Reply #17: This goes back to the Counter-Reformation.

[happyslug]

When Luther and than Calvin started the Reformation to was to "Reform" the Catholic Church (For more details see http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12700b.htm). Most of these Reforms that had been kicked around since the Great Schism of 1378-1415. (For details see http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/13539a.htm00s.)

Anyway starting about 1560 the Catholic Church started the "Counter-Reformation" (For more details see http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04437a.htm).

The counter-reformation had a two track attack, first was the Society of Jesus (The Jesuits, See http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14081a.htm for more details). The Jesuits, while founded by an ex-military man, was intended by its founder to "Fight" for the Church. The Military officer had little education himself but realized that when fighting an idea (Lutheranism and Calvinism) you had to have people who understood that idea and could fight it at an intellectual level. Thus the Jesuits were ALWAYS Highly Educated people. Furthermore they thought nothing of education their own people or anyone else who wanted to be educated. As educated people who studied not only Catholic Dogmas, but the Writings of Luther, Calvin, Mohammad, Buddha and anybody else. To this day the Jesuits have an reputation as being among the most educated of all religious orders (Both inside and outside the Catholic Church). This high education also brings with it a strong tendency to liberalism and identification that their job as an educated elite is to help the poor. In effect the Jesuits were (and are) the left wing of the Church, but also its military wing.

The Second track against the Reformation was the establishment of large gilded courts. Prior to the reformation you had Kings and Popes building larger and larger castles, Palaces, Cathedrals etc, but these were not only for the use of the Ruling elite but to be seen by everyone. In The counter-Reformation this changed. Palaces were made bigger to keep a larger and larger number of the provincial ruling elites around the Kings of Europe. This expanded even more so after the end of the 30 Year war (1618-1648 See the following for details: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/14648b.htm).

This build up of the central Courts of Europe was part of a plan to make sure all of the movers and shakers of a Country was always (or as much as possible) in the Court of the King. This strengthen both the King and the Church Hierarchy (And even Protestant Countries adopted these new centralized Courts to control their Nobility). This is the Right wing of the Church. Opus Dei is just the latest grouping of this wing.

The left and Right wing of the Church have fought ever since the 30 year war. The left saying take care of the Poor and you will win them for the Church, the Right Wing answer was control both the Church and Civil hierarchy and the poor will follow. This split became so bad that France and Spain both kicked out the Jesuits in 1764 (for France) and 1767 (For Spain). While this was one of the way stops to the French revolution (The King of France lost one of his accesses to what was happening in his own Country), it was worse for Spain. In the New World the Jesuits had been the Governmental Bureaucracy, when the Jesuits were suppressed the King of Spain lost almost ALL ACCESS To what was happening in his Empire in the New World (and lost it after 1800 when the Ruling elites of Mexico, Central and South America found an excuse to declare themselves independent of Spain).

The Jesuits were reformed in 1814 as the Napoleonic Wars came to an end, but the former loyalty the Jesuits had for the Pope was not as deep as it had been before the Suppression of the 1760s. The reason for the re-establishment was that with the Defeat of Napoleon the Vatican had to face its new enemy, the raising upper middle class controlled Governments. To face such Governments the Pope knew he had to have access to the working class and the best organization to get to the working class was the highly educated Jesuits.

Furthermore the Highly centralized courts of the Pre-Revolutionary period were dying. The Pope realized he could not rely on them to support the Church so he wanted his "Troops" of Jesuits back.

On the other hand the Right wing still wanted more and more power in the hands of the Pope (and thus more power to the Vatican bureaucracy). This continued through the unification of Italy (and the Pope's lost of the Papal States) and even the Concordant between Mussolini and Pius XI that set up the Modern Vatican State.

This split still exist, the intellectual, working for the poor Jesuits against pomp and ceremony that the Right Wing emphasis in the Power to the pope and bishops (Opus Dei). No one knows how it will turn out for both groups are loyal to the Pope. The present Pope has a strong tendency to the "mysteries" of Christianity, which is the emphasis of Opus Dei and the rest of the Right Wing, while he also likes the intellectualism of people who thinks of the hard issues of the day such as how best to help the poor and how to use the position of the Pope and Bishops to help the poor but also keep the peace.

Pope John Paul II is NOT a Jesuit but a product of the Church Hierarchy. Some of his ideas are the same as Opus Dei but he is NOT a member of it (He is also more Socialist than Opus Dei, often pointing out the problems with Capitalism).

The real question is how will the next Pope be, Opus Dei or Jesuit? This Pope has appointed more Conservative Cardinals than Liberal Cardinals but seems to have also made an attempt to favor Opus Dei or the Jesuits. Only time will tell where the Church goes from here.

Here is Opus Dei's web Site for your Information:
http://www.opusdei.org/art.php?w=32&p=7017

Here is the Society of Jesus Web Cite:
http://www.jesuit.org/