"What ever happened to the American Jesuits? Though ex-Jesuits now outnumber Jesuits, the order is still around, still a force in American Catholic life. I cannot imagine its corporate identity receiving a more thorough or a more subtle profile than it receives in this book."--Jack Miles, author of "God: A Biography" "An excellent case study of a declining religious organization--exploring the multitude of reasons for this decline. Peter McDonough and Eugene Bianchi give a superb account of the organizational, ideological, ...
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"What ever happened to the American Jesuits? Though ex-Jesuits now outnumber Jesuits, the order is still around, still a force in American Catholic life. I cannot imagine its corporate identity receiving a more thorough or a more subtle profile than it receives in this book."--Jack Miles, author of "God: A Biography" "An excellent case study of a declining religious organization--exploring the multitude of reasons for this decline. Peter McDonough and Eugene Bianchi give a superb account of the organizational, ideological, and psychological changes facing the Jesuits. Scholars and students will learn much from this work. So too will the multitudes of Catholics whose lives have been touched by the dedicated and talented men who affix 'SJ' to their names."--Patricia Wittberg, S.C., author of "The Rise and Fall of Catholic Religious Orders" "This is a work of astonishing depth. McDonough and Bianchi are masterful tellers of the Jesuit tale, [which is] equally subtle, startling, and profound. You'll catch yourself wholly engrossed...."--James T. Fisher, author of "Catholics in America" ""Passionate Uncertainty" is a powerful book, tough but required reading for Jesuits and former Jesuits, for those curious about the future of religious life and those simply intrigued by the Jesuit mystique. Reliance on numerous interviews enables McDonough and Bianchi to invite multiple voices into a lively conversation about vocation and mission, community and sexuality, Church politics and spiritual ideals. Few will agree with all the memories or predictions recorded here, and some of us will wonder whether the Jesuit future is as uncertain as the authors suggest. But none will regret pondering the changing identity of the Jesuits so vividly highlighted here."--Francis X. Clooney, SJ, author of "Hindu God, Christian God: How Reason Helps Faith to Cross the Boundaries between Religions"
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