Teilhard De Chardin on TV

Mary and Manny Hotchkiss – Portland Chapter

We were alerted to the first ever American television documentary on Teilhard de Chardin by articles in the National Catholic Reporter and America Magazine. The NCR article initially enticed us by saying,

As a film, "Teilhard: Visionary Scientist" …. is an exceptional narrative made from documentary footage, recent interviews with key experts and Teilhard’s relatives in the United States, France and China; old photographs and new photos taken during the filming; and the select use of the Jesuit's writings. From these, a substantive, thought-provoking and inspiring biography emerges.

Two board members of the American Teilhard Association, filmmakers Frank and Mary Frost, worked on the Teilhard film for 13 years.

As Maryknoll Affiliates, we had been exposed to Teilhard’s theories on evolution and the new cosmology through virtual presentations by Maryknollers, from Diarmuid O’Murchu, and through an Affiliate book group using Ilia Delio’s book, Making All Things New. Several Orbis books by Ilia Delio and others also present the Teilhard vision that Love drives evolution.

According to Wikipedia, Teilhard’s “posthumously published book, The Phenomenon of Man, set forth a sweeping account of the unfolding of the cosmos and the evolution of matter to humanity, to ultimately a reunion with Christ. In the book, Teilhard abandoned literal interpretations of creation in the Book of Genesis in favor of allegorical and theological interpretations.”

We knew that distribution of Teilhard’s writing had been banned by his Jesuit superiors and the Vatican starting in the 1940s. The PBS video reviews the Church’s objections. It also mentions several of Teilhard’s feminine relationships. Teilhard became widely read when one of his friends had his writings published in the secular market after his death. In 2023, America Magazine said that Pope Francis recently caused a stir by quoting Teilhard de Chardin.

We recommend this well-done and informative video that is being broadcast on PBS. Consult your local PBS station or view it at https://www.pbs.org/search/?q=Teilhard+de+Chardin.

This article first appeared in the July/August issue of Not So Far Afield.