Give us a child when he's 7 and he will be ours for the rest of his mortal life. True or false? But it is certain that the Jesuits are the most misunderstood, the most militant order of the Roman Catholic Church and the most formidable company of men in the last 400 Years of world history. Reporter Macdonald Hastings This special BBC film has been made with unprecedented cooperation from the Jesuits themselves and is presented at a time when the Vatican is battling with a major crisis of confidence. Macdonald Hastings , himself taught by the Jesuits and now an agnostic, looks behind the walls of a Society whose power was so great that they influenced every court in Europe - not only in a religious sense, but in the impact they made on politics, exploration, astronomy and sociology. The Jesuits played a huge part in shaping the modern world. Not certain any more that they can find the recruits to fight for the old faith, the question now is whether they have a future. Produced by HARRY HASTINGS
