Regarding the recent decision of the Boston College administration to cancel a homosexual dance on campus, it's fairly clear that this is not an indication of any rediscovered love or respect of authentic Catholic teaching at that benighted "Catholic" university. Rather, it is more likely an attempt at putting on a good face at a time when the Vatican-sponsored apostolic visitation of American seminaries is underway. The BC administration is no doubt afraid of drawing any undue attention to itself during this time when the Vatican is attempting to rip out the homosexual influence from Catholic institutions root and branch. Where love and respect are lacking, fear is an acceptable substitute.
But back to the subject at hand, the above-linked editorial from the BC campus newspaper deserves a heavy dose of refutation. They wrote:
"The question at this point is whether BC is willing to sacrifice its Jesuit ideals of compassion and understanding in order to stay in the good graces of the Vatican."
From this statement, it is clear to me that no one is bothering to teach the Catechism of the Catholic Church at BC these days. Nor, obviously, is anyone teaching the life of St. Ignatius or a history of the Jesuit order in general.
If the editors had taken any of these courses, they would know that there are supposed to be no points of contradiction between the teachings of the Catholic Church and the "ideals" of the Jesuit order. Where such points of conflict exist, the latter is supposed to give way to the former, as lies give way to Truth. If certain Jesuits insist on holding fast to "ideals" which contradict those teachings of the Church deemed to be infallible, then those individuals have separated themselves from the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
And where, exactly, do the editors get their definition of the "ideals" of the Jesuits? Here's a quote from the original Jesuit, St. Ignatius Loyola. I would encourage BC students to read it and then tell me where, exactly, Ignatius is making "compassion and understanding" of heresy an "ideal" of the Jesuits:
"The heretics have made their false theology popular and presented it in a way that is within the capacity of the common people. They preach it to the people and teach it in the schools, and scatter pamphlets that can be bought and understood by many; they influence people by their writings when they cannot reach them by preaching. Their success is largely due to the negligence of those who should have shown some interest, and the bad example and the ignorance of Catholics, especially the clergy, have made such ravages in the vineyard of the Lord. Hence it would seem that our Society should use the following means to end and cure the evils which the Church has suffered through these heretics."
Ignatius then gives suggestions for his Jesuits to fight the heresies then raging in 16th century Spain. Students at BC might be surprised (given the dreadful amount of anti-Catholic propaganda that masquerades as history filtering into classrooms at ostensibly Catholic universities) that Ignatius didn't suggest violence, censorship, or any form of legal coersion. Instead, Ignatius argued that heresy was best fought by learned men and clergy teaching solid catechesis in universities which were unwaveringly loyal to Catholic doctrine.
The letter, in its entirety, may be read here:
http://www.library.georgetown.edu/woodstock/ignatius-letters/letter34
That is the TRUE Jesuit ideal from the primary Jesuit. "Compassion and understanding" are to be used to help the erring heretic see the light of Truth, not to confirm him in his error or enable her to imagine herself as righteous in the eyes of Almighty God while continuing to wallow in grotesquely sinful behavior. There is absolutely no compassion in enabling sin, nor is there understanding in condoning the propagation of vile behaviors.
Therefore, I applaud the BC administration for their cancellation of this supremely unCatholic event. I pray that the administration will continue to be similarly courageous in the future, and I ask St. Isaac Jogues to pray for them as they attempt to withstand the furious outcry which will no doubt be soon forthcoming from the usual suspects.
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