priorities, saying that they were in harmony with the church's present priorities and with the programmatic letter of his pontificate, {{lang|la|[[Evangelii gaudium]]}}.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2019/02/19/pope-francis-approves-four-priorities-jesuits-next-decade |title=Pope Francis approves four priorities for the Jesuits' next decade |date=19 February 2019 |website=America Magazine |language=en |access-date=20 February 2019 |archive-date=19 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190219161654/https://www.americamagazine.org/faith/2019/02/19/pope-francis-approves-four-priorities-jesuits-next-decade |url-status=live }}</ref>