The superior general of the Society of Jesus, Venezuelan priest Arturo Sosa, has convoked a meeting of all the Jesuit major superiors to be held this October in Rome to discuss various topics such as their life and mission, the vow of poverty, sexual abuse in their communities, and the role of women in their apostolate, among others.
This will be the third time that the Jesuit major superiors meet, after the meetings held in 2000 and 2005. This time, the event will be held Oct. 17–26 in the context of the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope.
In a letter dated Jan. 16, Sosa noted that the October meeting “represents an important step in the process of discernment of the life-mission of the Society of Jesus inspired by the 36th General Congregation,” which urged the Jesuits to “respond courageously to the signs through which the Holy Spirit is leading us in the best way to serve the mission entrusted by the Lord Jesus to the Church.”
The superior general also highlighted that “the examination of the meaning and challenge of the vow of poverty, together with the revision of the Statutes on Religious Poverty of the Society of Jesus and the Instruction on Administration and Finance, are other areas the Holy Spirit has called to the attention of the Jesuits.”
Sosa also noted in the letter that in recent years “it has been difficult to become aware of the presence of all kinds of abuse in all the social contexts in which we live and work. It has been difficult to recognize its presence within our communities and apostolic works.”
In this regard the superior general emphasized that “important steps have been taken: acknowledging each case, taking the pertinent measures, facilitating processes of justice and reconciliation. At the same time, programs have been developed to prevent possible cases and strengthen ‘safe environments’ in apostolic works.”
Perhaps one of the most difficult cases of abuse that the Jesuits have faced in recent years is that of the Slovenian artist and priest Marko Rupnik, who faces multiple accusations of spiritual, psychological, and sexual abuse against more than 40 nuns under his care and who was expelled from the Society of Jesus in June 2023.
Other cases that have received wide media coverage are those of Father Alfonso Pedrajas, “Padre Pica,” a Spanish priest who died in 2009 and who abused at least 80 minors in Bolivia; and that of the Chilean priest Felipe Berríos, who was expelled from the Society of Jesus after being found guilty of abusing “seven women who were between 14 and 23 years old when the abuse occurred.”
In April 2024, Father Julio Fernández Techera, a Jesuit priest and rector of the Catholic University of Uruguay, wrote a critical essay on the Society of Jesus, warning that the order is in “profound decline.”
Similar criticisms were expressed in 2022 by the late Cardinal George Pell, who suggested that an apostolic visit or investigation of the Society of Jesus be carried out because “the order is highly centralized, susceptible to being reformed or ruined from above.”
In his Jan. 16 letter, Sosa wrote that “in the apostolic life of the society there are processes underway” such as “the reflection on the role of women in the apostolate of the society,” the Jesuit brothers, education, commitment to integral ecology, and the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius and the constitutions.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
