Time for a new reformation?

Matthew Fox believes the Roman Catholic Church in its current form needs to die, so that a new Catholicism can take root. For this, he has been called a heretic.

Fox, an outspoken American priest and theologian, explains his controversial spiritual philosophy on the next edition of VisionTV’s Gemini Award-nominated current affairs series 360 Vision.

360 Vision’s full-edition interview with Fox airs on Wednesday, Feb. 7 at 10 p.m. ET, and repeats on Monday, Feb. 12 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

The broadcast coincides with a pair of upcoming Canadian appearances for Matthew Fox (see below).

The interview is part of 360 Vision’s “The Heretics,” an ongoing series of provocative conversations with world-renowned men and women who have acted on their faith in ways that challenge traditional power structures and orthodoxies.

Fox was ordained a priest in 1967. He later began to question some of the core teachings of the Church, including the belief in original sin. He was silenced by the Vatican in 1989, and later dismissed from the Dominican order.

Today, Fox is the foremost exponent of “Creation Spirituality,” a movement that seeks to revitalize Christianity by embracing mysticism, feminism, social justice, ecological awareness and the shamanic traditions of indigenous peoples.

Now an Episcopalian, Fox is committed to working with young people to reinvent worship by incorporating new forms of music, dance and art. A healthy Christianity, Fox says, would also celebrate the divine in the natural world. “It’s a scandal that a lot of Christianity has tried to say, ‘Well, nature’s for pagans,’” he says.

Though critics label some of his theology “New Age,” Fox bridles at this term. “I consider any journalist that calls me New Age to be mystically illiterate,” he says. “Jesus was a mystic. Was he New Age?”

Matthew Fox has two Canadian appearances scheduled in February:

“Reinventing Christianity: Time for a New Reformation for a New Millennium” – Eden United Church (3051 Battleford Road, Mississauga, Ont.); Thursday, Feb. 8, 7:30 p.m. For information, contact Barry King, 905-824-5578.

“A Sustainable Future Through a New Spirituality of Work” – Victoria University, at University of Toronto (73 Queen’s Park Crescent East, Second Floor, Toronto, Ont.); Friday, Feb. 9 and Saturday, Feb. 10. To register call The Gaia Centre for Eco-Spirituality and Sustainable Work: 705-754-2427.

Matthew Fox will also be teaching a three day course in Vancouver:
“Meister Eckhart’s Mysticism and Ours” - Chalmers Institute
Vancouver School of Theology 6000 Iona Drive Vancouver, BC; June 27-29. Phone: 604-822-9815.