Jansenism: Understanding an old challenge in today’s church

In his recent encyclical on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Pope Francis reminds us of the timeless call to a spirituality grounded in love – a call that resists both ancient and contemporary distortions of the faith. His words address the concern that within the Church today, new forms of dualism, reminiscent of Jansenism, threaten the tender heart of Christianity.

Jansenism, a 17th-century theological movement, relied heavily on divine grace at the expense of human freedom, reducing the faith to rigid doctrines and a harsh vision of salvation. This perspective, the Pope says, still persists, not in its original form, but through a pervasive sense of religious obligation devoid of joy and intimacy with God. To counter this, the Pope calls for a renewed devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus – a devotion that counters these rigid spiritualities and opens believers to God’s boundless love and mercy.

Jansenism originated in 17th-century France and the Netherlands as an intense and rigorous interpretation of Catholic doctrine based on the theological ideas of Cornelius Jansen, a Dutch bishop and theologian. Jansen’s posthumously published work, Augustinus, drew on the teachings of St. Augustine, especially his doctrines of grace and human nature, which Jansen interpreted as a near-denial of human free will. This interpretation quickly spread and gained influence in French intellectual circles, particularly through the abbey of Port-Royal, which became a center of Jansenist thought.

At its core, Jansenism emphasized the utter dependence of human beings on God’s grace, but it also presented a dim view of salvation, even claiming that only a small, predestined group could attain it. This view discouraged many Catholics from approaching the sacraments freely, as they came to see their own unworthiness as an almost insurmountable obstacle. Devotion and religious observance became marked by rigid self-discipline, suspicion of joy, and lack of confidence in the mercy and love of God – a spirituality that contrasted sharply with the Catholic emphasis on free will and the universal call to holiness.

As the movement spread, it attracted strong criticism from the Catholic hierarchy. Pope Innocent X condemned Jansenist teachings as heretical in 1653, emphasizing that Jansen’s doctrines of grace contradicted Catholic doctrine. Over the next century, subsequent popes condemned Jansenism, and its influence gradually waned. However, its effects lingered, especially in certain forms of excessive scrupulousness and moral rigidity within some Catholic communities.

Today, Pope Francis’ encyclical on the Sacred Heart reaffirms the Church’s rejection of Jansenism. He reminds the faithful of the dangers of a joyless, disembodied spirituality divorced from the living, compassionate heart of Christ. The Pope’s call to rediscover a faith alive with gratitude, humility, and intimacy with God offers a way beyond the dualisms and divisions left behind by Jansenism.