I didn't see the film but I think you make a good point
about "Ignatian spirituality", and a good biography of St.
Ignatius Loyola, how and why he founded the Society of
Jesus, and its role in the Counter-Reformation period
would be bound to give one better ability to evaluate the
film (historically). Although Loyola died in 1556, the role
of the Jesuits has been enormous - throughout the world,
not just in Canada during that time, but in what became
the U.S. Have you read Willa Cather's, "Death comes to
the Archbishop" ? If I may ask, what do you mean by "how
debased it has become" ?
It has lost connection with its spiritual roots, has been in the vanguard of modernist thinking in the Church, and has a huge gay problem it refuses to confront. The Order itself is dying, attracting very few--and very mediocre-- vocations. It is a shadow of its former self.
Excellent book. I read an article years back that said the Jesuits made a pivotal mistake when they abandoned traditional theology and took up with modernism. This article mentioned a particular person as being the linchpin of this turnaround in Jesuit theology/philosophy. I cannot for the life of me remember if it was a theologian, a philosopher or a leader of some kind within the Jesuit community. Nor can I recall his name or which publication I read the article in.