George Matulaitis Journal

107 received me very amicably and graciously. 1. I told him about how we had revived the Marian Congregation and how we intend to carry on our work. He approved and showed great sympathy. Then I asked him whether he thought that it would be detrimental to our Congregation if many of our men, at least in the beginning, went to work individually, since some are being asked to be spiritual directors in various seminaries. I added that, in my opinion, we have to help the bishops and the seminaries. We can come together from time to time and in this way renew our community spirit. Father Ledóchowski agreed that this was permissible. I also went on to explain the difficulties we sometimes have with their excellencies, the bishops. In general, they approve of and are sympathetic toward our plans, but as soon as some priest expresses a desire to join us, they immediately raise objections and try to detain him for some time, justifying their action by saying that they are short of priests and people are dying without the sacraments. Father Ledóchowski said that, at first, the Jesuits would not accept priests whose bishops were unwilling to allow them to leave. In such cases they used to take the part of the bishops, but now they are convinced that such a policy is wrong. He said that we should do our best to convince the bishops to give their permission to those desiring to enter religious life, but the bishops should also be aware of the Decree of Benedict XIV 1 in this matter. Rome still honors this Decree and will always do so. Therefore, we must do everything we can to help a priest enter religious life if he wishes to do so, but we must not oppose the bishops nor go against their authority. Rather, with courtesy and tact, we should keep trying to get their permission. He advised me to consult Cardinal Vives y Tuto 2 about this difficulty. Father Ledóchowski further encouraged us to make every effort to develop the interior spiritual life of our candidates. Experience has shown him that those priests in religious life, including the Society of Jesus, who are men of prayer are also most capable of influencing other people. We represent the supernatural life and must first of all take 1 Apostolic letter “Ex quo,” published Jan. 14, 1747. 2 Giuseppe Vives y Tuto (1854-1913): Capuchin, head of the Sacred Congregation for Religious (1908- 1913).