Abstract
On Monday 7th January 2008, the 35th “General Congregation” of the Society of Jesus, the famous religious order founded in 1540 by Ignatius of Loyola and some followers, met to elect its 29th “General Superior”, after the demission of P-H Kolvenbach for cause of old age. The 225 representatives of the world's Jesuits also defined and confirmed the general orientations of the Society concerning their mission in the world. The issue of this “mission is the world”, regarding political actions, is more than complex it could seem at first for the Society. Christianity, for one thing, has always had an ambiguous relationship to the idea of political power, Jesus having said “My kingdom is not of this world”, and the even clearer “Give back to Cesar what belongs to Cesar, and to God what belongs to God”. The first orientation of Christianity thus is apolitical, and rather takes the shape of a retreat from the political, “mundane” world. However, since Constantine established Christianity as his only State religion, this religion has been linked to the symbols of power in the Western World – the most striking examples being the monarchy of divine right that was established in most European countries until the 17th century, and the establishment of the States of the Church in the Vatican.
