Franz Jalics


Franz Jalics is a Hungarian-born Jesuit priest and author of books on Christian spirituality.

Life

Jalics was born in Budapest, Hungary. After the Second World War, Jalics left his motherland and went to Germany to become a part in the Jesuit order. He studied philosophy in Belgium. In the late 1950s he lectured in Chile and Argentina on dogmatic theology.

Abduction

While doing social work in Argentina in 1976 during the Dirty War in a poor neighborhood, Jalics and Orlando Yorio were captured by a death squad, abducted, and held captive for five months. Jesuit Father General Pedro Arrupe in Rome was informed by letter during the abduction. Both Jalics and Orlando Yorio left the Jesuit Order, but were later offered reinstatement to it: Jalics accepted but Yorio did not.
On 15 April 2005, a human rights lawyer filed a criminal complaint against Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J.--then the Archbishop of Buenos Aires --as superior in the Society of Jesus of Argentina, accusing him of involvement in the kidnapping.
On 15 March 2013, Fr. Jalics made a public statement on the occasion of the election of his former superior, who as Pope had taken the same name, describing how they met up again years later and had concelebrated Mass together: "Ich bin mit den Geschehnissen versöhnt und betrachte sie meinerseits als abgeschlossen." Fr. Jalics wished God's providential blessing on the Pope: "Ich wünsche Papst Franziskus Gottes reichen Segen für sein Amt." P. Franz Jalics SJ, 15. März 2013 Fr. Jalics subsequently elaborated on his experiences, in particular how a female lay catechist was culpable for their denunciations, "Wie ich in meiner früheren Erklärung deutlich gemacht habe, sind wir wegen einer Katechetin verhaftet worden, die zuerst mit uns zusammenarbeitete und später in die Guerilla eintrat ." The second public statement was issued a week later, March 20, 2013, also through the Jesuits' German Province.

Publications