.

Fr. Matthew Fox, erstwhile Dominican, but later Episcopalian, has been
up to a lot of innovative things, which actually don't seem to be
all that remote from the tastes of Pope Francis.  These projects go
back 20 years and more, but they are now looking more ominous in
retrospect.  

A few years ago, it would have seemed impossible that the Pope might
be inclined to adopt some of these practices, but now, after the
increasingly scandalous antics of Francis, it's not quite so unimaginable,  
anymore.

Maybe this is a development of the 'hermeneutic of continuity' in
practice, even though Cardinal Ratzinger 'tried' to intervene (or, did he?).

After all, maybe to honestly apply his own principle of 'continuity' he
had to make 'accommodations' with his OWN sense of what is, and what
is not, acceptable?  





From Wikipedia:


Techno Cosmic Masses

Fox's "Techno Cosmic Masses" (more recently just called "Cosmic Masses") are events that attempt to combine the religious ritual of the Eucharist with dance and multimedia material, deejays, video jockeys and rap music. They evoke and connect spiritual rituals and the ecstatic energy of Techno music and rave parties. They developed from a group called the Nine O'Clock Service in Sheffield, England in the late 1980s and early 1990s and was brought to the United States and further developed by Fox in the mid-1990s.


95 theses

In 2005, while preparing for a presentation in Germany and following the naming of Cardinal Ratzinger as Pope Benedict XVI, Fox created [fabricated] 95 theses that he then translated into German.

On the weekend of Pentecost, arrangements were made for him to nail these to the door of the Wittenberg church where Martin Luther nailed the original 95 Theses in the 16th century, an act often associated with the then-hundreds of years underway Protestant Reformation [Wikipedia fantasy].

The action fueled the creation of a lively blog involving tens of thousands of Germans. In his theses, Fox called for a new reformation in Western Christianity. In his supporting book, A New Reformation, Fox argued that two Christianities already exist and it is time for a new reformation to acknowledge that fact and move the Western spiritual tradition into new directions.


Also in 1983, Catholic Church leadership began officially reviewing Fox’s teachings and theological divergences. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger – then Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, a Vatican administrative body charged with teaching and defending church doctrine – ordered a panel of Dominican priests and theologians to perform a two-year review of Fox’s writings. When the initial findings found in Fox’s favor, Cardinal Ratzinger, later to become Pope Benedict XVI, rejected them and ordered a second review which was never undertaken.[6][7] Some scholars say these traditions are close to those that were first laid out by Jesus.

Among Fox’s most controversial teachings was a belief in "original blessing", which became the title of one of his most popular books. The concept was in direct contravention of the Roman Catholic doctrine that people are born into "original sin". Fox’s teachings also were considered more feminist and ecology-centered, and more accepting of ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity than church orthodoxy.

In 1988, Fox wrote a public letter to Cardinal Ratzinger entitled "Is the Catholic Church Today a Dysfunctional Family?", which was subsequently widely disseminated by the National Catholic Reporter. Soon after, Cardinal Ratzinger issued an order forbidding Fox to teach or lecture for a year.

In 1993, Fox’s conflicts with Catholic authorities climaxed with his expulsion from the Dominican order for "disobedience", effectively ending his professional relationship with the church and his teaching at its universities. Cardinal Ratzinger ordered the expulsion after Fox refused to respond to a summons to discuss his writings with his superiors in the Roman Catholic Church. Among the issues Fox was asked to defend were that he: called God "Mother";” preferred the concept of Original Blessing over Original Sin; worked too closely with Native American spiritual practices; did not condemn ɧoɱosɛҳųαƖity; and taught the four paths of creation spirituality—the Via Positiva, Via Negativa, Via Creativa and Via Transformativa instead of the church’s classical three paths of purgation, illumination and union.

After his expulsion, Fox met young Anglican activists in England who were using "raves" as a way to bring life back to their liturgy and to attract young people to church worship. He was inspired to begin holding his own series of “Techno Cosmic Masses” in Oakland and other U.S. cities, events designed to connect people to a more ecstatic and visceral celebration and relationship with their spirituality.




[In the External Links:]

Prayer Party -- Techno Mass Rocks Religious in Oakland: Music, dance celebrate spirituality by Don Lattin, San Francisco Chronicle, Feb. 25, 1997

Making a Joyful Noise: Rev. Matthew Fox Hopes His Sweaty Rave Masses Will Change the Way We Pray, Raving My Religion - New York Times Magazine, June 22, 1997