(CWN) Pope Benedict delivered a stern, no-nonsense message to Jesuit leaders on February 21. The CWN coverage of the Pope’s talk was not terribly different from the accounts carried here and here and even here. If you read Italian, or if the Vatican eventually posts a translation, you can find the full text here, and judge for yourself. The Holy Father’s intention was unmistakable.
Leaders of the Society of Jesus have done their best to downplay the tension between the Jesuit order and the Vatican. The new superior general suggested that the perception of a rift between the Jesuits and the Pope is a myth created by the mass media. Pope Benedict was fairly blunt in acknowledging that the problem is real.
You might think that when the Pope chooses to send a strong message, the Vatican press office would be careful to convey that message. But curiously, if you read the official summary and excerpts provided by the Vatican Information Service, the severity of the Pope’s message doesn’t come through to English-language readers.
Make of it what you will.
