Sabina Pavone, The Wily Jesuits and the Monita Secreta

Given the role that the Society of Jesus played in the Counter Reformation, it was natural enough that Jesuits made enemies both within and without the Church. In this book, Sabina Pavone, of the Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy, details one particularly vicious attack on the Society by, as it turned out, a disgruntled former Jesuit. This individual manufactured, out of whole cloth, a set of 'secret instructions' intended for an inner circle of leading Jesuits, whereby they were to seek, not the kingdom of God or the welfare of the Church, but rather wealth and power exclusively. These 'monita secreta,' or secret instructions, found widespread appeal among the Jesuits' foes. Dr. Pavone provides a history of the uproar caused by these forgeries, as well as a translation of the 'Monita' themselves.

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