Jeez, the Jesuits!

The Society of Jesus, a Roman catholic order founded in 1534 by Ignatius of Loyola, quickly gained power. It was active in estab- lishing schools, setting up missions, and was at the forefront of the fight against Protestantism. However, as their influence and wealth grew, so did doubts about the sincerity of the Jesuits‘ intentions. They were portrayed as scheming, greedy, power-hungry, and immoral, weaving threads in the background, conniving in politics and manipulating the fate of entire nations. Even today, conspiracy theorists like to rehash the old myth of the Jesuit con- spiracy, ascribing diabolical intentions and a power to the order, which, in reality, it never possessed – neither then nor now.