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Teilhard: Doctor of the Church
Historical Parody
In the early 20th century, a certain Fred W. Rose became famous for making cartoons caricaturing the strained nations across Europe. One of those cartoons was about the situation of Europe in 1914. Please, see it first row below.
In an amusing bit of historical parody, the cartoonist Andy Davey has made a more up-to-date version, alerting its viewers to the temperament of the modern Western nations:
Germany funds Poland's EU money, France is rife with terrorism, and Turkey is an armed thug. Ireland, Portugal, and Spain are unemployed, while Greece is the penniless beggar. The Balkans are overrun by migrants as eastern Europe strives to fend off the maw of a hungry Putin-esque Russian bear. Meanwhile Britain struggles to float on its own Brexit boat, whilst the US president tears up a NATO contract and blows a lot of wind.
Please, see the cartoon of Europe + America in 2016 - second row below.
Sometimes a single image can say as much as a lengthy treatise.
Your friend in Christ,
P.M.
Europe in 1914 - to enlarge click here
Europe and the United States in 2016 - to enlarge click here
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Teilhard de Chardin: Doctor of the Church
It is unbelievable! There is an article [below] claiming that it is time to rehabilitate the evolutionist heretic Teilhard de Chardin and name him a doctor of the Church!
It has been said that Thomas Aquinas, through his thought, presided over the Council of Trent.
It can also be said that in some way Teilhard de Chardin had a large influence at Vatican II.
P.O.B.
Heidi Schlumpf
PHILADELPHIA - Jan 27, 2018 - Naming Jesuit Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin a doctor of the church – or at least removing the "warning" from his writings – would give the Jesuit scientist and philosopher more legitimacy in the church, his supporters say. And two separate petitions to the Vatican aim to do just that.
At a meeting of scientists and church leaders from around the world in November, members of the Pontifical Council for Culture unanimously approved a petition asking Pope Francis to waive the "monitum" against Teilhard de Chardin's writings that has been in effect since 1962.
Teilhard's work was only published after his death in 1955, because of disciplinary measures from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (formerly the Holy Office) during his life. The popularity of his books Human Phenomenon and The Divine Milieu led to the monitum, or warning, in 1962 for "ambiguities and indeed even serious errors."
However, scholars from the Pontifical Council for Culture said this past fall that while some of his writings may be open to constructive criticism, his "seminal thoughts" and "prophetic vision" have been "inspiring theologians and scientists," America magazine reported.
They also noted that four popes – Paul VI, John Paul II, Benedict XVI and now Francis – had made explicit references to his work, including a mention in a footnote in Francis' encyclical "Laudato Si', on Care for Our Common Home."
Meanwhile, a Sister of St. Joseph in Philadelphia has been gathering signatures – more than 1,200 so far – for a petition asking Teilhard to be named a doctor of the church.
"I think he deserves it," said Sr. Kathleen Duffy, professor of physics at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia and director of its Institute for Religion and Science.
The designation "doctor of the church" honors individuals, usually theologians or scholars, whose teaching or thought has greatly benefited the church. The title has been bestowed on 36 people so far.
Duffy believes Teilhard's attempts to bring together theology and science have a particular relevance for the church and the world today and that his ideas about "evolutionary Christianity" can provide hope in what many see as a chaotic time.
"There is a scientific theory of chaos that says you can't have any new creation without disequilibrium," said Duffy. "But we can't just sit back and say, 'God will take care of it.' There has to be some motivation on our part."
Teilhard, who read the Christian Scriptures through the lens of the evolutionary story, took the process of how the universe came about ("Cosmogenesis") and projected it into the future, where increasing complexity would call for increasing unity ("Christogenesis"), Duffy explained.
"He had the big picture and could see eons ahead where everything was converging," she said, adding that this convergence would require people to come together with an increased love of God and neighbor. "So even when we're discouraged, Teilhard de Chardin can give us hope in chaos."
His ideas have been popularized by those who embrace the "universe story," such as writer Thomas Berry, and by those working to save the environment. Perhaps his most famous quote – found in more than a few memes – is from his 1936 essay, "The Evolution of Chastity" in Toward the Future:
"Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity, we shall harness for God the energies of love, and then, for a second time in the history of the world, man will have discovered fire."
But too often, Duffy said, partial readings of Teilhard misinterpret his complex ideas, which were grounded in his mystical experiences and reflect the paschal mystery. "People see his zest for life, but you don't get there without going through suffering," she said. "And Teilhard suffered greatly, including from depression. On the other hand, he said he was always in the presence of God."
She explored his mysticism in her first book about Teilhard and is working on a second book about his ideas about suffering. She also is editor of Teilhard Studies, a monograph series produced by the American Teilhard Association.
She is just one of many Catholic women religious who have been inspired by Teilhard, which has caused trouble in the past. Barbara Marx Hubbard, a non-Catholic supporter of "conscious evolution," spoke at the 2012 meeting of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, which was under Vatican discipline at the time. The talk drew a harsh rebuke from Cardinal Gerhard Müller, then prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith.
Müller, who was replaced as head of the congregation in 2017, compared conscious evolution to Gnosticism, saying it "does not offer anything which will nourish religious life."
Despite oversimplified criticisms of Teilhard as "New Age," Duffy hopes the current pope – who, like Teilhard, is a Jesuit and a scientist – may help rehabilitate the philosopher's image.
Teilhard's message could be a balm to the apathy that has afflicted so many Americans, Duffy said. "We need to work together. Even in chaos, we can contribute to progressing. That's very hopeful."
Original here
Posted February 13, 2018
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The opinions expressed in this section - What People Are Commenting - do not necessarily express those of TIA
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I wonder if when Francis says what he does in the text below (published by Crux news) he is not in open heresy. Or are there some nuances I am missing, like those you explain in your book Eli, Eli, Lamma Sabacthani? showing that the progressivists often do this – put nuances in their words to avoid the accusation of outright heresy.
By saying that all creeds "belong to the people of the redeemed," isn't the Pope saying that all have the potential for redemption in their own various 'faiths'? Later he also talks about sharing "the victory" of Christ's redemption together.
Cordially,
F.M.
Claire Giangravè
ROME - Jan 26, 2018 - Representatives from a variety of Christian communities in Rome gathered in the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls Thursday, in an ecumenical vespers service where Pope Francis said that despite differences they all belong to the same family due to the redeeming sacrament of baptism.
“Even when differences tear us apart, we recognize that we belong to the people of the redeemed, to the same family of brothers and sisters loved by the only Father,” he said. The pope celebrated the vespers honoring the conversion of St. Paul in conclusion of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which took place Jan. 20-25.
This year Francis honored the 500th anniversary of the Reformation by celebrating the liturgy with a representative of the Lutheran Church and with German hymns. Among those attending the prayer service were the Burundian Anglican Bishop Bernard Ntahoturi and many representatives from the Methodist, Evangelical and Orthodox Churches in Rome. ...
“All of us Christians have passed through the waters of Baptism, and the grace of the Sacrament has destroyed our enemies, sin and death,” the pope said. “We share in the fundamental experience: the grace of God, his powerful mercy in saving us. And precisely because he had this victory in us, together we can sing its praise.”
Guimarães responds:
Hello F.M.,
When I mentioned in the booklet Eli, Eli, lamma sabacthani? that the progressivists often used subtleties to avoid being labeled heretics, I was referring principally to the phase between the end of St. Pius X’s pontificate and the ascension of John XXIII to the throne of Peter.
In that period, the Popes and the Vatican were still under the good influence of the anti-modernist wave that came from that glorious Pontiff Saint. Indeed, until Pius XII one could still find here and there representatives of that anti-modernist/anti-progressivist effort.
Consequently, the progressivists used different strategies to impart their doctrines to their followers without running the risk of being accused and condemned as heretics.
However, those precautions were largely abandoned when the progressivists saw that John XXIII and Paul VI – who were known leaders of Progressivism – were chosen as Popes.
The ascension of John XXIII represented a turning point in the Church regarding Progressivism. The tide changed, and instead of having the Popes and the Vatican combating Progressivism, we have seen them promoting it and boycotting the anti-progressivists. This tide continued to swell under John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Now, under Francis, we can say that Progressivism triumphs almost without opposition and that all those precautions were abolished. He is stating overtly what the others would say in a veiled way.
The presupposition of the ensemble of Francis' speech on January 25, 2018, at the end of the ecumenical celebration at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside-the-Walls, is precisely that all religions – at least all those present at that act – lead to eternal salvation.
This presupposition is present when the Pope, referring to all the religions present, says that “we belong to the same people of the redeemed;” when he insists that we belong “to the same family of brothers and sisters loved by the only Father;” and principally when he says that “we share in the fundamental experience: the grace of God, his powerful mercy in saving us.”
Now then, to support that there is salvation in all religions is an old heresy. This heresy contradicts the dogma that outside the Catholic Church there is no salvation. Among many other solemn declarations of the Church in this regard, we have the Bull Cantate Domino by Pope Eugene IV in union with the Council of Florence, which affirm this truth without possibility of any doubt, here.
Therefore, we can say that in this speech Francis professes a heresy and ignores the progressivist precautions.
Here is the conclusion of my analysis. I hope it answers your question.
Cordially,
Atila S. Guimarães, editor