Leo XIV's New Document: Lost in Buddhist Enlightenment, Islamic Āya and African Animism
Positive Reception of Teilhard de Chardin
The text is often buried beneath dense and highly abstract vocabulary, much of it reflecting a cosmic and evolutionary vision of creation.
The document speaks of the Holy Spirit “Christifying” creation through a “progressive growth”, so that creation “advances toward its eschatological fulfillment.” Elsewhere it describes “all matter” as tending toward transformation and fulfillment in Christ.
Christ is consequently described as “the axis of the maturation of the world.”
This language is strongly reminiscent of the cosmic heresy of the French Jesuit Pierre Teilhard de Chardin (1881-1955). The document admits that it received "the contribution of Fr. Teilhard de Chardin” (footnote 184).
Buddha is Like Saint Francis
The document speaks of a “driving role of religions in favor of the common good”. “With other great spiritual and religious traditions … we share the heritage of love and care for the Common Home.”
On Buddhism: “In his enlightenment, the Buddha perceived the radical interconnectedness of all natural phenomena: an experience that in some way brings him close to the perception of the cosmic fraternity and sorority experienced by Saint Francis of Assisi, recalled and developed further by Laudato si’.”
Islam Is Very Close to Biblical Image of God
On Islam: “The intrinsic value of creation in Islam is founded on the fact that it is entirely a sign (āya) of God. The Qur’an constantly invites one to contemplate it in order to recognize the lordship of God.”
The Islamic understanding of man's role toward other creatures “is very close to the conception of the image of God attested in the biblical accounts, thus opening the way to collaboration between Christians and Muslims in the field of ecology.”
“Sacred Energy” Unites Prelates, Wolves and Rocks
Talking about African pagan religions, the document states that the cosmic elements - the sky, the earth, the waters, the forests, or fire - are potentially hierophanic realities, being profoundly connected with the Divine.
And, "A sacred energy unites human beings with other animals, plants, inanimate beings, and the divine world."
Support for Vegetarianism
There is also a passage giving support for vegetarianism. Discussing Genesis, the text mentions that before the Flood God gives plants as human food and then says: “The vegetarian movement finds here an undeniable point of support.”
It subsequently acknowledges Genesis 9's permission to eat animals and explicitly accepts killing animals for necessary nourishment.
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