Week of 7/8-13/2024: Democracy & Threats to Democracy

July 8, 2024: Jesus and Democracy according to Meister Eckhart
As threats to democracy arise around the globe, and certainly in our country, we look to Eckhart for words of wisdom. In one extended treatise entitled “Everyone an Aristocrat, Everyone a Noble Person,” he makes explicit a theological grounding for democracy, based on the case that Jesus recognized the dignity of each and every human being in his preaching on how the “kingdom and reign of God is within every person and among us.”

July 9, 2024: Jesus on Democracy à la Meister Eckhart, continued
One of Eckhart’s themes is that we are all royal persons, worthy of being treated with dignity and respect. This forms the basis for democracy: No one has the right to lord over others. That is the essence of a government of, by, and for the people. Eckhart surely has the psalmist’s hymn to creation in mind: You have made them little less than God, and crowned them with glory and honor. (Ps. 8:5f) If we are dedicated to democracy, and if we recognize the dignity of all people, we will fight for the rights of women and people of color, for indigenous people and immigrants and children. Everyone deserves a seat at the table.

July 10, 2024: When Injustices & Unjustices Attack Democracy
There are many attacks on democracy right now, and the Supreme Court, which is charged with upholding the values of democracy and the Constitution, is currently one of its greatest threats. Greed and power have invaded the Court, compelled by far-right, neo-fascist Leonardo Leo and the Heritage Foundation, who pushed for six of the nine justices. The Heritage Foundation formulated the horrifying Project 2025. Read it and weep. Read it and act.

July 11, 2024: Senator Whitehouse on SCOTUS-Maker, “Creepy Leonard Leo”
When talking about the Unsupreme Court and its many failings of late, one must mention Leonardo Leo, who was in the news lately when Senator Sheldon Whitehouse invoked him in his powerful critique of dark money in American politics. He writes: It’s a trifecta: dark money is behind climate denial, Court capture and corruption of Congress—one crew, one plan, one cancer in the body politic.* Dark money is “massive anonymous political spending by special interests” who hide their identifies from the public. Polling is off the charts to restrict this kind of dark money. Republicans, Democrats, and independents are united in their distaste for the prevalence of dark money.

July 12, 2024: Political Hacks & Religious Quacks: Christofascism in SCOTUS
We recently learned that Leonard Leo played a major role in Senator McConnell’s refusal to allow any consideration of any of President Obama’s Supreme Court nominees. And so we continue to explore the impact of Leonard Leo and Opus Dei on American politics. [FROM THE ARCHIVE: July 11, 2022] Opus Dei has never liked the separation of church and state. Consider Franco’s dictatorship, where Opus Dei played a very active role in marrying far right-wing Catholicism with right-wing politics and industry for decades of rule. Says Matthew: “Mixing fascism and Christianity is religious quackery of a very serious kind. Its name is Christofascism.“

July 13, 2024: Religion & Fascism: Examination of Conscience
[FROM THE ARCHIVE: November 29, 2023, originally titled “Religion & Fascism: Examination of Conscience in a Time of Advent”] Unfortunately, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference has embarrassed itself once again declaring that their number one priority this upcoming presidential election year will be: Abortion. Meanwhile, the recent papacies of JP II and Benedict XVI made it their priority to destroy liberation theology in Latin America, in cahoots with the then Opus Dei-driven CIA. The outsized role that Opus Dei plays with the current Supreme Court is clear. And Leonardo Leo is their poster boy.

*Meteor Blades, “Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse tells it like it is: ‘one crew, one plan, one cancer in the body politic.’” Daily Kos,

Banner image: “Democracy.” The Tintic Standard Reduction Mill is an abandoned refinery or concentrator located on the west slope of Warm Springs Mountain near Goshen, Utah rumored to have contributed to heavy metal pollution in the area. Image by Thomas Hawk on Flickr.

Recommended Reading

Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society

Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them. 
“A scholarly masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science.  A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics

Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior For Our Time

While Matthew Fox recognizes that Meister Eckhart has influenced thinkers throughout history, he also wants to introduce Eckhart to today’s activists addressing contemporary crises. Toward that end, Fox creates dialogues between Eckhart and Carl Jung, Thich Nhat Hanh, Rabbi Heschel, Black Elk, Karl Marx, Rumi, Adrienne Rich, Dorothee Soelle, David Korten, Anita Roddick, Lily Yeh, M.C. Richards, and many others.
“Matthew Fox is perhaps the greatest writer on Meister Eckhart that has ever existed. (He) has successfully bridged a gap between Eckhart as a shamanistic personality and Eckhart as a post-modern mentor to the Inter-faith movement, to reveal just how cosmic Eckhart really is, and how remarkably relevant to today’s religious crisis! ” — Steven Herrmann, Author of Spiritual Democracy: The Wisdom of Early American Visionaries for the Journey Forward

The Pope’s War: Why Ratzinger’s Secret Crusade Has Imperiled the Church and How It Can Be Saved

The Pope’s War offers a provocative look at three decades of corruption in the Catholic Church, focusing on Josef Ratzinger, Pope Benedict XVI. The final section in the book focuses on birthing a truly catholic Christianity.
“This book should be read by everybody, not only for its ferocious courage, but also for its vision for what needs to be saved from the destructive forces that threaten authentic Christianity.” ~ Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope.
“In the gripping The Pope’s War, Matthew Fox takes an unwavering look at the layers of corruption in the Catholic Church, holding moral truth against power.”   — Jason Berry, author of Vows of Silence: The Abuse of Power in the Papacy of John Paul II