Catholic bishops in US ban Japanese reiki

Riazat Butt, religious affairs correspondent
The Guardian, Tuesday 31 March 2009

Reiki, an alternative Japanese therapy with a growing band of followers in the west, is "unscientific" and "inappropriate" for use in Catholic institutions, according to America's bishops.

Guidelines issued by the committee on doctrine at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops warn healthcare workers and chaplains that the therapy "lacks scientific credibility" and could expose people to "malevolent forces".

The document also claims that for a Catholic to believe in reiki presents "insurmountable problems".

Reiki means "universal life energy" and was developed by the theology professor Dr Mikao Usui at the turn of the 20th century, from Buddhist beliefs and Sanskrit teachings. The client lies on a couch, clothed and relaxing, while the therapist's hands rest lightly on the body in a special sequence. Clients often report heat and tingling sensations.

The church's guidelines state: "A Catholic who puts his or her trust in reiki would be operating in the realm of superstition, the no man's land that is neither faith nor science. Superstition corrupts one's worship of God by turning one's religious feeling and practice in a false direction."

The document goes on to state that since reiki therapy is incompatible with Christian teaching and scientific evidence, "it would be inappropriate" for Catholic institutions, such as healthcare facilities and retreat centres, or people representing the church, such as chaplains, to promote or provide support for it.

Reiki master Judith White, who is a Christian, said the bishops had misunderstood the therapy. "There is so much bad information about reiki, anti-Christian information, on the internet," she said. "It says we channel spirits and that's not true. Reiki balances energy in the same way as acupuncture or reflexology. I know of two nuns in the Philadelphia area, one who runs a retreat centre, who have done wonderful work. The bishops weren't talking to women like that."

Cardinal Martino addresses World Congress for Pastoral Care of Gypsies

FREISING, GERMANY - 5 September 2008

Cardinal Renato Martino called on the Church to do more to support Europe's Gypsy community. In his opening address to the Sixth World Congress for Pastoral Care of Gypsies in Freising, Germany, on Monday afternoon, he said: "In response to the discrimination and indifference suffered by many of our brothers and sisters, the Church 'cannot remain indifferent to social realities,' and calls all men, especially Christians, to assume their own responsibilities ... in order to guarantee full respect of the dignity and rights of every human being."

The Cardinal, who is President of the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, spoke of the "precarious living conditions and limited opportunities for work and education" of many Gypsies. This, he said, particularly made the younger generation feel marginalized, "with a loss of confidence in themselves and in their families, as well as in political, judicial, and educational institutions both on a public and private level,."

He said: "If individuals are expected to contribute to a just moral and social order in the community, with generosity and courage, all the more reason for governments and international and national organizations to protect the dignity and identity of every human being and of the entire human person."

Cardinal Martino recalled that in previous Congresses, attention had been given to "the principles of equality and working against discrimination. It became evident the need for a centralized service of the Church that would promote cooperation and dialogue with international and national organizations and with the various Christian churches, in order to eliminate any kind of discrimination and violence." The Cardinal regretted that in spite of the pleas made and the advice given, "while there is a considerable openness and interest for the Gypsy people on the part of international and national organizations, there is also a certain lack of flexibility and ambiguous attitudes on the part of governments that we find deplorable."

Concluding his speech, Cardinal Martino expressed his hope that this Congress may lead to "the commitment and will, on our part, to serve all people in charity and with love."

In his speech, Archbishop Agostino Marchetto, Secretary for the Pontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, said: "the Church has always looked with confidence and Christian love towards the youth, accompanying them on their spiritual and earthly path, with maternal care and prudent affection." The Archbishop gave five points in his speech: formative background; modern-day challenges for Gypsy youth; factors/norms for an effective inclusion in society; international, national, and state organizations at the service of Gypsy youth; the Church and Gypsy youth.

Archbishop Marchetto presented some suggestions on themes that should be developed regarding Gypsy youth: creating more centres, offering training, study, professional preparation; promoting cultural exchange activities, so as to promote their educational progress and make them aware of the environment in which they live; form mixed committees of both Church and state authorities, in order to reflect on the problems to be faced and find plans of action; offering various activities (volunteer work, associations, sports groups, seminars, art classes) and prevention work to "pull" the youth out of the inertia of idleness, drugs, alcohol, etc.; identify and form leaders in their communities; make petitions to humanitarian organizations, Caritas, etc. for economic aid in the area of small loans for families and communities that prove to have a greater capacity in administrating the funds, for the benefit of the entire Gypsy population.

Source: Fides

© Independent Catholic News 2008

Vatican distances itself from Catholic magazine's warning of fascist revival

The Vatican today distanced itself from a series of blistering attacks on the centre-right government of Silvio Berlusconi by the mass-circulation Roman Catholic magazine Famiglia Cristiana, which in its latest issue gives warning that Italy is in danger of returning to Fascism.

The magazine, owned by the Paulist Fathers, has repeatedly attacked the Berlusconi Government since it came to power in May on a law-and-order platform, arguing that the Right's targeting of immigrants and Gypsies as part of a crackdown on crime is racist and xenophobic. In June it compared the Government's "security decree" to the racial laws imposed by Benito Mussolini, Italy's Fascist dictator, in the 1930s.

In its latest editorial it says: "We hope that the suspicion that Fascism is being reborn in a different form proves to be untrue." Drawing on an analysis in the French Catholic publication Esprit, it compared the fingerprinting of Roma children in Italian Gypsy camps to the persecution of the Jews by the Nazis before and during the Second World War.

Government ministers rounded in fury on Famiglia Cristiana, with one saying that the magazine was itself displaying a Fascist mentality by making intemperate attacks on a democratically elected government.

(MORE)