Jesuit Civil Wars: Theology, Politics and Government under Tirso González (1687-1705)

Founded in 1540, the Society of Jesus quickly established itself as one of the most influential but divisive orders within early-modern Catholicism. Covering the generalate of Tirso Gonzàlez (1687-1705) this book offers a window into Jesuit politics and theology during this much less documented period in the Society’s history. It focuses on two major crises during Gonzàlez’s generalate, the first being the confrontation between Louis XIV and the Papacy over the question of control of the Church in France; the second, Gonzàlez’s opposition to the theory of ’probabilism’, to which the bulk of Jesuits subscribed. As such the book not only illuminates the role and theology of Gonzàlez, but also the tensions within late seventeenth-century Catholicism.

Jean-Pascal Gay is maÃ(R)tre de conférences in Early-Modern History in the Faculty of History of the University of Strasbourg, France, and former fellow (membre) of the Ã0/00cole française de Rome.