Jesuit Civil Wars

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 González (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 González'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, González'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 González, but also the tensions within late seventeenth-century Catholicism.