Fortnight ago fell a notable anniversary in church history. Ignatius Loyola, a Basque soldier turned saint, who founded the Society of Jesus in 1534, got it formally recognized by Pope Paul III on Sept. 27, 1540. The Jesuits have been a zealous, well-disciplined unit of the church militant ever since. "Today," began the leading editorial of last fortnight's New World, official weekly of the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, "the whole Christian world celebrates the 400th anniversary of the Jesuits, the Panzer units in the Army of Christ."
Perhaps the most effective accomplishment of...