The Suspicious and Timely Death

of
Father Anthony de Mello, SJ
from
mothandrust.tk
There seems a depressing inevitability about the fate of those who would
challenge the established order, and engage popular support. Martin Luther
King and Malcolm X come readily to mind, and of course President Kennedy.
Undoubtedly people who had made powerful enemies but had also polarised
various social, religious and political groups enough to conure a host of
scapegoats and confusion. !here the heavy finger of blame points in only one
direction, subtler methods are re"uired.
#
Tony was a rising star in the $atholic $hurch. %K, at && he was no spring
chic'en, but nevertheless by comparison to the higher orders, he was youthful
indeed. Tony founded the (adhana institute in )*+,, which over the years
gained an international reputation, along with its founder. Tony found himself
fre"uently etting around the world giving conferences and tal's and gaining
ever more popularity with an increasing audience.
Tony captivated audiences with simple stories, parables and sayings from
across culture and religion- $hinese, .ndian, /merican, $hristian, Muslim,
0uddhist... using them as gateways to understanding, windows upon
awareness. Moreover, Tony held a deep appreciation for scripture, the
messages, signposts held within, and the early $hristian mystics whose
writings he blended seamlessly with spiritual wisdom, from wherever it came.
$ome the mid 123s, although resistant at first, Tony allowed occasional
recordings of his tal's. .n )*24 he gave his first videoed conference, 1!a'e up
to Life51, held over four days in 6ew 7or'. .t was an enormous success, Tony
appeared to be going places.
#
. 'new nothing of Tony at this time, .1d been $ of 8 and lapsed somewhat. .n
fact .1d found more sense in 9aoism and 0uddhism so had focused my spiritual
ourney there. !hen it came to $atholicism, my connection, hence
understanding, had consisted of little more than, 1.n :od1s 6ame1 by 9avid
7allop
)
;arguing Pope <ohn Paul . was assassinated because he was about to
curtail the =atican 0an'1s money laundering for the Mafia and return the
$hurch to the poor>, 1The ?oly 0lood and the ?oly :rail1 by Michael 0aigent et
al.
@
;which, amongst other things, eAamines the construction and editing of the
0ible and Bome1s attempts at eAterminating dissidence>, and 1Cather Ted1
,
, so
1followers of the faith1 were unli'ely to be top of my reading list.
) 7allop, 9. ;)*2D> In God's Name: An Investigation into the Murder of Pope John Paul I
@ 0aigent, M. 8t al ;)**&> The holy blood and the holy grail.
, ?at Tric' Productions for $hannel D, http-EEen.wi'ipedia.orgEwi'iECatherFTed
@
6ot long after the .nternet came into being, a friend who is prone to such
things, sent me a "uote from /nthony de Mello-
!ou are so proud of your intelligen"e#$ said the master. !ou are li%e a
"ondemned man proud of the vastness of his prison "ell#.
. li'ed it very much. .t sat comfortably with someone who, at least
academically, was intellectually challenged. .n fact, it was a great source of
comfort as . fought my way through three years of .nternational Belations
Theory at university.
6ever really thought any more about it after uni, until browsing in a London
boo' store, wanting something for my return ourney to /berystwyth, when .
came across 1(adhana- a way to :od G $hristian eAercises in 8astern form1
D
.
!hen . read /nthony de Mello was a <esuit priest . almost retuned the boo' to
the shelf, almost, but... something stayed me. .t is important, as . would hear
Tony tell me, ust a day or so hence, not to let preudice stain my window.
(adhana was a oy. To be honest it transformed my picture of what $hristianity
could be. Tony made such simple, wholesome sense, seamlessly tying east and
west. .n fact, what Tony was saying, seemed to me the antithesis of $atholicism
as . had understood it.
/nd indeed, although willing to reappraise my opinion, given the shining
beacon of Tony, and as . was to discover, some remar'ably brave nuns and
priests in Latin /merica, . could find little, or nothing, to substantially challenge
my original position. Cor as . eAamined recent Papal decisions and actions in
relation to censuring and silencing campaigning priests, organised crime, child
abuse, financial dealings, power... the actions appeared as autocratic,
unanswerable, arbitrary as ever. !ith the fearsome ?err BatHinger appearing
as Pope <ohn Paul ..1s henchman for throttling dissidence.
#
Tony must have been a big, big problem. Tony would not be silenced, he was
here to dance his dance. ?e spo'e his truth in a simple, logical, understandable
way, engaging with increasing numbers as word spread. ?is )*24 tour of the
U(, as mentioned above, was a huge success. Unfortunately, all the video
footage of the four day conference was destroyed, leaving ust eight hours of
audio ;of which most would be published as 1/wareness1 some three years
later>.
)*2+, a year on, Tony is bac' in the (tates, ready for his summer tour. (urely
this year there would be no such accident, bac'ups would be made, safeguards
put in place. 1Tony, the video1 was about to go public through every $atholic
boo'shop worldwide5 / most unpalatable prospect for the powers that be.
#
D de Mello, /. ;)*2&> &adhana: A 'ay to God ( )hristian *+er"ises in *astern form
,
.t would be a futile eAercise to attempt to uncover any validity behind the
possible assassination of Tony. /s a priest within the <esuit order, he would be
effectively encased within their system. Their meals, their autopsy, their press
release, no need for eAternal eAamination. (o we see motivation, means and
method, but that is all, and as Tony would advise us, one must 'eep an open
mind, open to, and awareness of, each and every possibility and eventuality.
/ssassination or not, for ?err BatHinger, Tony1s death was a timely 1:odsend1.
Unfortunately for BatHinger, Tony1s wor' did not dry up. Posthumously
published wor's appeared and interpretations also began to surface. ?e was
not best pleased. %n BatHinger1s re"uest the =atican banned Tony1s boo's,
however, finding the ban unwor'able, this was transmuted to a 16otification1,
penned by BatHinger and authorised by Pope <ohn Paul .., placed in all Tony1s
boo's warning $atholics away from such dangerous and subversive teaching
&I4
.
;see below>
#
Tony represented a potential schism in the $hurch, encouraging people to
become aware, to thin' for themselves, rather than let the $hurch, or any
ideology do it for them.
JTo doubtK, Tony argues, Jis infinitely more important than adoration... to
"uestion is so much more important than to believeK.
+

8verywhere people are searching for obects to adore, but . donLt find
people awa'e enough in their attitudes and convictions. ?ow happy we
would be if terrorists would adore their ideology less and "uestion more.
?owever, we donLt li'e to apply that to ourselvesM we thin' weLre all right
and the terrorists are wrong. 0ut a terrorist to you is a martyr to the other
side.
2
The process that we use for ma'ing a (t. Crancis Xavier could be eAactly
the same process used for producing terrorists.
*

!hat is scripture, thenN .tLs a hint, a clue, not a description. The
fanaticism of one sincere believer who thin's he 'nows causes more evil
than the united efforts of two hundred rogues. .tLs terrifying to see what
sincere believers will do because they thin' they 'now. !ouldnLt it be
wonderful if we had a world where everybody said, J!e donLt 'nowKN
)3
Unfortunately Tony1s observations on the scriptures did not survive the
accident, but having gone over the eight remaining hours of the 1!a'e up to
& http-EEusers.tpg.com.auEadsligolEtonyEindeA.html
4 http-EEen.wi'ipedia.orgEwi'iE/nthonyFdeFMelloF;priest>
+ /wareness, 9is' +, Trac' 134 /ssorted Landmines1
2 /wareness, 9is' +, Trac' 134 /ssorted Landmines1
* /wareness, 9is' ), Trac' 132 The Mas"uerade of $harity1
)3/wareness, 9is' D, Trac' 134 /rriving at (ilence1
D
Life51 conference tapes times past counting ;cutting, splicing, reordering,
editing... ;it appears as if no one cared for these recordings> a long and would
be tedious process, if not for the oy of listening to Tony and his insights> the
few biblical observations which did survive paint a remar'ably different picture
to the one presented as Truth by religious hierarchy.
J(leeping people read the scriptures and crucify the Messiah on the basis of
them.K
))
Tony is not limiting his observation to lay people, but challenging all,
citing eAamples of priests and religious scholars who, through the 0ible and
enculturation, lose sight of deeper meaning, preferring attachment to
understanding.
)@I),

/wareness, awareness, awareness O the message is so simple, yet compleA as
life itself. To find awareness one must first shatter illusions, get deprogrammed,
remove the control that society has imposed. (o what about Tony1s awarenessN
Tony1s deprogrammingN Tony1s societyN
%ne can of course only speculate, and it is most difficult to see that which
surrounds us, pervades us ;li'e, to use one of Tony1s analogies, the little fish in
the ocean- J8Acuse me, .Lm loo'ing for the ocean. $an you tell me where . can
find itNK
)D
>, however, from eAamining Tony1s words, . believe he was under few
illusions about $atholicism, and the ruthlessness of its hierarchy.
%ne might even suggest he was po'ing fun or taunting them, with all his tal' of
awareness, understanding, discovery, and not ta'ing the 0ible literally, which
flies in the face of those with an interest in power and control, who prefer blind
obedience and subservience. Curther, in his condemnation of religion Tony
suggests the $hurch falls prey to idolatry- a mental idol, producing Jthe more
dangerous idol worshippersK.
)&

J/ll revelations, however divine, are never any more than a finger pointing to
the moon... !hen the sage points at the moon, all the idiot sees is the finger.K
)4

Tony is not of course limiting his observation to $atholicism or $hristianity but
religion in general and the idols- teAts, symbols, rituals, which too often
become a Jbarrier to getting in touch with reality, because sooner or later we
forget that the words are not the thing. The concept is not the same as the
reality. TheyLre different... The final barrier to finding :od is the word J:odK
itself and the concept of :od.K
)+
J7ou miss :od because you thin' you 'now.
ThatLs the terrible thing about religion. K
)2
Tony is universally scathing of nations and governments of all 'inds, J. don1t
'now of one government, not one, that is selfless, individuals perhaps, but
))/wareness, 9is' D, Trac' 13, (leepwal'ing1
)@/wareness, 9is' +, Trac' 134 /ssorted Landmines1
),/wareness, 9is' 2, Trac' 13) The Land of Love1
)D/wareness, 9is' D, Trac' 134 /rriving at (ilence1
)&/wareness, 9is' &, Trac' 134 :etting $oncrete1
)4/wareness, 9is' D, Trac' 134 /rriving at (ilence1
)+/wareness, 9is' &, Trac' 13& ?ugging Memories1
)2/wareness, 9is' D, Trac' 134 /rriving at (ilence1
&
governments, oh, oh, ohK
)*
. $an Tony, in his awareness, be overloo'ing the
government in BomeN
. wondered at his tenacity, fearlessness, abandon, and . am tempted to say
foolhardiness, as he o'es, perhapsN, of becoming Pope
@3
;edited out of the
boo'>, "uestioning the honesty and capacity of priests
@)
and pouring scorn on
weeping for one1s sins G Ja great religious distractionK, says Tony. JThat1s not
what repent means- wa'e up5 0ecome aware5 !hat1s the use of weeping for
your sins, which you committed while you were asleep anywayNK
@@
0ut, Tony
also informs us, you cannot truly live until you have abandoned fear, and fear
of death.
@,

/nd Tony shows no fear, as he enters into the heat of battle, with his heart at
the lotus feet of the Lord
@D
;Jshould . battle my relativesN :o right ahead, do
your dutyK
@&
>.
?e is not threatened by criticism, he does not care what you thin' of him
or what you say about him. ?e1s cut all those strings- he1s not a puppet
any longer.
J?e1s terrifying. (o we1ve got to get rid of him. ?e tells the truth- he has
become fearless- he has stopped being human.K
,uman- 0ehold5 / human being at last5 ?e bro'e out of his slavery, bro'e
out of their prison.
@4

This is Tony from 1wa'e up to life, 241. <esus appeared as the immediate
eAample in my mind, but the more . eAamined Tony1s words the more . found
challenges to Bome, its orthodoAy and references to their potential response. .s
it in any way possible that Tony could be blind to the anger his perspective
generated amongst $hurch hierarchyN %r is he predicting his fateN
Tony finishes the conference with his wonderful story of 1the man who invented
fire1, who shared his invention with the cold and hungry and so enraged and
terrified the priests that they got rid of him.
@+
/gain, this could be reference to
<esus, yet it might ust as readily apply to the man who rediscovered it.
GGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG
)*!a'e up to Life, 9is' ), Trac' 34
@3/wareness, 9is' ), Trac' 132 The Mas"uerade of $harity1
@)/wareness, 9is' ), Trac' 132 The Mas"uerade of $harity1
@@/wareness, 9is' @, Trac' 13& The .llusion of Bewards1
@,/wareness, 9is' +, Trac' 13, The 9eath of Me1
@D/wareness, 9is' D, Trac' 13) Cour (teps to !isdom1 O see also, 0hagavadG:ita
@&/wareness, 9is' D, Trac' 13) Cour (teps to !isdom1
@4/wareness, 9is' D, Trac' 13) Cour (teps to !isdom1
@+/wareness, 9is' 2, Trac' 13) The Land of Love1
4
?err BatHinger1s notification, issued in )**2 gives us the plain facts of how
$hurch authorities felt about Tony1s perspective. 0ut such a document could
never be published while Tony was alive, for its arguments are specious,
dishonest and easily undermined. /nd Tony, master of scripture and
interpretation would have torn them to shreds, citing biblical scholars and
canoniHed saints- the li'es of /ugustine, (aint .gnatius and most particularly,
(aint Thomas /"uinas, 1the prince of theologians1, together with self evident
truths. $hurch authority would have appeared as fools, or as the liars and
hypocrites that they are.
Notifications Concerning Writings of Fr. De
Mello, SJ
NOTIFICATION CONCERNING THE WRITINGS OF
FR. ANTHONY DE MELLO, SJ
June 24, 1998
Congeg!"#on $o "%e Do&"#ne o$ "%e F!#"%
The .ndian <esuit priest, Cather /nthony de Mello ;)*,)G)*2+> is well 'nown due
to his numerous publications which, translated into various languages, have
been widely circulated in many countries of the world, though not all of these
teAts were authoriHed by him for publication. ?is wor's, which almost always
ta'e the form of brief stories, contain some valid elements of oriental wisdom.
These can be helpful in achieving selfGmastery, in brea'ing the bonds and
feelings that 'eep us from being free, and in approaching with serenity the
various vicissitudes of life. 8specially in his early writings, Cather de Mello,
while revealing the influence of 0uddhist and Taoist spiritual currents, remained
within the lines of $hristian spirituality. .n these boo's, he treats the different
'inds of prayer- petition, intercession and praise, as well as contemplation of
the mysteries of the life of $hrist, etc.
0ut already in certain passages in these early wor's and to a greater degree in
his later publications, one notices a progressive distancing from the essential
contents of the $hristian faith. .n place of the revelation which has come in the
person of <esus $hrist, he substitutes an intuition of :od without form or image,
to the point of spea'ing of :od as a pure void. To see :od it is enough to loo'
directly at the world. 6othing can be said about :odM the only 'nowing is
un'nowing. To pose the "uestion of his eAistence is already nonsense. This
radical apophaticism leads even to a denial that the 0ible contains valid
statements about :od. The words of (cripture are indications which serve only
to lead a person to silence. .n other passages, the udgment on sacred religious
teAts, not eAcluding the 0ible, becomes even more severe- they are said to
prevent people from following their own common sense and cause them to
become obtuse and cruel. Beligions, including $hristianity, are one of the maor
obstacles to the discovery of truth. This truth, however, is never defined by the
author in its precise contents. Cor him, to thin' that the :od of one1s own
religion is the only one is simply fanaticism. P:odP is considered as a cosmic
+
reality, vague and omnipresentM the personal nature of :od is ignored and in
practice denied.
Cather de Mello demonstrates an appreciation for <esus, of whom he declares
himself to be a Pdisciple.P 0ut he considers <esus as a master alongside others.
The only difference from other men is that <esus is Pawa'eP and fully free, while
others are not. <esus is not recogniHed as the (on of :od, but simply as the one
who teaches us that all people are children of :od. .n addition, the author1s
statements on the final destiny of man give rise to perpleAity. /t one point, he
spea's of a PdissolvingP into the impersonal :od, as salt dissolves in water. %n
various occasions, the "uestion of destiny after death is declared to be
irrelevantM only the present life should be of interest. !ith respect to this life,
since evil is simply ignorance, there are no obective rules of morality. :ood
and evil are simply mental evaluations imposed upon reality.
$onsistent with what has been presented, one can understand how, according
to the author, any belief or profession of faith whether in :od or in $hrist
cannot but impede one1s personal access to truth. The $hurch, ma'ing the
word of :od in ?oly (cripture into an idol, has ended up banishing :od from
the temple. (he has conse"uently lost the authority to teach in the name of
$hrist.
!ith the present 6otification, in order to protect the good of the $hristian
faithful, this $ongregation declares that the aboveGmentioned positions are
incompatible with the $atholic faith and can cause grave harm.
The (overeign Pontiff <ohn Paul .., at the /udience granted to the undersigned
$ardinal Prefect, approved the present 6otification, adopted in the %rdinary
(ession of this $ongregation, and ordered its publication.
Bome, from the offices of the $ongregation for the 9octrine of the Caith, <une
@D, )**2, the (olemnity of the 0irth of <ohn the 0aptist.
. Joseph )ard. /at0inger$ Prefe"t
Tar"isio 1ertone$ &.2.1.$
Ar"hbishop *meritus of 3er"elli
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