Anthony de Mello (priest) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Anthony de Mello was a Jesuit priest and psychotherapist who became widely known for his books on spirituality

Spirituality

Spirituality can refer to an ultimate or an alleged immaterial reality; an inner path enabling a person to discover the essence of his/her being; or the “deepest values and meanings by which people live.” Spiritual practices, including meditation, prayer and contemplation, are intended to develop...

. An internationally acclaimed spiritual guide, writer and public speaker, de Mello hosted many spiritual conferences. See below for the names of these programs which are available on audio CD and film. He traveled to many countries to study and later to teach, most notably Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

and the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

The few talks which he allowed to be filmed, such as "A Rediscovery of Life" and "A Way to God for Today," have inspired many viewers and audiences since being released; and have been viewed by hundreds of thousands of TV watchers throughout the United States, Canada, and Central America; in colleges, universities, Newman centers, and communities. De Mello established a prayer center in India. He died suddenly in 1987. His works are readily available and additional writings were published after his death.

Controversy

A review of de Mello's work by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith

The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , previously known as the Supreme Sacred Congregation of the Roman and Universal Inquisition , and after 1904 called the Supreme...

prompted the group to release a lengthy comment expressing their theological concerns. While the group showed appreciation for many of de Mello's writings, some positions were found to be 'incompatible with the Catholic faith'. In an opinion dated June 24, 1998 Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI

Benedict XVI is the 265th and current Pope, by virtue of his office of Bishop of Rome, the Sovereign of the Vatican City State and the leader of the Catholic Church as well as the other 22 sui iuris Eastern Catholic Churches in full communion with the Holy See...

, wrote from the Congregation (and approved by the Pope John Paul II):

"But already in certain passages in [his] early works and to a greater degree in his later publications, one notices a progressive distancing from the essential contents of the Christian

Christian

A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...

faith

Faith

Faith is confidence or trust in a person or thing, or a belief that is not based on proof. In religion, faith is a belief in a transcendent reality, a religious teacher, a set of teachings or a Supreme Being. Generally speaking, it is offered as a means by which the truth of the proposition,...

. ... With the present Notification, in order to protect the good of the Christian faithful, this Congregation declares that the above-mentioned positions are incompatible with the Catholic

Catholic

The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...

faith and can cause grave harm."

His quite controversial paradigm for Catholic dogma is mainly because many of his ideas were influenced by Thai Buddhist

Buddhism in Thailand

Buddhism in Thailand is largely of the Theravada school. Nearly 95% of Thailand's population is Buddhist of the Theravada school, though Buddhism in this country has become integrated with folk beliefs as well as Chinese religions from the large Thai-Chinese population.Buddhist temples in Thailand...

teacher and founder of monasteries Ajahn Chah

Ajahn Chah

Venerable Ajahn Chah Subhaddo was an influential teacher of the Buddhadhamma and a founder of two major monasteries in the Thai Forest Tradition....

- who, some say, was a kind of teacher to him. Despite the church's condemnation, his works are popular, especially among those interested in Ignatian spirituality.

Some editions of de Mello's books have since been supplemented with the insertion of a caution:

"The books of Father Anthony de Mello were written in a multi-religious context to help the followers of other religion

Religion

Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...

s, agnostics and atheists in their spiritual

Spirituality

search, and they were not intended by the author as manuals of instruction of the Catholic faithful in Christian doctrine

Doctrine

Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...

or dogma

Dogma

Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, or a particular group or organization. It is authoritative and not to be disputed, doubted, or diverged from, by the practitioners or believers...

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.