Who Are the Jesuits, and Should You Be Concerned Today?
By Stuart Quint
Rome commemorates the death of Ignatius of Loyola on July 31 each year.[i] Loyola was the notorious founder of the Society of Jesus, also known as the “Jesuits”. While the man died long ago, his movement lives on with its malicious mission nearly 500 years later.
The Jesuit agenda has relevance today for America, Europe, and other nations around the world.
Former Catholic priest Richard Bennett recognized the danger:
“It is a well-established fact that the Jesuits throughout their history have caused many serious disturbances by their nefarious schemes within the civil governments of many countries. Over the centuries, they have justifiably earned their reputation as troublemakers to the extent that they were denied residence in some nations for varying periods of time.”[ii]
This article will explore the historical record of nations that “denied residence to Jesuits”. We will also highlight current celebrities educated under the “nefarious schemes” of the Jesuits.
When considering the Jesuits, we should avoid extremes. One extreme is to give the Jesuits too much credit and stoke needless, irrational panic. However, today, we see another extreme that is more common: many ignore or underestimate the impact of Jesuits in history and today.[iii]
For us to stand in the time of trouble in our day, we need to be able to see the enemy. “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.”[iv]
Our encouragement in the Lord is that He will eventually expose the false Jesuit prophets and judge them. In the end. “Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”[v]
The Fanatical Founder of the Jesuits[vi]
The historian J.A. Wylie draws remarkable parallels between Loyola and the Jesuits to Luther and the Reformers.[vii] His comparison goes beyond the fact that both men were born and lived around the same time in the 1500’s.
Both men began as stubborn, secular careerists. Near disastrous events turned their lives to strict, even fanatical, Catholicism.
Loyola was a military officer who refused to surrender until forced to by a near fatal injury. Luther was set on a career as a lawyer until nearly being struck dead by lightning.
Both men turned to extreme asceticism in Catholic monasteries. Both Loyola and Luther were tortured by their consciences as the guilt of their sin weighed heavily upon them. This austere Catholicism brought out their passion, genius, and organizational skills.
Yet, this is where the similarities end.
Luther dove deeper into God’s Word. God used Luther’s circumstances not only to drive him to a personal faith in Christ alone through grace alone. He also prompted Luther to teach others in rediscovering the core doctrines of the Reformation taught in Scripture. God’s working in Luther’s life led to the liberation of many people and even cultures from the dead works of the false gospel of Rome.
In contrast, Loyola strayed deeply into Catholic mysticism. He performed acts of self-humiliation and masochism to deepen his devotion to “Mary”. This asceticism made Loyola claim he saw fanatical visions of Heaven and Hell, Mary and Jesus. Eventually, he convinced himself to become a “knight for Mary” serving as a “soldier of Jesus”. He would offer his unconditional loyalty to the Roman Pope and aggressively recruited other men to his fanatic cause.
At first, Loyola’s initial intent was to serve “Mary” by converting the heathen Muslims in the Promised Land. Over time, he recognized the more urgent need was to fight heresy in lands dominated by Catholicism. Loyola saw Reformed Christians as the main opposition to his zealous devotion to Mary.
The Founding of the Jesuits[viii]
Loyola named his group “the Society of Jesus”. There existed other orders in the Roman Catholic Church, such as the Augustinians, Dominicans, and Franciscans. However, members of these orders stayed inside their monasteries and churches. They also had earned a harsh reputation for corruption and fell into disrepute among people. At times, these orders clashed with the Popes.
The Jesuits would be different.
They would not stick to the comforts of a monastery. Rather, Jesuits would travel anywhere as their leadership ordered them. Their mandate was to go preach outside, serve the least fortunate of the sick and poor, and open schools and colleges. Jesuits also sought control of the upper classes. They befriended members of the political and economic elites as counselors and confessors. The goal of the Jesuits was for absolute subjection to the Roman Pope and destruction of dissenting belief in God’s Word alone. Hence, many refer to the Jesuits as the movement of “Counter Reformation”.[ix]
Imitating Loyola’s asceticism, the Jesuits also enforced strict discipline. Entry into the order was demanding and could take months and even years to ascend the ranks. Jesuits were to learn absolute obedience, to the point of doing and thinking as the leader, the “Successor General”, commanded them.
Loyola illustrates the ironclad authority of the Society over any independent and rational judgment of the individual. “If we wish to proceed securely in all things, we must hold fast to the following principle: What seems to me white, I will believe black if the hierarchical Church so defines.”[x]
Obedience to the Jesuit order encompassed more than forfeiting one’s rational judgment. The Jesuit must also yield in terms of his moral conscience, even to the point of violating God’s Word for the sake of the order.
Jesuit theologians justify and practice sins contrary to God’s Word: lying under oath[xi], theft[xii], murder[xiii],and blasphemy[xiv].
It should be no surprise that the Jesuits have left for us such a long and tarnished legacy of ill fruit.
Loyola recorded his methods for ascetic discipline in The Spiritual Disciplines.[xv] The fruit of these “disciplines” is quite visible today in acolytes such as Pope Francis[xvi] and Dr. Robert Redfield, head of the US CDC.[xvii]
Pope Paul III in 1540 blessed the formation and statutes of the Society of Jesus despite opposition from other Catholic orders. Rome was weakened by the gains of the Reformation. The Jesuits’ zeal and unquestioning loyalty appealed to the Pope. Other Popes later would have varying levels of confidence in the Jesuits. One even dissolved the order, only for the next to restore them later.
The Jesuits today are the largest order in the Roman Catholic Church.[xviii] Pope Francis is the most visible authority in the Roman Catholic Church and the first Jesuit Pope in history.[xix]
The Bitter Fruit of the Jesuits
The Jesuits have left an indelible mark on history. Their influence and havoc has ranged from communist indigenous colonies in Paraguay to syncretism in India, civil war in China and Germany, genocide in Bohemia, disastrous war with Muslims in Portugal, stagnation in Spain, attempted coup in England, and even an imposter tsar in Russia.[xx] They have been tied to collaboration with fascists in Europe[xxi] and assassination of heads of state, including President Abraham Lincoln in the US.[xxii] All kinds of moral scandals also pervaded the Jesuits in their relations, especially with women.[xxiii]
Numerous nations expelled the Jesuits because of their malice!
“Between 1555 and 1931 the Society of Jesus was expelled from at least 83 countries, city-states and cities, for engaging in political intrigue and subversive plots against the welfare of the State, according to the records of a Jesuit priest of repute [Ed.: i.e., Thomas J. Campbell].… Practically every instance of expulsion was for political intrigue, political infiltration, political subversion, and inciting to political insurrection. “[xxiv]
We need to remember politics is a tool, not an end, for the Jesuits. The goal is secular and spiritual domination under their rule. The Jesuits seek to co-opt the secular authorities to persecute and eliminate the influence of God’s true people from the scene.
The successors of both Loyola and Luther continue in conflict today.
One objection today is: “Well, those were the Jesuits of old. They have changed. Today, they are more liberal, weaker, and kinder. Why should we worry about the Jesuits?”
The Holy Scriptures address the deceptive nature of the Antichrist system in its ability to adapt its appearance to cater to a specific audience. Antichrist appears “gentle like a lamb”. Yet, God’s Word also reveals that the essence of Antichrist does not change!
“And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.”[xxv]
Indeed, the Jesuits are well-trained in adapting to the context of the audience whom they woo. [xxvi] Future articles will unpack these questions in detail and relate them to our current day.
Famous People under Jesuit Influence
Major players in the COVID crisis in the US are Jesuit alumni! They include: Dr. Anthony Fauci, Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York, Governor Gavin Newsom of California, and President Donald Trump![xxvii] (Trump studied for 2 years at the Jesuit Fordham University in New York.) Additionally, Dr. Robert Redfield, head of the US Center for Disease Control (“CDC”), is another Jesuit graduate and a key player in Operation Warp Speed.[xxviii]
Former US President Bill Clinton graduated from the Jesuit Georgetown University.[xxix]
Ivan Duque[xxx], President of Colombia, Alejandro Toledo, former President of Peru, Mario Draghi[xxxi], former head of the European Central Bank, and both brothers Fidel and Raul Castro, former and current head of Cuba, graduated from Jesuit schools.[xxxii]
The Jesuits are just as influential and menacing today as they were 500 years ago.
Conclusion: What Should We Do?
If you are Catholic, you need to see the danger of your soul. These Jesuits blaspheme the name of Christ for their ill-gotten gain. The Roman Church supports these false prophets and will suffer God’s judgment with them.
But you do not have to suffer along with them. Leave Rome! Depart from her sins! “Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity; for this is the time of the Lord‘s vengeance; he will render unto her a recompence.”[xxxiii]
Run to Christ! Make Him your refuge. Ask Him for forgiveness, directly. “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.”[xxxiv]
If you profess Christ Jesus as your savior, let us remember that our struggle is not against flesh and blood. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.”[xxxv]
May we heed the words of Charles Spurgeon. He was quite familiar with the wiles of Rome and her Jesuits. Over 100 years later, his words of action are relevant for us as we face the same enemies he did. Let us pray to the Lord against the Antichrist of Rome:
“It is the bounden duty of every Christian to pray against Antichrist, and as to what Antichrist is no sane man ought to raise a question. If it be not the popery in the Church of Rome there is nothing in the world that can be called by that name. If there were to be issued a hue and cry for Antichrist, we should certainly take up this church on suspicion, and it would certainly not be let loose again, for it so exactly answers the description.”[xxxvi]
[i] https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/31-days-with-saint-ignatius/ accessed on July 25, 2020.
[ii] https://bb.berea.edu.pl/pope-francis-shows-his-true-colors-2/ accessed on July 26, 2020.
[iii] One factor that has desensitized Christians to the Jesuits is fabricated testimonies. For instance, doubts over the credibility of Alberto Rivera, the role model for Chick comic strips on the Jesuits, are significant. See https://www.biblebasedministries.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/The-Alberto-Rivera-Story.pdf accessed on July 25, 2020. (Shaun Willcock is a pastor in South Africa who had worked for a time with Rivera.)
Another factor is the growing attraction of evangelicals for ecumenism with Rome. This has blinded them to the false gospel of Catholicism and thus to the dangerous Jesuits. See https://bb.berea.edu.pl/ecumenism/ for a whole list of articles.
[iv] Matthew 7:15.
[v] Matthew 7:19-20.
[vi] Much of the material for this section comes from J.A. Wylie’s “History of the Jesuits” in History of Protestantism on https://bb.berea.edu.pl/history-of-the-jesuits/ accessed July 25, 2020. See also Theodor Griesinger, The History of the Jesuits (G.P. Putnam’s Sons: New York, 1883), Vol 1-3.
[vii] See chapter 1 on https://bb.berea.edu.pl/history-of-the-jesuits/ accessed July 25, 2020
[viii] Much of the material for this section comes from J.A. Wylie’s “History of the Jesuits” in History of Protestantism on https://bb.berea.edu.pl/history-of-the-jesuits/ accessed July 25, 2020. See also Theodor Griesinger, The History of the Jesuits (G.P. Putnam’s Sons: New York, 1883), Vol 1-3.
[ix] https://bb.berea.edu.pl/the-counter-reformation-and-the-jesuit-order/ accessed on July 26, 2020.
[x] http://www.ibosj.ca/2013/04/thinking-with-church.html accessed on July 27, 2020.
[xi] Jesuit theologian Sanchez states, “A man may swear that he hath not done such a thing, though he really have [perjury]…” J.A. Wylie, The History of Protestantism, (Heartland Publications: 2002, Rapidan, VA) 1121.
[xii] Jesuit teacher Emmanuel Sa writes: “But it is not a mortal sin to take secretly from him who would give if he were asked.” Ibid., 1122.
[xiii] Reginald permitted the murder of false witnesses (on the assumption they might murder you otherwise); Fagundez allowed parents seeking to turn their children away from Rome “may justify be killed by them”; Amicus allowed “calumniators” to be murdered “when other means of defence are wanting.” Idem.
[xiv] The Jesuit Casnedi believed: “Do what your conscience tells you to be good, and commanded if through invincible error you believe lying or blasphemy to be commanded by God, blaspheme.” Idem.
[xv] http://www.ignatianspirituality.com/ignatian-prayer/the-spiritual-exercises/ accessed on July 26, 2020.
[xvi] https://bb.berea.edu.pl/pope-francis-master-of-jesuit-spiritual-exercises/ and https://bb.berea.edu.pl/pope-francis-shows-his-true-colors-2/ both accessed on July 26, 2020.
[xvii] https://bb.berea.edu.pl/28721/ accessed on July 26, 2020.
[xviii] https://www.jesuits.org/about-us/the-jesuits/ accessed on July 27, 2020.
[xix] http://wuja.org/2013/07/01/habemus-papam/ accessed on July 27, 2020.
[xx] Theodor Griesinger, The History of the Jesuits (G.P. Putnam’s Sons: New York, 1883), Vol 1, Book 2.
[xxi] E.H. Lehmann, Behind the Dictators: A Factual Analysis of the Relationship of Nazi-Fascism and Roman Catholicism, (Kindle: 2015).
[xxii] Charles Chiniquy, 50 Years in the “Church” of Rome: The Conversion of a Priest, (Chick Publications: 1985, Chino, CA), 291-310.
[xxiii] Griesinger, Vol. 1, Book 3.
[xxiv] J.E.C. Shepherd, The Babington Plot: Jesuit Intrigue in Elizabethan England, (Toronto: Wittenburg Publications, 1987).
[xxv] Revelation 13:11. Author’s emphasis.
[xxvi] Jesuits used different strategies in Germany and China from the 16th to the 18th centuries. In Germany, Jesuit coercion led to forced conversions, exile, or execution of Protestants. In China, where they were less powerful, Jesuits resorted to compromise. They promoted syncretism of Catholic and pagan religion. Priests dressed like pagan Mandarins, and Confucius was adored in Masses like a god. See Griesinger, Vol. 1, Book 2 and Vol. 2, Book 4.
[xxvii] http://wuja.org/2020/04/27/fauci-cuomo-trump-three-jesuit-alumni-three-different-ways-of-dealing-with-the-coronavirus-crisis-in-the-land-of-uncle-sam/ accessed on July 27, 2020.
[xxviii] https://bb.berea.edu.pl/28721/ accessed on July 27, 2020.
[xxix] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Clinton accessed on July 27, 2020.
[xxx] https://latinamerica.georgetown.edu/ accessed on July 29, 2020.
[xxxi] https://www.ft.com/content/8fca75b8-4535-11e2-838f-00144feabdc0 accessed on July 29, 2020. Pope Francis appointed Draghi in June to head the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/pope-francis-appoints-former-european-central-bank-chief-mario-draghi-to-pontifical-academy-89403 accessed on July 29, 2020.
[xxxii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_alumni_of_Jesuit_educational_institutions accessed on July 29, 2020.
[xxxiii] Jeremiah 51:6.
[xxxiv] 1 Timothy 2:5.
[xxxv] 2 Corinthians 10:4.
[xxxvi] Charles Haddon Spurgeon, “Pray for Jesus”, Sermon on October 12, 1866 at Metropolitan Tabernacle, on https://www.spurgeon.org/resource-library/sermons/pray-for-jesus/#flipbook/ accessed on July 27, 2020.
