Anthony de Mello (Jesuit priest)

Anthony "Tony" de Mello, SJ (4 September 1931 – 2 June 1987), was an Indian Jesuit priest and psychotherapist. A spiritual teacher, writer, and public speaker, de Mello wrote several books on spirituality and hosted numerous spiritual retreats and conferences. He continues to be known for his storytelling, which drew from the various mystical traditions of both East and West.

Beginnings
De Mello was the oldest of five children born to Frank and Louisa (née Castellino) de Mello. He was born in Bombay, British India, on 4 September 1931. He was raised in a Catholic family and dreamed of one day joining the Jesuit order.

At the age of 16, de Mello entered the Society of Jesus at the seminary of Vinalaya on the outskirts of Bombay. In 1952, he was sent to Spain to study philosophy in Barcelona before undertaking ministry. He then returned to India to study theology at De Nobili College in Pune and was ordained to the priesthood in March 1961. After his return to India, he spent several years working in seminaries, and in 1968 he was made rector of the seminary of Vinalaya.

De Mello was first attracted to the Jesuits for their strict discipline. Those who knew him during his earlier years in the order described him as somewhat conservative in his theology and reluctant to explore other religions. Some of his peers noted that his experience in Spain led him to broaden his perspective and to lose much of his rigidity.

Work
In 1972, he founded the Institute of Pastoral Counselling, later renamed the Sadhana Institute of Pastoral Counselling, in Poona, India. De Mello's first published book, Sadhana – A Way to God, was released in 1978. It outlined a number of spiritual principles and "Christian exercises in Eastern form" inspired by the teachings of Saint Ignatius. It popularized various mindfulness and contemplative practices in the United States for his readers and for those who attended his lectures.

Death
De Mello died of a heart attack in 1987, aged 55, in New York City. Bill De Mello, a brother of Tony's, recounts in his book Anthony deMello: The Happy Wanderer that Tony's body was found by Fr. Frank Stroud, S.J. According to Fr. Stroud, de Mello's body was curled up in a fetal position. His official death certificate lists the immediate cause of his death as "Atherosclerotic coronary artery disease with recent thrombosis of left circumflex branch."

Posthumous controversy
In 1998, 11 years after de Mello's death, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) under the leadership of its Cardinal-Prefect, Joseph Ratzinger (who later became Pope Benedict XVI), conducted a review of de Mello's work and released a comment stating that while "his works, which almost always take the form of brief stories, contain some valid elements of oriental wisdom . . . [which] can be helpful in achieving self-mastery, in breaking the bonds and feelings that keep us from being free, and in approaching with serenity the various vicissitudes of life," some of de Mello's views, expressed particularly in his later work, "are incompatible with the Catholic faith and can cause grave harm."

In particular, the CDF wrote that while "especially in his early writings, Father de Mello, while revealing the influence of Buddhist and Taoist spiritual currents, remained within the lines of Christian spirituality," they understood de Mello's view of Jesus as "a master alongside others," objected to the idea that "the question of destiny after death is declared to be irrelevant; only the present life should be of interest," and expressed further concern that "the author's statements on the final destiny of man give rise to perplexity."

The Indian magazine Outlook saw this as an attempt by Rome to undermine the clergy in Asia amid widening fissures between Rome and the Asian Church. De Mello's books are available in many Catholic bookshops in the West, but sometimes include an advisory that they were written in a multi-religious context and are not intended to be manuals on Christian doctrine.

Biography

 * Tony de Mello, S.J.: A Short Biography, by Bill De Mello (brother)

Online resources

 * De Mello Spirituality Center website
 * "Notification Concerning the Writings of Fr. Anthony de Mello, SJ"
 * Spiritual Stories from Anthony de Mello
 * Quotes by de Mello

Multimedia

 * "Rediscovery of Life", a conference by de Mello in five parts
 * Online de Mello resource including videos and MP3s
 * "Remembering Anthony DeMello", Humankind Public Radio program recorded at a retreat held at Fordham University shortly before his death.