Boff of Brazil & Kamala Harris as President: Part II

In yesterday’s DM, I shared much of an article by Brazilian theologian Leonardo Boff entitled: “A Female President of the United States: A Hope?”  In yesterday’s video, I also shared what did not fit the format of our DM, and continue that sharing with you here so that you have it in written form.

Boff and I go back quite a long way since he and I were both silenced the same year (1989) by Cardinal Ratzinger—he for his work on Liberation Theology and Base Communities in South America, and I for my work in Creation Spirituality.  During my year of enforced silence, I visited him and other church reformers in South America, such as Bishop Casigalida in the Amazon, and Cardinal Arns, who was a strong ally of Boff and a hero for resisting the military junta in Brazil.

Among the Vatican’s objections to my work back then were:

1. I am a feminist theologian.
2. I call God Mother.  (So do all the creation mystics of the Middle Ages, as I have proven.)
3. I prefer Original Blessing to original sin.
4. I do not condemn homosexuals.
5. I work “too closely with Native Americans.”  

Fortunately, Pope Francis has moved the church beyond that era—or at least tried to.  

Boff writes: The likely fact of a woman becoming president of the most powerful country in the world would represent a decisive step towards peace between the sexes, including also the nature of which both are a part.

The common good implies that privatization and individualism ought to give way to a great social sense of solidarity. The re-engendering of man will only take place through the new feminine that is emerging more and more in all areas.

The androgynous man emerges: the new human being, the man rescuing his anima dimension, with the help of women, the capacity for tenderness, unreserved delivery, cordial sensitivity, together with his animus dimension. The woman developing her animus, that is, her capacity for initiative, creativity, operational intelligence, direction together with her anima.

In this way, what the ancient myth wanted to express is rescued: the human being is a complete being, each one is a carrier, in their own degrees, of the anima and animus. It turns out that this one androgynous being was cut in half.  This way they were separated. But, in their deep unconscious, they are always looking for each other. A force of attraction seeks to unite them and restore their primordial unity.

The ancient war of the sexes and oppressive and repressive gender policies would be progressively overcome.

Of the 500 largest North American companies, only three women hold the role of president. In other companies, 11.8% are presidents. In Brazil it is a little more: 17%, presidents of companies.

Even within the limitations imposed by the dominant patriarchy in the world, 29 women have become heads of state: in Germany, England, Brazil, Argentina, India, Liberia, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Ethiopia, Tanzania, in Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama, South Korea, Philippines, Indonesia, Israel, Nepal, Slovakia, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Ireland , in Portugal, in New Zealand and in other countries.

Now we have the chance for a mixed-race woman, Kamala Harris, to reach the center of U.S. imperial power as president.

See Matthew Fox, Confessions: The Making of a Post-denominational Priest, pp. 159, 186-189, 211-214, 219, 233f., 275f., 358f., 424.

And Fox, Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth.

And Fox, Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Prophet for Our Times, “The Divine Feminine: Meister Eckhart Meets Adrienne Rich”, pp. 57-76; and “Liberated and Liberating Sisters: Meister Eckhart meets Dorothee Soelle, the Beguines Mechtild of Magdeburg and Marguerite Porete, and Juian of Norwich,” pp. 77-96.

And Fox, The Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine.

And Fox, Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic—and Beyond.

And Fox, Hildegard of Bingen: A Saint For Our Times: Unleashing Her Power in the 21^st Century (Forward by Sr. Joan Chittister)

Banner Image: Map showing countries which since independence have had (counting Governors-General as heads of state, but excluding monarchs):   Yellow, Female head of government; Blue, Female head of state; Green, Female head of state/government (combined); Mauve, Female head of state and female head of government. Three former sovereign states (East Germany, Tannu Tuva, and Yugoslavia) have also had a female Head of State or Head of Government. Wikimedia Commons.

Queries for Contemplation

What do you learn from Boff’s reflections on hope and the upcoming American election?

Recommended Reading

Confessions: The Making of a Post-Denominational Priest (Revised/Updated Edition)

Matthew Fox’s stirring autobiography, Confessions, reveals his personal, intellectual, and spiritual journey from altar boy, to Dominican priest, to his eventual break with the Vatican. Five new chapters in this revised and updated edition bring added perspective in light of the author’s continued journey, and his reflections on the current changes taking place in church, society and the environment.
“The unfolding story of this irrepressible spiritual revolutionary enlivens the mind and emboldens the heart — must reading for anyone interested in courage, creativity, and the future of religion.”
—Joanna Macy, author of World as Lover, World as Self

Creation Spirituality: Liberating Gifts for the Peoples of the Earth

Fox’s spirituality weds the healing and liberation found in North American Creation Spirituality and in South American Liberation Theology. Creation Spirituality challenges readers of every religious and political persuasion to unite in a new vision through which we learn to honor the earth and the people who inhabit it as the gift of a good and just Creator.
“A watershed theological work that offers a common ground for religious seekers and activists of all stripes.” — Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice.

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 Hidden Spirituality of Men: Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine

To awaken what Fox calls “the sacred masculine,” he unearths ten metaphors, or archetypes, ranging from the Green Man, an ancient pagan symbol of our fundamental relationship with nature,  to the Spiritual Warrior….These timeless archetypes can inspire men to pursue their higher calling to connect to their deepest selves and to reinvent the world.
“Every man on this planet should read this book — not to mention every woman who wants to understand the struggles, often unconscious, that shape the men they know.” — Rabbi Michael Lerner, author of The Left Hand of God

Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic–and Beyond

Julian of Norwich lived through the dreadful bubonic plague that killed close to 50% of Europeans. Being an anchoress, she ‘sheltered in place’ and developed a deep wisdom that she shared in her book, Showings, which was the first book in English by a woman. A theologian way ahead of her time, Julian develops a feminist understanding of God as mother at the heart of nature’s goodness. Fox shares her teachings in this powerful and timely and inspiring book.
“What an utterly magnificent book. The work of Julian of Norwich, lovingly supported by the genius of Matthew Fox, is a roadmap into the heart of the eco-spiritual truth that all life breathes together.”  –Caroline Myss
Now also available as an audiobook HERE.

Hildegard of Bingen, A Saint for Our Times: Unleashing Her Power in the 21st Century

Matthew Fox writes in Hildegard of Bingen about this amazing woman and what we can learn from her.
In an era when women were marginalized, Hildegard was an outspoken, controversial figure. Yet so visionary was her insight that she was sought out by kings, popes, abbots, and bishops for advice.
“This book gives strong, sterling, and unvarnished evidence that everything – everything – we ourselves become will affect what women after us may also become….This is a truly marvelous, useful, profound, and creative book.” ~~ Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism.