When priests told him to take a break and go on holiday, Milan's Cardinal Alfredo Ildefonso Schuster smiled and answered that there would be all the time in the world to do that once he was in heaven. Francis - the Jesuit Pope whose hectic schedule would put even a 40 year old man to shame - seems to be following in his footsteps despite his age (he is 77) which sometimes leads him to have to call off a meeting or two. This was the case with his visit to the "Agostino Gemelli" hospital in Rome, Friday.

"Speaking to Italian newspaper La Stampa and Vatican Insider, the Vatican spokesman, Fr. Federico Lombardi explained that the Pope "decides his own agenda and leads a very intense life because he feels he is called to serve the Lord with all his strength. He never took time off even when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires." Francis doesn't even stop on a Tuesday, the traditional day of papal rest when his predecessors usually had no audiences or other important commitments. Instead of making the most of this morning to rest, he uses it to catch up on meetings that have been put on hold. "Francis follows the lifestyle of St. Ignatius, who in the order's constitutions defined the Jesuits as "labourers in the Lord's vineyard" so he dedicates himself entirely to his mission, even going beyond the limits of his own strength," Fr. Lombardi said. Continue reading

• Source: Vassallomalta
• Image: The Telegraph

Congratulations to Antonio, my former colleagues at America, and the 14 other Jesuit publications for this extraordinary exclusive.

That all of these Jesuits could keep such a coup secret until publication almost makes me believe in Jesuit conspiracy theories.

In the interview, Pope Francis speaks from his heart as one Jesuit to another. While reading the interview, I felt like I was in a Jesuit living room having a conversation with a brother.

The interview demands careful reading and reflection, but let me share with you my first reactions.

In the interview, Pope Francis explains why he was labeled a conservative by many Jesuits in Latin America. He confesses it was his own fault.

In my experience as superior in the Society, to be honest ... I did not always do the necessary consultation. And this was not a good thing. My style of government as a Jesuit at the beginning had many faults. That was a difficult time for the Society: an entire generation of Jesuits had disappeared. Because of this I found myself provincial when I was still very young. I was only 36 years old. That was crazy. I had to deal with difficult situations, and I made my decisions abruptly and by myself.

My authoritarian and quick manner of making decisions led me to have serious problems and to be accused of being ultraconservative. I lived a time of great interior crisis when I was in Cordova. To be sure, I have never been like Blessed Imelda [a goody-goody], but I have never been a right-winger. It was my authoritarian way of making decisions that created problems. Continue reading

Sources

• Thomas Reese in National Catholic Reporter
• Image: Marge Fenelon

Jesuit Fr. Thomas Reese is a senior analyst for NCR.