St Ignatius of Loyola

Today is the feastday of the founder of the Society of Jesus, commonly known as the Jesuits.  If you've read this blog for any length of time, you know the problems that too many Jesuits have posed for the Church recently - from the drag show at Santa Clara University to the pro-abortion Sister Carol Keehan giving the commencement at Gonzaga High.  To get a sampling, just type the word "Jesuit" in the upper left-hand box next to the "magnifying glass" icon and click the icon.

One crucial Jesuit debacle I never touched upon involved Father Robert Drinan.  Many of us remember him as the priest who served in the US House of Representatives in defiance of his order (who of course demured to discipline him) and who supported, and voted for, the Freedom of Choice Act.  See Catholic Culture's account of the mess.  After all was said and done with that debacle, Drinan spent his final years at (bet'cha can't guess!) Georgetown University.  When he passed away several years ago, he was given a lavish public Catholic funeral - much like his protege, Ted Kennedy.

That's right - protege.  It seems that Father Drinan played a key role in goading the Kennedys into adopting a pro-abortion position in their political careers.  Read this account of their Hyannisport Meeting.  This one priest seems to have been instrumental in launching one of the deadliest pro-abortion political careers in Washington, DC - that of Ted Kennedy.  No doubt he had his nefarious influence on others.

Getting back to Saint Ignatius, let us ask him and his saintly spiritual sons to pray for their wayward order.  Particularly invoke St Francis Xavier and St Aloysius Gonzaga, as institutions named for them have been particularly besmirched.