The Return of the Jesuit

"If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the LORD will reward you." (Proverbs 25:21-22)

"The hands of the King are healing hands, and thus shall the rightful King be known." (J.R.R. Tolkien, The Return of the King)

As many have noted, Fr. Maciel spent his life warning his followers about the Jesuits. For their part, the Jesuits have mostly ignored Fr. Maciel and the Legion - at least in public - secure in the knowledge that centuries of canonized saints is proof of the Ignatian charism.

Which is why it's surprising to read Fr. Orlando Contreras, S.J. weigh into the controversy. For those who understand Spanish, you can read his reflection here. For those like me whose Spanish is far from perfect, Babelfish offers an uncharacteristically clear translation of key points. (Click here).

What's noticeable in the cyber-translation is the Jesuit knack for discerning spirits, speaking the truth through Charity. What's also noticeable is the clarity of his thought. Even the babelfish translation for the most part sounds like normal English.

So here are some of Fr. Orlando's thoughts, courtesy of babelfish:

"The truth, however painful, help, purified and cries out for justice for the victims, their relatives [...] Truth also asked for forgiveness and mercy to the victimizer, first, of their victims, as seen in the same report-and of God that God is more than ever when you can show and reveal his infinite mercy. And because the P. Maciel did not believe that, as Church, we have to apologize to victims for the damage he did this brother of ours.

"Truth also does justice to the Church and the Congregation founded by Fr Maciel: The Legionaries of Christ. This is because many would not see or hear what was happening in the intimate environment of its founder. So the sin of one step to be the sin of many who have hidden and silent truth.

"No doubt that all who are part of the Legionaries of Christ (priests and laity) must be suffering a lot with this painful truth. Many of them have been cheated by hiding the truth. They also should apologize to them.

"The mercy of God with Father Maciel, the Legionaries of Christ and the Church leads to the personal and communal conversion. This conversion makes us think, first of all victims of these abuses and to seek, as far as possible, [to] repair the damage. We say as far as possible because we know it is impossible for humans to repair the damage. But what is not possible for us is possible with God. So we have more confidence in what God can do that in what we do because the latter, always fall short."

If Fr. Orlando is any indication of what his brother Jesuits are thinking, it would seem that the Jesuit conspiracy is centered around truth, forgiveness, and abandonment to God's mercy. No wonder Fr. Maciel feared the Jesuits.