John Anthony Hardon (June 18, 1914 – December 30, 2000) was an American Jesuit priest, writer, teacher and theologian.
"[5] John Janaro, a Hardon biographer, described Anna as "a woman of deep faith, a Franciscan tertiary who embraced her poverty and her difficult circumstances with courage and grace.
Hardon's positive relationships with the two girls helped form his later religious thinking: "Years before the Ecumenical Movement I had come to respect and cherish Protestants.
He learned about Saint Peter Canisius, a 16th century Dutch Jesuit priest who preached against the Protestant Reformation in Germany.
Instead, "with the help of savings his mother had put aside specifically for his future", he attended John Carroll University in Cleveland.
Also their mental discipline impressed him; it motivated him to major in philosophy and it began to shape his approach to spirituality through the direction of LeMay, a brilliant and discerning man who saw in John great potential.
He changed his course of studies to include Latin, philosophy, and college theology, earning his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1936.
Anna also told him "the very same God who was calling him would guard every hair on his mother's head,"[6] and "if the reason he was going to marry was so that she would not be alone without anyone to care for her, he was not to be concerned.
"[2] Finally convinced that the priesthood was the right choice, Hardon entered the Society of Jesus as a novice on September 1, 1936.
I lost friends whom I had considered believers [...] [this experience] taught me that the faith I had so casually learned could be preserved only by the price of a living martyrdom.
According to author Paul Likoudis,[4] In this work he saw an opportunity to share the fullness of the faith with those baptized in Christ who, because of the circumstances of history, time and place, or culture, had yet to receive a complete understanding and appreciation of the Christian faith and of the Church that extends the power and presence of Jesus Christ.
He also served as a visiting professor at St. Paul University in Ottawa, Ontario where he taught furloughed missionaries classes in missiology.
[2] Hardon sympathized with Catholics who objected to some Council reforms, "but he never for a moment accepted the premise that a schismatic act was ever justified.
[4] In 1974, Hardon was appointed as a professor at St. John's University in New York City at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Catholic Doctrine.
He worked with the Sisters of Notre Dame of Chardon, Ohio to write Christ Our Life, a series of religious textbooks for elementary students.
In line with his letter Solemni Hac Liturgia (Credo of the people of God), the pope requested that Hardon produce a new English catechism.
In 1969, Hardon helped found the Consortium Perfectae Caritatis, a group of conservative American nuns who broke away from the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR).
[14] In 1971, Pope Paul VI asked Abbot Ugo Modotti to increase Catholic evangelism through print, film, radio and television.
Hardon told an interviewer in 2003 that, "...the Holy Father's mission was very clear: American Catholics must get some control of the media of social communication; otherwise, the pope feared for the survival of the Church in our country.
[15] In 1972, Hardon founded Mark Communication in Canada and later the Pontifical Catechetical Institutes in the United States, to train religious educators.
In 1985, Hardon founded the Marian Catechist Apostolate, which uses these home study courses to prepare lay people for catechetical ministry.
Lecture topics included the Ignatian Exercises, the Apostles' Creed, the Eucharist, Catholic Sexual Morality, and Angels and Devils.
[19] Hardon spent his last years working from an office on the grounds of the Assumption Grotto in Detroit, serving as a spiritual director.
[10] After suffering from several illnesses, Hardon died from bone cancer at the Jesuits' Colombiere Center in Clarkston, Michigan on December 30, 2000.
[22] William J. Smith reported that in his final weeks, Hardon "suffered tremendous physical pain, but he made himself "a true victim soul.
[24] During the 1990's, Hardon became involved in the case of Reverend Donald McGuire, a Jesuit priest who was later sent to prison on sexual assault charges.
Don said they were done with attention to modesty and were necessary to relieve spasm at the 4th-5th lumbar disc [above the buttocks] and the right leg, involving the sciatic nerve...
"[29] Lawler stated that "...the same chain of evidence raises more serious questions about another beloved Catholic figure who is now a candidate for beatification: the late Father John Hardon, SJ.
"[29]Prompted by a woman's question at St. John's, Hardon wrote an article objecting to the enneagram of personality, viewing it as a New Age process dangerous to the Catholic faith.
He viewed this as persecution for teaching the faith, a "white martyrdom", and he would advise his listeners that they should be willing to suffer for the true doctrines of Catholicism.