The Society of Jesus and the First Jesuits (1534-1572): conversion, return to the Gospels and efforts to reform in the womb of the Catholic Church: rejection of discrimination
Abstract
In 2015 the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of proclaming the Second Vatican Council Nostra Aetate, which - together with some other documents of the Catholic Church from the 70ies and 80ties of the 20th century and with completely new attitudes oj the Pope John Paul II during his pontificate in the years 1978 - 2005 - brough the jundamental reform in the relationship oj the Catholic Church to the jews and judaism. These changes enabled to throw light on some taboos hidden to non-Catholic world public and even believers in the Vatican archives for centuries.
One of these forbidden topics was related to the deep reform of the very revolutionary character of Ignatius of Loyola (1491 - 1556), who was the founder of the jesuit Order. The reform took place in the 16th century, and it presented the answear to the social and religious discrimination of the Catholics of jewish origin in the Kingdom of Spain or in the whole Christian world of that time.
In the context of growing anti-jewish hysteria in 1491, in the castle Loyola in the Basque region Gipuzkoa with the capital city San Sebastian, which was and is part of the Kingdom of Spain, Iňigo López called Ignatius of Loyola was born as the youngest son of the Christian country gentleman Family. In 1482, preliminary to his birth, the region accepted the status of blood purity and prohibition to accept those who converted.