Creation Spirituality, Original Blessing & Evil in the News This Week
Following Pope Francis’ much-acclaimed encyclical on Laudato Si and the Earth crisis, I was told by a very wise Episcopal priest and Jungian/Reichian psychologist, John Conger: “Surely this is the coming of age of creation spirituality.”
Über-capitalists were über-threatened by the encyclical—Rush Limbaugh responding by calling the pope a “Marxist,” and Fox News called the pope “the most dangerous man on the planet.”
I wrote an extended review of the encyclical for Zygon: Journal of Religion and Science, in which I pointed out how thoroughly the document follows the Four Paths of Creation Spirituality—which only makes sense since 80% of it was written by a graduate of our ICCS Master’s program at Holy Names College. Irish priest Sean MacDonogh, who has been a missionary priest in the Philippines for many decades, authored several books on ecology and spirituality.
The International Theological Commission (ITD) recently published a study entitled, “Caring For Our Common Home: A Responsible & Fraternal Response to the Triune God.” The 36-page document carries on the vision of Pope Francis and was authorized by Pope Leo.
A new category of sin for the Catholic Church comes through in this document, that of “Environmental Destruction,” called “a sin against God.” Humans are called to live in right relationship with God, neighbor and the created world. “Everything is interrelated [within] a single community life,” as the Vatican News puts it.
I would say ecocide and matricide and denial incarnated in MAGA and similar political parties worldwide is more than a “sin.” It is Evil personified. It is the antichrist among us.
The document emphases how declining biodiversity, air pollution, worsening water quality and environmental destruction from wars falls most heavily upon the poor and is a primary cause for migration in our time.
The conversion called for is of “a change in cultural values.” The document refers to how all religions can come together to preach these same values, thus the crisis can be an opportunity for ever deeper ecumenism.
This month Pope Leo celebrated outdoors in the papal garden at Castel Gandolfo, a new form of the catholic Mass called “for the care of creation.” In his homily he talked about how “contemplating creation and encountering its creator” deepens “awareness of our particular place with God’s wondrous plan and of the responsibility that we bear both personally and collectively for preserving the original harmony.”
The term “original harmony” seems very much like my term, “original blessing” (for which I was condemned by the late Pope Benedict.)
Pope Leo also called for humans to “recognize with humility the ways in which we have been unfaithful in safekeeping creation and caring for the dignity of each person.” A silent heart allows one to “hear the melodious voice of creation, through which God, the author all things, speaks to us.” A contemplation of nature “is a first step towards an authentic ecological conversion.” He prayed “for the conversion of many people, inside and outside of the church, who still do not recognize the urgency of caring for our common home.”
This headline also appeared in the news this Saturday morning: “Trump’s forced coal plant extensions thrown out by judge.” The MAGA administration ordered coal plants which were scheduled to close to remain open, “even if there is no need for them.” The DOE (Department of Energy) did this by declaring an emergency, but this end-run was declared illegal by a unanimous decision of a three-judge panel from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals.
Their decision that there was no emergency in Michigan ought to impact other coal plants that Trump has been trying to keep open. In 2026 alone, the DOE issued over 55 such emergency orders around the country.*
To be continued.
* John Timmer, “Trump’s forced coal plant extensions thrown out by Judge,” Ars Technica, September 11, 2026.
To read the transcript of Matthew Fox’s video meditation, click HERE.
Banner Image: A right relationship with nature: two people walking in woods that embrace them. Photo by Phil Hearing on Unsplash.
Queries for Contemplation
Do you find the waking up of the Catholic Church to the sacredness of creation and the evil of planetary destruction, along with other religious traditions a sign of hope in our times? And court decisions that are check-mating MAGA’s efforts to keep coal plants operating?
Related Readings by Matthew Fox
Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth.
A Spirituality Named Compassion: Uniting Mystical Awareness with Social Justice.
Original Blessing: A Primer in Creation Spirituality.
The Coming of the Cosmic Christ: The Healing of Mother Earth and the Birth of a Global Renaissance.
Sins of the Spirit, Blessing of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul & Society.
Trump & the MAGA Movement as Anti-Christ: Recognizing the Archetype of Evil in Our Time.
Adam Bucko and Matthew Fox, Occupy Spirituality: A Radical Vision For a New Generation.
Matthew Fox, Skylar Wilson and Jen Listug:Order of the Sacred Earth: An Intergenerational Vision of Love and Action.
