Goddess Worshiping Catholic Nun

An example of the new pagan influx into the Roman Catholic Church is the nun Miriam MacGillis, who worships goddesses and the earth. This theology is called “eco-spirituality” or “earth spirituality.” In late February she is scheduled to present a lecture, “Cosmology, Faith and Sustainability,” at Saint Thomas University in Miami, Florida (“‘Gay-Friendly’ Miami Archdiocese Features Goddess-Worshipping Nun at Diocesan University,” LifeSiteNews.com, Feb. 5, 2009). Pioneered by Thomas Berry, a Passionist priest, eco-spirituality holds to a pantheistic view that the entire universe is the “body of God” and that it is evolving. It is a synthesis of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Native Americanism and it has permeated many of the Catholic orders, including the Dominican, Cistercian, Jesuit, Paulist, and Benedictine. Other influential names in this new Catholic paganism are Teihard de Chardin, Thomas Merton, Thomas Ryan, Thomas Keating, Kevin Hunt, Alan Griffiths, Wayne Teasdale, Willigis Jager, Basil Pennington, John Main, and Anthony de Mello. At the heart of this movement is the contemplative mysticism that has spread widely among evangelicals through the influence of men such as Richard Foster and Brennan Manning. For more about this see the book “Contemplative Mysticism: A Powerful Ecumenical Bond,” which is available from Way of Life Literature.

(Friday Church News Notes, February 13, 2009, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143)