The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
Watch for Matthew Fox's video meditation -- now appearing every Monday! |
A
Church Protest by Myself and Jerry Mander in the New York Times 05/21/2024 |
In yesterday’s DM, which I wrote on my Mother’s birthday, I shared a story about her response to my official silencing for a year by the Vatican. And how she surprised me with her own church protests at 76 years of age. |
On the eve of my silencing, I published in the New York Times a full-page ad entitled “My Final Statement Before Being Silenced by The Vatican.” It took the inquisitorial Vatican of that era (1988) to task for turning its back on the values of Vatican II and the gospel and opposing Liberation Theology, base communities, |
The Real News Network interviews Matthew Fox on the circumstances of his being silenced with 108 other Catholic
spiritual leaders. |
Creation Spirituality and theological exploration in general. It was not well received in Rome at that time. But others appreciated it. Not having money to pay for it, we took a leap of faith and posted a tiny announcement at the bottom of the page to support us. We got a
discounted price by agreeing to let the newspaper publish it when they had extra space. As it turned out, our ad collected exactly $14,300 and the cost was exactly $14,300! |
Matthew Fox’s full-page ad in the New York Times before he was silenced. From Matthew Fox’s archives. | Jerry Mander, who lived in the Bay Area, approached me to run such an ad when he heard of my silencing. He had run a series of “anti-ad ads” to wake people up about such matters as environmental degradation, the gun lobby, etc. He worked with David Brower and the Sierra Club, promoting several ads to help save the Earth. One of them was entitled, “Now Only You Can Save Grand Canyon From Being Flooded…For Profit” and another, in opposition to a bill proposed |
in Congress to “improve” theGrand Canyon by erecting two dams to make artificial lakes to benefit tourists in power boats etc. The ad was entitled,“Should We Also Flood the Sistine Chapel So Tourists Can Get Nearer the Ceiling?” Mander originally designed these ads and collected
them in a book in 2022 called 70 Ads to Save the World. Other books he has published include Four Arguments for the Elimination of Television and In The Absence of the Sacred. One review of his book remarked that
“Jerry was ahead of his time. He foresaw the dumbing effects of mass media, the inevitable inequalities of capitalism, and the loss of what is sacred in life…The ads are clever, inspiring and funny—like Jerry himself.” (Academy Award Winning Filmmaker, Vivienne Verdon-Roe.) |
*See Jerry Mander, 70 Ads To Save the World (Santa Fe, Synergetic Press: 2022), pp. 97f. Adapted from Matthew Fox, Confessions: The Making of a Post-denominational Priest, pp. 186-202. |
|
Responses are welcomed. To add
your comment, or read other comments and enter into dialog, please click HERE to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
Queries for Contemplation |
Jerry Mander, inspired by Marshall McLuhan, used the media to criticize the media. Can we do likewise in today’s media incarnations? And in opposing fascism wherever we find it including in religion?
|
Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest (Revised/Updated Edition)
Matthew Fox’s
stirring autobiography, Confessions, reveals his personal, intellectual, and spiritual journey from altar boy, to Dominican priest, to his eventual break with the Vatican. Five new chapters in this revised and updated edition bring added perspective in light of the author’s continued journey, and his reflections on the current changes taking place in church, society and the environment.
“The unfolding story of
this irrepressible spiritual revolutionary enlivens the mind and emboldens the heart — must reading for anyone interested in courage, creativity, and the future of religion.”
—Joanna Macy, author of World as Lover, World as Self |
|
In the Beginning There Was Joy: A Cosmic Celebration for Kids of All Ages
The first book in the Father Fox’s Fantastical Fables series tells the story of the big bang and how humans fit into the awesome, fantastical,
cosmic picture! With artwork curated from illustrators around the world, this book expresses the joy and wonder of all peoples and cultures, planting seeds of respect, cooperation and hope to work together for the healing of our planet. "This delicious book for children of all ages celebrates joy as the essential truth of
reality." - Andrew Harvey, Author of The Hope and Radical Regeneration "I absolutely LOVED reading this beautiful, creative, stirring story—a charming, whimsical, powerful, parable." -
Robert Holden, Author of Happiness NOW! and Higher Purpose |
|
UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar
HERE |
Join Matthew Fox in a new, live, 7-week video course hosted by the Shift Network, Cultivating Compassion in Spirituality: What Meister Eckhart & Other World Mystics Can Teach Us About Navigating Collective Turmoil. Tuesdays, May 7 – June 25, 5:00pm - 6:30pm PT. Register HERE. |
Join keynote speakers Matthew Fox and Brian Swimme at the 2024 Creation Spirituality Communities Gathering on “Reimagining Our Story, Hope for Humanity,” live at Cape Cod, MA and by livestream. Friday, May 31 – Sunday, June 2. Learn more and register HERE. |
Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Matthew Fox speaks on "Preserving Things in the Good" at the Unity of Walnut Creek Earth Day worship service held on April 21, 2024. |
|
Inspired by this post? Share your insights on Universeodon, Instagram or Twitter using the hashtag #RevDrMatthewFox and tag Matt with @RevDrMatthewFox FOLLOW MATTHEW FOX: |
|
|
|
