‘Catholic’ university’s heretical queer profs are teaching porn classes and more

Typical Jesuit institution. What happened to that order?

This.

It's always good to know a lot about you really should be abstaining from

The Society of Jesus, founded in 1540 by St. Ignatius of Loyola, began as one of the most disciplined and intellectually formidable forces in the Catholic Church, especially during the Counter- Reformation. The Jesuits were known for their rigorous education, strict orthodoxy, and unwavering loyalty to the pope, quickly becoming leaders in theology, philosophy, and global missionary work, with figures like Matteo Ricci in China exemplifying their reach and influence.

However, their growing power and independence made them enemies among European monarchs, leading to their suppression in 1773 by Pope Clement XIV, largely due to political pressure. Although the order was restored in 1814, this disruption marked a turning point in their institutional identity.

In the modern era, particularly after the Second Vatican Council, the Jesuits underwent a noticeable shift in emphasis. While they remained committed to education and intellectual life, many within the order began prioritizing social justice, engagement with contemporary culture, and political realities, especially in the developing world. This gave rise to movements like liberation theology in Latin America, where some Jesuits focused heavily on advocating for the poor and confronting systemic injustice. To their supporters, this represented a faithful application of the Gospel to modern conditions; to critics, especially more traditional Catholics, it signaled a drift away from doctrinal clarity and a move toward progressive or even politicized interpretations of the faith.

Today, the Jesuits remain one of the most influential orders in the Church, but also one of the most debated. That tension is embodied in the papacy of Pope Francis, whose leadership reflects many Jesuit priorities such as mercy, pastoral outreach, and concern for the marginalized. For some, this confirms that the Jesuits are continuing their historic mission in a new context; for others, it raises concerns about whether the order has moved too far from its original role as a defender of orthodoxy. In that sense, when people ask “what happened to the Jesuits,” they are usually reacting not to a disappearance, but to a transformation—from the Church’s most disciplined doctrinal force into one of its most prominent and sometimes controversial voices in the modern world.

More specifically, and with that background information in hand, after the Second Vatican Council, many Jesuit institutions—especially universities in the United States—leaned more heavily into academic engagement with modern culture, social issues, and open inquiry. Jesuit schools historically prized intellectual rigor and dialogue, and over time that has often translated, in practice, into allowing a wider range of viewpoints and course topics than you might find in more tightly controlled Catholic settings. So when you hear about classes discussing subjects like pornography, gender, or sexuality, the schools themselves would typically frame that as analysis (philosophical, psychological, sociological, or ethical), not endorsement.

That said, the criticism you’re raising is very real and widely debated within the Church. Many faithful Catholics argue that some Jesuit universities have gone beyond neutral academic discussion and are tolerating—or even promoting—ideas that conflict with Catholic moral teaching, particularly on sexuality. They see this as a downstream effect of the Jesuits’ broader post–Vatican II emphasis on engagement with contemporary culture, which in their view sometimes comes at the expense of clarity about sin and moral doctrine. From that perspective, allowing professors who openly dissent from Church teaching to shape curricula can create confusion, especially for those students who expect a distinctly Catholic formation.

On the other side, administrators and many Jesuits argue that a university setting is not a seminary and must allow serious examination of difficult or controversial topics. They would say that confronting issues like pornography in an academic context can actually deepen moral understanding, equip students to engage the real world, and ultimately strengthen—not weaken—faith when done properly. They also point to the Church’s long intellectual tradition, where difficult questions are studied rather than avoided.

So the tension really comes down to how a Catholic university should balance two goods: fidelity to Church teaching and genuine academic freedom. Critics believe some Jesuit schools have tipped too far toward the latter; defenders believe that open inquiry is part of their mission. That debate—more than any single class or professor—is what people are reacting to when they connect “what happened to the Jesuits” with controversial teaching in Jesuit colleges today.

TL;DR:

After the Second Vatican Council, many Jesuit universities in the U.S. leaned harder into academic freedom and engaging modern culture. That means they’ll allow classes on controversial topics (like pornography or sexuality) as subjects of study, not necessarily endorsement.

I liked queers better when they were in the closet.