The Vatican (Feb 2003) released a tome condemning everything remotely connected with “New Age”.

Apparently some group of researchers in Rome has been studying the Age of Aquarius for several years and has chosen this time, when Catholics world-wide have had their faith in the church rocked by widespread sexual abuse scandals, to denounce all progressive thought.

Included in the list of baddies are yoga, acupuncture, transpersonal psychology, holistic healing, meditation, EST, Esalen, the Findhorn gardens, and Jung, all determined to be fundamentally anti-Christian. Absurd really. Galileo all over again.

A woman once asked a Tibetan Lama, how do I know if my spiritual practice is working? He replied, “it is working if you are becoming a softer, more gentle, more compassionate human being. If not, it’s not working.”

This is the essence of living a Christian life. Practices that help develop this outcome are what should be encouraged, not condemned by Catholic leadership.