Have Jesuits infiltrated the Seventh-day Adventist Church? ... It's Your Decision ...

Surprise! ... Yes, your eyes are not deceiving you. The picture is in fact Dr. Samuele Bacchioocchi, ex-professor of Church history at Andrews University, who died about 2 years ago. Some "concerned brethren" have questioned whether Dr. Bacchiocchi was in fact a "Jesuit" who infiltrated the Seventh-day Adventist Church, and if in fact this picture proves it. It would be in their eyes, "the icing on the cake". What thinkest thou? ... What do you think? ... Can a picture speak a thousand words? Or, can we be reading too much into a photograph that may have been taken in jesting and jokingly manner? You be the judge? Below you will find the actual words of Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi in response to the allegation, "You are a Jesuit who is paid by the Vatican. Right?" ... You be the judge! 


(Adapted from“ENDTIME ISSUES NEWSLETTER No. 201
“BACCHIOCCHI RESPONDS TO FALSE ALLEGATIONS - Part 1”, found at http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/endtimeissues/)


FIRST FALSE ALLEGATION: THE GOLD MEDAL

"Bacchiocchi is not a loyal Adventist, but a “Jesuit Spy” because he studied
at a prestigious Jesuit University in Rome, called the Pontifical Gregorian
University. The fact that he received a gold medal donated by Pope Paul
VI for earning summa cum laude in his school work and dissertation From
Sabbath to Sunday, proves that he is promoting Sunday as the biblical
Sabbath. He would have never received a gold medal for promoting the
biblical Sabbath.

BACCHIOCCHI RESPONDS

"This is a common allegation that I have faced countless times in different places.
My detractors ignore that Jesuit Universities are scattered in many countries. In
the USA alone there are 28 Jesuit colleges and universities and two theological
centers. See the listing at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_of_Jesuit_Colleges_
and_Universities

Bacchiocchi Responds to False Allegations - Part 1

"Scores of Adventists have earned and are earning degrees at Jesuit Universities,
simply because they offer excellent programs and outstanding teaching. It is very
difficult for any Adventist professor to compete with a Jesuit professor, simply
because the latter has no wife and children to worry about. They devote themselves
exclusively to what they call “the apostolate of research.”

"Adventists who earn degrees at Jesuit Universities, very seldom are accused of
becoming Jesuit spies. The reason is that sitting in a class taught by a Jesuit
professor, sometimes it can be less risky than sitting in a class taught by a liberal
Adventist. Why? Because most Jesuits are brilliant thinkers, who often take issue
with the theological teachings of their Catholic Church. I have sat in classes at
the Gregoriana where my professors openly challenged such dogmas as papal
infallibility.

"Contrary to what some Adventists think, the Jesuit order today is NOT a monolithic
organization totally committed to defend Catholic teachings and to infiltrate in
other churches. The fact is that during the course of its history, the Jesuit order
was shut down several times because of insubordination to the Pope. Even in 1981
John Paul II temporarily asserted greater control over the order by appointing
a conservative theologian to oversee it, rather than allowing the Jesuits to elect
their own leader.

"During his tenure as Director of The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) influenced John Paul II to
press charges against such Jesuit theologians as Edward Schillebeeckx of Holland,
Jack Pohier of France, Bernard Hasler of Switzerland. Hans Kung was
stripped of his post as teacher of Catholic theology at the University of Tubingen
for questioning papal infallibility. Prof. Charles Curran was suspended from
his teaching post at the Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C., for
advocating that sterilization and contraception were not always wrong. Jesuit
priest Terrance Sweeney was forced to resign from his order, because he refused
to destroy the results of a survey of American Bishops about celibacy and the
ordination of women. A quarter of those surveyed reportedly approved optional
celibacy. These examples show that often Jesuits represent a dissenting voice
within the Catholic church.

"Attending a class taught by an open-minded Jesuit, often can be a refreshing
and enlightening experience. Personally I learned that the challenges facing
the Catholic Church today are far greater than the problems experienced by our
Adventist church.

Bacchiocchi Responds to False Allegations - Part 1
 
"Have Jesuits Infiltrated the Adventist Church?
 
"The notion that Jesuits have or are infiltrated in the Advestist Church today, is
hard for me to believe for three reasons.
 
"First, during the five years I spent at the Gregoriana, no professor or administrator
ever approached me to se if I would consider serving as a Jesuit agent in the
Adventist church. The mission of the Jesuits today is to promote scholarship, not
to infiltrate in other churches.
 
"Second, the Jesuits have the hands full in coping with theological and practical
problems facing their own Catholic Church. In Western Countries, less than 10%
of Catholic go to church. This tragic situation led Benedict XVI to exclaim two
years ago at the Youth Congress in Koln, Germany: “The Catholic Church is dead.
You are the new apostles called to plant the seeds of the Gospel.” When one’s
house is on fire, there is no time set fire to another house.
 
"Third, contrary to what some Adventists may think, comparatively speaking the
Adventist church poses no significant threat to the Catholic Church. Our Adventist
church grows at the rate of about a million members a year. By contrast,
Pentecostal churches grow at the rather of 20 million new members a year, that is,
20 times faster than our church. Within 10 years three quarters of a billion people
will swell its ranks of Pentecostal/Charismatic churches. This represents the most
far-reaching renewal movement in the history of the Christian Church, second
only in numbers to the Catholic Church. The Vatican is far more concerned about
the Pentecostal inroad into Catholic countries, than about Adventists.

"Our Adventist membership in Western Europe is stagnant, and in most instances
declining. In my homeland, Italy, for example, we had about 5000 Italian members
30 years ago when I left and almost the same number today. The only growth
has been generated by the immigration to Italy of Filipinos. Romanian, Hispanic,
an Ghanian. It is evident that Italian Adventist pose no significant threat to the
Catholic Church, because our presence in the country is hardly noticeable. I estimate
that 99% of the Italians do not even know that we exist. Thus, Jesuits have
no reasons to invest their time and energy to infiltrate the Adventist church that
poses no significant threat to the Catholic Church.."

(Adapted from“ENDTIME ISSUES NEWSLETTER No. 201
“BACCHIOCCHI RESPONDS TO FALSE ALLEGATIONS - Part 1”, found at http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/endtimeissues/)


CONCLUSION


THOSE ARE BACCHIOCCHI'S OWN WORDS IN HIS DEFENSE. Ex-Seventh day Adventist Pastors like Juan Rivera from El Evangelio Eterno (Glendale, CA) would seek to convince a non-perceptive Seventh-day Adventist Christian to believe that the Roman Catholic Church and Jesuits have infiltrated the Seventh-day Adventist Church. What does the evidence say? Is it just a picture? What are the fruits and teachings of alleged Jesuits in the church? Let the evidence speak for itself! ...


Cheers,


Elder Salvador A. Garcia
Associate Church Pastor
Hollywood Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church