The Suspicious And Untimely Death Of Jesuit Anthony De Mello...

Anthony de Mello was a Jesuit priest and gifted speaker who died suddenly, just before setting off on his summer tour of the US in 1987. Was it natural causes or might his radical, liberating views have angered some to eliminate him clandestinely ?



Anthony was popular with audiences for using simple stories, sayings and parables from across religion and cultures, which included Hindu, Islamic, Buddhist, Taoist and native American, for better interpretation of the Christian scriptures.

His 1986 tour of the U.S, was a great success. However, the video footage of the four day conference was 'accidentally' destroyed, leaving just 8 hours of audio.

A year later, and in the U.S for his summer tour, Tony was found dead in the floor of his room on the morning of June 1, 1987. His official death certficate stated that he died of a heart attack, but it was found odd and unusual that he was found lying in a fetal position. Tony had also no history of heart disease, and examinations by physicians earlier had given him a clean bill of health.


De Mello's death was also similar to the suspicious death of Thomas Merton, who like De Mello had initiated interfaith understanding and dialogue and was of the opinion that non-christian faiths had much to offer Christianity.

A few centuries earlier, Meister Eckhart had raised the ire of the Catholic church with his discourses, and he was accused of heresy and brought up before the inquisition. He however died before the verdict was received.



An article dealing with the topic.