Jean-Yves Calvez (3 February 1927 – 11 January 2010) was a French Jesuit, theologian, philosopher, economist, expert in
Marxism
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
and professor of
social philosophy
Social philosophy examines questions about the foundations of social institutions, social behavior, and interpretations of society in terms of ethical values rather than empirical relations. Social philosophers emphasize understanding the social ...
.
Biography
Youth and training
At age 16, Calvez became a
novitiate
The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...
of the
Society of Jesus
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
on October 23, 1943. Following his religious training he completed brilliant studies at the institute of political science and the institute of international law in Paris. He also earned a degree from the
School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences
The School for Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences (french: École des hautes études en sciences sociales; EHESS) is a graduate ''grande école'' and ''grand établissement'' in Paris focused on academic research in the social sciences. The ...
. From 1953, he taught social sciences at the Jesuit academy of
Chantilly
Chantilly may refer to:
Places
France
*Chantilly, Oise, a city located in the Oise department
**US Chantilly, a football club
*Château de Chantilly, a historic château located in the town of Chantilly
United States
* Chantilly, Missou ...
. On July 31, 1957, he was ordained as a
Catholic priest
The priesthood is the office of the ministers of religion, who have been commissioned ("ordained") with the Holy orders of the Catholic Church. Technically, bishops are a priestly order as well; however, in layman's terms ''priest'' refers only ...
.
Social philosophy
Jean-Yves Calvez was not yet a priest in 1956 when he published a work that rapidly gained attention in the field of social philosophy: ''The Thought of Karl Marx'' (''La Pensée de Karl Marx''). To be interested in Marxism before the
Second Vatican Council
The Second Ecumenical Council of the Vatican, commonly known as the , or , was the 21st Catholic ecumenical councils, ecumenical council of the Roman Catholic Church. The council met in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome for four periods (or sessions) ...
and to reveal a certain sympathy for
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...
was daring. However, the objectivity and depth of his work, avoiding the polemic and Communist party thinking that often attached themselves to Marx's personality, immediately gained him great esteem in the field of social philosophy. ''The Thought of Karl Marx'' has been published in many editions and is still a reference book today.
A polyglot, Calvez was very interested in social, economic, and political questions, refusing to separate these three fields of study, but rather tying them together in research serving a Christian vision of the whole human being. Such was his engagement as a Jesuit priest in the Catholic Church. Calvez studied and promoted a
Catholic social teaching
Catholic social teaching, commonly abbreviated CST, is an area of Catholic doctrine concerning matters of human dignity and the common good in society. The ideas address oppression, the role of the state (polity), state, subsidiarity, social o ...
that was less Euro-centric and more oriented toward the grave problems of
underdevelopment
Underdevelopment, in the context of international development, reflects a broad condition or phenomena defined and critiqued by theorists in fields such as economics, development studies, and postcolonial studies. Used primarily to distinguish sta ...
that accompanied the wave of botched
decolonization
Decolonization or decolonisation is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. Some scholars of decolonization focus especially on separatism, in ...
s of the 1960s.
Calvez was a teacher of philosophy and social sciences in the Jesuit faculty of philosophy in Chantilly, and he was the director of the center of "popular action" (later known as the Center for Social Research and Action, CERAS). He participated in 1962 in the foundation of a socio-economic research center, the African Institute for Economic and Social Development (INADES), later known as the Center for Research and Action for Peace, in
Abidjan
Abidjan ( , ; N'Ko script, N’ko: ߊߓߌߖߊ߲߬) is the economic capital of the Ivory Coast. As of the Demographics of Ivory Coast, 2021 census, Abidjan's population was 6.3 million, which is 21.5 percent of overall population of the country, ...
. He traveled a lot, particularly in Latin America, where he was close to
liberation theologists with whom he would maintain strong links of esteem and friendship for the rest of his life.
Provincial Superior and General Assistant
In 1967, Calvez was named
provincial superior and tasked with uniting the four Jesuit provinces of France. After finishing this work, he was called to Rome in 1971 by the
Superior general
A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...
of the Society of Jesus,
Pedro Arrupe
Pedro Arrupe Gondra, SJ (14 November 1907 – 5 February 1991) was a Spanish Basque priest who served as the 28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus from 1965 to 1983. He has been called a second founder of the Society, as he led the Jesu ...
, as an assistant. He was a trusted advisor there. Calvez actively participated in preparation for the 32nd
General Congregation
The General Congregation is an assembly of the Jesuit representatives from all parts of the world, and serves as the highest authority in the Society of Jesus. A General Congregation (GC) is always summoned on the death or resignation of the admini ...
of the Jesuits (1974-1975) which, in a still-famous decree, gave the Society a mission to focus on "the service of faith and the promotion of justice." Calvez was elected General Assistant to Arrupe (that is, one of his four closest advisors).
As a deputy to Arrupe, Calvez worked hard to implement in the life and works of the Society the spirit of this new "faith-and-justice" paradigm. Difficulties and misunderstandings were large, and conflicts were not lacking. Until Arrupe was stricken by a
blood clot
A thrombus (plural thrombi), colloquially called a blood clot, is the final product of the blood coagulation step in hemostasis. There are two components to a thrombus: aggregated platelets and red blood cells that form a plug, and a mesh of c ...
forcing him to step down from his leadership of the Society, Calvez worked with
Paolo Dezza
Paolo Dezza, S.J. (13 December 1901 in Parma, Italy – 17 December 1999 in Rome) was an Italian Jesuit cardinal who led the Pontifical Gregorian University during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII, whom he aided in the preparation of the dogm ...
, pontifical delegate named by
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
, and together they prepared the Society for the 33rd General Congregation that would elect the new Superior General,
Peter Hans Kolvenbach
Peter Hans Kolvenbach (30 November 1928 – 26 November 2016) was a Dutch Jesuit priest and professor who was the 29th superior general of the Society of Jesus, the largest male Catholic religious order.
Early years
Kolvenbach's childhood was ...
.
Return to France
Back in France, Father Calvez was the director of the Center for Social Research and Action (CERAS) from 1984 to 1989, and editor-in-chief of the magazine ''Études'' from 1989 to 1995. He helped with the revival of "social weeks" in France as a member of the association's administrative council from 1985 to 2000.
During these years he continued to write on economic, social, and political questions and on Catholic social teaching, especially in the magazine ''Projet'' (published by CERAS), of which he was the director for many years. Faithful to the memory of
Pedro Arrupe
Pedro Arrupe Gondra, SJ (14 November 1907 – 5 February 1991) was a Spanish Basque priest who served as the 28th Superior General of the Society of Jesus from 1965 to 1983. He has been called a second founder of the Society, as he led the Jesu ...
, to whom he was more a close friend than a subordinate, he made better known the profoundly religious thought and personality of this 28th
Superior general
A superior general or general superior is the leader or head of a religious institute in the Catholic Church and some other Christian denominations. The superior general usually holds supreme executive authority in the religious community, while t ...
of the Society of Jesus.
[''Le père Arrupe ; l’Église après le Concile'', published in 1997, in Paris, by CERF.]
Calvez also presented in front of many audiences. He taught in the department of social ethics at the
Jesuit faculty of Sèvres-Paris from 2002 to 2006, and, at the invitation of Cardinal
Jean-Marie Lustiger
Aron Jean-Marie Lustiger (; 17 September 1926 – 5 August 2007) was a French cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Paris from 1981 until his resignation in 2005. He was made a cardinal in 1983 by Pope John Paul II. His lif ...
, gave a series of sermons in
the Cathedral of Notre Dame de Paris.
Georgetown University
Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, made him a member of its administrative council. Every year, Calvez went to
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
for summer classes.
Calvez died in Paris on January 11, 2010, of complications from a
pulmonary edema
Pulmonary edema, also known as pulmonary congestion, is excessive edema, liquid accumulation in the parenchyma, tissue and pulmonary alveolus, air spaces (usually alveoli) of the lungs. It leads to impaired gas exchange and may cause hypoxemia an ...
.
Works
In addition to numerous articles on social, economic, and political questions, Jean-Yves Calvez is the author of the following books:
*''La Pensée de Karl Marx'', Paris, 1956.
*''Église et société économique'' (2 volumes), Paris, 1959-1962.
*''Introduction à la vie politique'', Paris, 1967.
*''Aspects des pays en voie de développement'', Paris, 1970.
*''Le père Arrupe ; l’Église après le Concile'', Le Cerf, Paris, 1997 .
*''Les Silences de la doctrine sociale catholique'', Atelier, Paris, 1999 .
* ''Comprendre le catholicisme'' (avec
Philippe Lécrivain), Eyrolles, 2008
*''Traversées jésuites'', Cerf, 2009
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calvez, Jean-Yves
1927 births
2010 deaths
21st-century French Jesuits
20th-century French Jesuits
20th-century French Catholic theologians
Catholic philosophers
French philosophers
French economists
Writers from Saint-Brieuc
French male writers