The following story was published September 6 on the online Loyolan.
Dr. Joseph LaBrie, special assistant to the president, is taking a leave of absence from the Jesuits, citing it as a “personal decision.” Effective last Saturday, LaBrie no longer functions as a priest. According to a letter he sent out in August to select members of the LMU community, he will remain at LMU both as special assistant to the president and as an associate professor of psychology.
“This is a very personal decision that I have made after both a 30-day retreat in summer 2011 and an eight-day retreat this past summer,” LaBrie said in an email to the Loyolan. “It is about how best I can both live my life and serve others.”
A leave of absence often precedes leaving the Jesuit order, according to Acting Superior of the LMU Jesuit Community Fr. Allan Deck, S.J. – who is also the Charles S. Casassa Chair of Catholic Social Values and a professor in the theology department. He added that separating from the Jesuits without a leave of absence prior is “possible but it’s … not advisable….”
When a Jesuit is considering terminating his involvement, he usually consults his provincial as well as other religious superiors, according to Deck. A leave of absence does not always lead to the individual quitting the Jesuit order, though. But LMU is no stranger to this process, as several members of its community are former Jesuits. Also, during 2004 and 2005, two LMU Jesuits took leaves of absence – Dean of Students Mark Zangrando and a theological studies professor, Fr. Felix Just, S.J. – according to a Aug. 30, 2005 article in the Loyolan. Just returned to the order, the same article states, but Zangrando did not. Both cited celibacy reasons for their departure….
With LaBrie’s change in status, Burcham told the Loyolan that he is not worried about how this will impact his office, saying, “He certainly hasn’t lost all of his knowledge about [the Jesuit and Catholic tradition], and I am surrounded by some other Jesuits that help me with that now. … I feel like the Jesuit presence, in this office at least, is strong.”
But, Burcham added, “I’m sure his change in status will have some impact on what he does this year to the extent that he won’t be a priest and to the extent that I used him as a priest. I will be relying on Fr. [Robert] Caro [S.J., Vice President for Mission and Ministry] and Fr. Deck and probably other Jesuits….”
LaBrie’s departure from the order comes during a period of diminished capacity for the Jesuits.
“Nationwide, the number of Jesuits has declined, to under 3,000 from about 10,000 in 1965,” according to a 2011 article in the New York Times. “More than half are over age 60. That they aren’t being replaced by younger Jesuits is the result of social and economic circumstances, including increased opportunity for poor Catholics and the stringent requirements of the priesthood.”
When Deck entered the order 49 years ago, the California province – which includes California, Arizona, Hawaii, Nevada and Utah – had more than 1,000 Jesuits, according to Deck. Now, he said, there are 380. Regardless, he is not concerned.
“We know that over history, the religious life flourishes or declines,” said Deck.
He added, “I don’t think we need to be alarmed.”
UPDATE 9/6/12 at 7:30 p.m.: The original version of this article incorrectly listed Fr. Felix Just’s name as Fr. Felix Hughes. Additionally, he was listed as rector for the LMU Jesuit Community. He was a professor in the theology department.
For original story, click here.
I don’t think we need to be alarmed about the decline of the Jesuits in America, either.
In fact, I welcome it.
Of course Deck is not alarmed, he is a frequent speaker at the annual dissent fest, the Archdiocese of Lost Angels Religious Education Conglameration.
What happened to the Vatican’s instructions that forbade ex-priest, and religious from keeping positions of teaching, speaking, etc. etc. Oh I know, it went the same way that most Vatican documents go, into the round file called the trash.
The common saying:”Actions speak louder than words” can also be stated; “Actions speak louder than writings and documents”, especially in the case of the Church!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
But, Kenneth, isn’t it better for a priest to spend some time in retreat to decide if he wants to continue to be a priest than one who just throws it all away one day. From this article, I got a sense of the pain this man was going through. It is not easy, even for a Jesuit, to question all that he has dedicated his life to doing and being. It must be a great weight. I’m not sure we should be so gleeful at the fall of another fellow Catholic. What can we do to help him, if anything?
Ah Bob you always have sympathy for the dissenters dont you, he took an Oath to Christ and His Church and now he questions it…..
For those of us who “remember when,” it is heart-wrenching to witness all of these sorts of changes over the years. I am so grateful that our children can still acquire an absolutely superb undergraduate education in a truly Catholic, truly beautiful, truly pastoral setting. Thomas Aquinas College is much more than an alternative to unsettled, so-called “Catholic” institutions of higher learning; it is literally a Godsend for parents who want the best for their children academically, spiritually and personally. I join my voice to that of the Pope and so many others in praise of wonderful Thomas Aquinas College, right here in richly blessed Ventura County, California, two of the best-kept secrets in Christendom.
I don’t think leaving the Jesuits is necessarily a bad thing.
It is no wonder that the number of Jesuits has declined signifiantly over the years.
Many years ago, they used to be a Faithful Order.
Now they print a heretical magazine, and are destroying the “Catholicity” of many Universities.
They do not require the CCC as a student text so students may know the truth of Church teachings in entirety.
This post in no way should reflect against the few good Jesuits left.
Btw – it is more appropriate for a Priest to leave his Order/Priesthood with permission, than to commit the Mortal Sin of Scandal, or to go against teachings of the Church.
Within time the Jesuits will be replaced with a faithful order loyal to the Church and her teachings.. Good Riddance to them….
Corruption offers one consolation – eventually it extinguishes itself.
A wise observation indeed, dear Rambler. The Jesuits were once the sword arm of Church Militant. They are now almost totally corrupt. Their colleges are hotbeds of heresy and homosexuality. Saint Ignatius is turning in his grave.
Their swords today are as wet noodles.
Sometimes “eventually” needs some serious spurring.
Hinding behind ‘personal decisions’ to go aganist ones vows.
Lean ye not on walls and natty plaid shirts. Lean on God!
“God alone suffices!”….St Teresa of Avila
but but …….Saint? That is soo 18th century… God loves everyone these days.. do not be so judgemental and unforgiving….
St Teresa of Avila cuts through the centuries like the Sword of the Lord cuts through butter.
It is the Jesuit order that has wrought havoc on the church in American over the last 50 years. Remember the Jesuits and the Kennedys?
Between this, showing “8” and the president of LMU declining to answer why the school failed to uphold the Magisterium, it’s small wonder that people don’t consider it a Catholic school anymore.
When I graduated from High School, I could have gone to Loyola. I shudder to think what the state of my soul might have been had I gone there.
My brother-in-law was a star on the last Loyola Football Team, he has ceased any donations to that Institution.
One Jesuit he knew from there was very confused until my Brother-in-Law took him to see Fr. Aloysius. He died thanking my Brother-in-Law for that.
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
Do any of the Jesuits at LMU wear priestly attire?
Jurgensen,
Just as spies wear their enemies uniforms in order to infiltrate, so do bad priests and Nones (Nuns)!
God bless, yours in Their Hearts,
Kenneth M. Fisher
More Fruits of Vatican II????? Lest we forget !!!!
This is no surprise. In my opinion, LaBrie should’ve been defrocked long ago. His office door in the Psychology Dept always had an anti-Prop 8 poster on it, and he never used proper wording when celebrating Mass on campus…saying “with Benedict and all Your friends” instead of “with Your servant Benedict our Pope.” One could write a book about the un-Catholic shenanigans at LMU. Maybe even two.
Tom, you’re correct. His Masses never followed the proper form, leaving the worshipers confused and filled with scandal.