Pope orders Jesuits to strictly follow vows

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Pope

VATICAN CITY (AP) John Paul II, worried about a "general lowering of sexual standards in religious life" and secular tendencies, has ordered the world's 27,000 Jesuits to strictly follow their vows to the Roman Catholic Church, Vatican sources said yesterday.

"To put it simply, the Holy Fa ther wants it understood clearly that the church is not an association of free thinkers and that belonging to it means to submit to a set of beliefs and duties,” said one Vatican source, asking not to be named.

The pope's directives were conveyed to the Jesuits in a letter by the Rev. Pedro Arrupe, superior general of the Society of Jesus, the largest order of the Roman Catholic Church, often described as its vanguard or "first legion."

The Jesuits run respected Roman Catholic universities in the United

States and elsewhere, operate the "Vatican Radio and staff, key religious missions overseas.

In the letter, dated Oct. 19, and made available to reporters yesterday, Arrupe asked the Jesuits to adopt. "necessary changes" demanded by the pontiff at a Vatican meeting with 30 Jesuit superiors in September.

The pope reportedly told the Jesuits "the crisis that has been troubling religious life lately has not spared your order, causing disorientation in the Christian people and worry to the church, the hierarchy and also... the pope."

A Vatican-based U.S. priest said the pontiff is "upset with the general lowering of sexual standards in religious life, including homosexuality, a lack of loyalty to the Vatican and central

authorities."

The priest, who asked not to be named, said an American leader has reported to the Vatican many young Jesuits in the United States "don't believe in life after death, don't believe Jesus to be the son of God and even skip mass on Sundays."

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Vatican sources said the pope discussed individual cases in detail to make his point. One, according to the sources, was the Rev. John McNeill, a homosexual sympathizer whose 1976 book on homosexuality has been sharply attacked by the Vatican.