Re-formed Jesuits - A History Of Changes In Jesuit Formation During The Decade 1965-1975

The Re-formed Jesuits, Vol. 1 A History Of Changes In Jesuit Formation During The Decade 1965-1975
Item Number: 2003	Purchase Information Your Price: $19.95 Select Qty: Availability: Usually leaves our store within 3-5 Business Days

Large

Product Details
Author: Format: ISBN: H x W x D: Manufacturer: Date: Pages:	Fr. Joseph Becker, S.J. Soft Cover 0-89870-402-2 8" (20.3 cm) x 5 1/4" (13.3 cm) x 1" (2.54 cm) Ignatius Press 1992 420

General Description:

Joseph Becker, S.J.

In the decade following the Second Vatican Council--roughly 1965-1975--the Jesuit order underwent an internal transformation probably greater than any it had experienced in its previous 400 years. The Re-Formed Jesuits provides a detailed history of this Jesuit experience in the United States.

This history has significance beyond itself on at least three levels. First, nearly all the other religious orders in the United States have had a similar experience. In the absence of detailed histories of the other orders, as is currently the case, this Jesuit narrative can serve to illuminate that larger world. Further, the entire Catholic Church, at least in the West, has undergone a similar transformation, stemming from similar roots. A detailed history like the present one provides a unique window into that larger scene.

The Jesuit history lies within still another circle of significance: it is part of a major cultural shift in the West and supplies a unique measure of the strength of that shift. It was not to have been expected that the religious orders--with their initial selectivity of candidates, their long period of controlled training and their relatively secluded lifestyle--would have resonated so closely with the secular culture. The extent to which the Jesuits were affected by the general cultural shift serves as a kind of seismic measure of the strength of that shift.

The Re-Formed Jesuits is primarily a narration of events and an identification of causes--both efficient cause (who made the change?) and final cause (why was the change made?). This history is based almost entirely on primary sources, which include several hundred interviews with people who were active in bringing about changes. The history is also based, of course, on documents of many kinds: proceedings of meetings, house histories, official published documents, and much correspondence.

"No doubt about it, the transformation of the Society of Jesus is intimately related to the organizational change in the Church; the Society, by its official status and its centuries-old achievements, had become an integral and vital part of the Church's organization and institutional function. For anyone seeking to understand what happened to that Church organization, Joseph M. Becker's work is a must."
- Malachi Martin, Author, The Jesuits
"In the '60s and '70s Americans went through a period of rapid and radical cultural change. Father Becker shows that the effects of that culture `shock' were manifested in young men who entered the Jesuits during that time. They changed the Society of Jesus and made it into what it is today."
- Fr. Kenneth Baker, S.J., Editor, Homiletic And Pastoral Review

"Much has been written on the Jesuits since the Second Vatican Council. No one has studied their development with such thorough and meticulous care as Father Joseph Becker. His book will stand as perhaps the single most comprehensive and insightful work on post-conciliar American religious life."
- James Hitchcock, Saint Louis University

Fr. Joseph Becker, S.J., formerly a professor at Georgetown University and Saint Louis University, is presently the Director of the Jesuit Center for Religious Studies, Xavier University.

Browse For Similar Items In

Share This Item

(What are these?) : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : :

A Tiber River reviewer hasn't written a review for this book yet.
Sign up as a Tiber River reviewer and see your review here!
(Apart from fame, you can also earn money and free books for writing reviews.)

Reviews

Be The First To Review This Item!

1. Respect Life Sunday 10/03/2008

2. About the Battle of Lepanto 10/01/2008

3. The Women Who Led the Way 04/01/1996

The Re-formed Jesuits, Vol. 1

Joseph Becker, S.J.