Superior General
Elected Superior General by the 18th General Congregation (30 November 1755) – just a few days after the devastating Lisbon earthquake – he soon felt the effects of Pombal's international campaign against the Jesuits. Pombal's hostility towards the Society was compounded by the pamphlet of the Jesuit Gabriele Malagrida calling the devastating Lisbon earthquake 'God's punishment on Pombal's godlessness'. Malagrida was severely punished and harsh measures were taken against the Jesuits in Portugal. A first demand reached the dying pope Benedict XIV that the Society of Jesus be suppressed.
In the face of growing accusations of laxism in the Society's approach to moral questions Centurione wrote a letter (1756) to all Jesuit Superiors insisting on the strengthening of Moral Theology training in Jesuit houses of formation. Earlier, as decreed by the General Congregation that elected him, Centurione had written a letter on the 'True spirit of the Society'. Clearly there were troubled times ahead and Centurione felt that the spiritual life of his men had to be fortified in order to better face the coming storm.
The troubles caused by Father Antoine de Lavalette's risky commercial activities and the inept handling of Lavalette bankruptcy by the French Jesuits further complicated matters for Centurione and increased the group of those who felt that the Society was beyond reform.
Read more about this topic: Aloysius Centurione
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