The "Recyclical" or "Eco-cyclical" contains a reference to heretic Pierre Teilhard de Chardin in §83:
83. The ultimate destiny of the universe is in the fullness of God, which has already been attained by the risen Christ, the measure of the maturity of all things.[53] Here we can add yet another argument for rejecting every tyrannical and irresponsible domination of human beings over other creatures. The ultimate purpose of other creatures is not to be found in us. Rather, all creatures are moving forward with us and through us towards a common point of arrival, which is God, in that transcendent fullness where the risen Christ embraces and illumines all things. Human beings, endowed with intelligence and love, and drawn by the fullness of Christ, are called to lead all creatures back to their Creator.
Thus, creation becomes God, which Francis with De Chardin calls the "common point of arrival"‽
Sure, God is the Final Cause of creation, but that certainly does
not mean creation becomes God. Creation comes
ex nihilo and will return to nothing (cf. Gen. 3:19: "…dust thou [i.e., thy body] art, and into dust thou shalt return.").
The
Holy Office suspected De Chardin of error because his works were "filled with ambiguities and even serious errors that offend Catholic doctrine," e.g., pantheism. He posited that matter evolves until it becomes living (reaching the “Biosphere”), self-conscious (reaching the “Noosphere”), spiritual, and then ultimately God (reaching the “Omega Point”). His most famous work is
The Phenomenon of Man, which is on the Index.
Thompson's
Between Science and Religion p. 74. says:
Pius XII’s encyclical Humani Generis (1950) completely rejected the Teilhardian position on evolution. Teilhard was furious and he accused the encyclical of exhibiting a “masochism and sadism of orthodoxy.” The encyclical appeared to require the faithful to “swallow the truth under its crudest and stupidest forms.” The Church failed to recognize that the theories of relativity and evolution were as critical to understanding God as the constant refinement of dogmas.
When De Chardin met
Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. (thought to be the drafter of
Humani Generis; cf.
his commentary on it), he told a friend, after Fr. G.-L. left: "This is the man who wants to burn me at the stake!" (reported in Fr. G.-L.'s biography,
The Sacred Monster of Thomism by Fr. Peddicord, O.P.).
Even Voris is attacking
Humani Generis (specifically, §20) in
saying Catholics are not bound by encyclicals!
Also,
"conservative" Benedict XVI praised De Chardin in a homily.