The command seems to have been to return to the mother house, which he refused to do.
Many members of religious orders, from Thomas Merton to Daniel Berrigan, have gotten famous for doing things outside of the vocation of the religious order and have simply rejected the order’s control over them. They became celebrities and the order actually didn’t dare to discipline them.
Merton brought a lot of money into his order and therefore was allowed to live a nice “celebrity monk” life in his own space, write, have guests, travel as he wanted, etc.
Berrigan brought a lot of publicity to his order and they obviously thought this excused everything else he did.
But things have changed, and while I’m sure both Francis and the Jesuits probably think Dear’s leftist “peace activism” is just fine, it seems that maybe they want members of the order to remember that they are, in fact, members of the order.
I haven't seen any evidence of Pope Francis supporting the type of 'peace activism' that this priest espoused. He was an opponent of the liberation theology preached by some of the Jesuits, and other Catholic priests in South America.
“...Merton allowed to live a ‘celebrity monk life’...have guests, etc....”
Excellent insights - thanks.
Merton most likely had a mistress at one point, his nurse when he was having a knee? operation. I read some letters in an archive at St. Bonaventure many many years ago to this effect. (the nurse was in Kentucky later, not at Bonaventure -Merton was briefly at Bonaventure much earlier). Clearly I have little respect for Merton and it appears that this Jesuit is the same disobendient type - even though different orders of course. Merton was refused admission to the Carthusians in Vt. because they were smart enough not to want to have anything to do with his antics.
Amen to that!