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My
Up-Close and Personal Experience
with Fascism 05/22/2024 |
We are talking about cures for fascism. Fascism is born of fear and the compulsion to control. I have experienced Fascism up close and personal from that wing in the Roman Catholic church that was fascist in the first half of the twentieth century and has returned in our time to attack Pope
Francis and others. |
The two popes drawn to “institutional violence” (Susan Sontag’s definition of fascism), called my book Original Blessing “dangerous and deviant." They were also at the time overseeing a dangerous and deviant dismantling of the prophetic Second Vatican Council and of two of its finest birthings: base communities and Liberation Theology in South America. I was honored to be excoriated by them. In yesterday’s DM, I shared the story of how I called them out in a public letter posted |
Pope John Paul II and Cardinal Ratzinger embrace, October 22, 1978. Public Domain image by Levan Ramashvili on Flickr. |
in the New York Times the evening before I went silent for a year as they demanded of me. Another response of mine was to publish a public letter to Cardinal Ratzinger called “Is the Catholic Church Today a Dysfunctional Family?” which the National Catholic
Reporter immediately posted as a front-page article. Later they told me that it received the largest and most positive response of any article in their history. I reproduce it in my book, The Pope’s War. One section of my Letter asks: “Is the Catholic Church Reverting to Fascism in Our
Time?” I name four examples of fascism that were alive and well in the church at that time. Three years later I was expelled from the Dominican Order after 34 years of being in good standing. That expulsion proved to be a blessing in disguise, insofar as it allowed me to pursue my vocation as a spiritual
theologian and writer unhindered. |
The Cosmic Mass reinvigorates Western ritual by deconstructing inherited modern forms of worship and going back to the
most primal form of worship: dance. | It also allowed me to commit as a priest to re-create Western Liturgy with
young people from the rave community and others. Since then, our Cosmic Mass has reached thousands of people in North America. |
More recently, my expulsion allowed me to launch a new kind of religious order working with two young people—a spiritual and ecumenical one called Order of the Sacred Earth. We take the
following vow: “I promise to be the best lover of Mother Earth and the best defender of Mother Earth that I can be.” |
Adapted from Matthew Fox, The Pope’s War: Why Ratzinger’s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved, pp. 91-102.
See also: Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, Jen Listug, Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action.
And
Fox, Confessions: The Making of a Post-denominational Priest.
Banner Image: High Traditional Latin (Tridentine) Mass in St. John of Nepomuk
Catholic church in Prostějov, Czech Republic, 16th April 2023. Encouraged by Pope Benedict and conservative factions of the Roman Catholic Church, restricted by Pope Francis, the Latin Mass has been a point of division since Vatican II. Photo by Novis-M on Wikimedia
Commons. |
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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 |
Do you see some instances in these stories of imagination and birthing that can assist you in your efforts to bring spirituality alive while resisting institutional violence or fascism?
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The Pope’s War: Why Ratzinger’s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved
The Pope’s War offers a provocative look at three decades of corruption in the
Catholic Church, focusing on Josef Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI. The final section in the book focuses on birthing a truly catholic Christianity.
“This book should be read by everybody, not only for its ferocious courage, but also for its vision for what needs to be saved from the destructive forces that threaten authentic Christianity.” ~ Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope.
“In the gripping The Pope’s War, Matthew Fox takes an unwavering look at the layers of corruption in the Catholic Church, holding moral truth against power.” — Jason Berry, author of Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II |
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Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action
By Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, and Jen Listug
In
the midst of global fire, earthquake and flood – as species are going extinct every day and national and global economies totter – the planet doesn’t need another church or religion. What it needs is a new Order, grounded in the Wisdom traditions of both East and West, including science and indigenous. An Order of the Sacred Earth united in one sacred vow: “I promise to be the best lover and defender of the Earth that I can be.”
Co-authored by Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson, and Jennifer Berit Listug, with a forward by David Korten, this collection of essays by 21 spiritual visionaries including Brian Swimme, Mirabai Starr, Theodore Richards, and Kristal Parks marks the founding of the diverse and inclusive Order of the Sacred Earth, a community now evolving around the world.
“The
Order of the Sacred Earth not only calls us home to our true nature as Earth, but also offers us invaluable guidance and company on the way.” ~~ Joanna Macy, environmental activist and author of Active Hope. |
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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 |
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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 |
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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. |
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