Thomas B. Allen: Possessed. The true story of an exorcismNew York, Bantam Books, 1993, 296p1. The Study of the Jesuits: Ratio Studiorum: after a few months of probation, a 2-year novitiate devotes toprayer and meditation, interspersed with humbling menial chores. At the end of the novitiate: vows ofobedience, chastity and poverty. For the next 11 years one is a scholastic. 2 years Greek and Latin; then 3years of philosophy. Scholastics lived a life of study, isolation and humiliation. They were given a list of 25culpas or faults, among them, obeying with reluctance, want of punctuality, speaking to others harshly,peremptorily or sarcastically. Anyone who succumbed to a fault had to admit to it publicly. In the 7th year ascholastic is given an assignment that interrupts his seminary studies. Usually he is assigned to teach in aJesuit high school for 2 or 3 years. Next comes 4 years of theology. At the end of the third year, the Jesuit isordained a priest and is scholastic no more. By the time he is ordained, he has been in the Society for 13years. Then begins a year of tertianship, meaning the third trial period (the first being the brief probation andthe second the noviate). At least part of the tertianship is usually devoted to priestly rather than scholarlywork.Professed Jesuits: Near the end of the philosophical training, the scholastic is given a gruelingcomprehensive oral examination in Latin. Those who score higher than 60% are put in 'the long course', theothers are assigned to the short course. Although both sets of study for the same length of time, 'short' and'long' indicate the intensity and depth of the course of study each has been assigned. He who successfullypasses the first oral examination and a later one in theology is professed, provided his moral character also isdeemed to be sufficiently distinguished. He takes a 4th vow: obedience to the pope. Professed Jesuits arequalified for posts of authority, such as Provincial or president of a university...