Storia do Mogor 369.4

369.4

In my opinion, the Jesuit concession to caste distinctions in Christian worship was their gravest mistake, for the recognition of any such differences strikes at the root of Christianity conceived as a religion for all men, and not only for some chosen race of peculiar people. Surely in the sight of God all Christians are equal? Another prominent point which strikes one in these disputes is the excessive reluctance of the Jesuit order to bow to authority, although implicit obedience is one of their fundamental doctrines. From 1699 to 1744, for five-and-forty years, they struggled with the Popes, and tried their best to get their own way. Perhaps their most sensible defence is that put forward by a modern writer, the Reverend Father Auguste Jean, S.J., in 'Le Maduré, l'Ancienne et la Nouvelle Mission' (Brussels, Société de St. Augustin, 1894, 2 vols.), i. 209: 'Nous nous soumettons à sa' (the Church's) 'décision d'esprit et de cœur. Nous regardons cette décision comme définitive: elle ne laisse plus place à la discussion. Rome a parlé; il suffit.' He holds that up to 1744 the Pope's approval of Cardinal de Tournon's decree was provisional, and left it open for the Jesuits to refuse to obey it while prosecuting their appeals.