Jesuits are not in opposition to the Vatican, new Superior General says

Jan 25, 2008 / 11:35 am

At his first official meeting with the press, Fr. Adolfo Nicolas S.J., the new Superior General of the Society of Jesus, strongly denied any contradiction between the Jesuits and the Vatican.

During the meeting held at the General Curia of the Jesuits in Rome, Fr. Nicolas read a prepared statement and took no questions from the some 50 journalists present at the press conference.

Fr. Nicolas’ statement included some brief stories and anecdotes illustrating his long pastoral experience in Asia. "I am in Asia and Asia is in me, and that is good for the Church," he said.

The new head of the Jesuits also said that the General Congregation is the supreme authority of the Society of Jesus, therefore "I am expecting some general guidelines (from the Congregation) to start my mission as Superior General."

"There has never been and there is not opposition between the Pope and the Society of Jesus, between the Jesuits and the Vatican," Fr. Nicolas said in his statement.

"It is not true that there is a theological distance between the new General of the Jesuits and Pope Ratzinger," he added.

"I am an unknown and therefore newspapers are not finding anything about me, so they search and sometimes they invent," he also said.