March 27, 2009
In a document released March 25, the Committee on Doctrine of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops blasted Reiki, a practice developed in Japan in the late nineteenth century that has gained acceptance in some Catholic retreat centers and other institutions.
After distinguishing between natural medicine and supernatural healing effected by Christ, the bishops conclude:
Reiki therapy finds no support either in the findings of natural science or in Christian belief. For a Catholic to believe in Reiki therapy presents insoluble problems. In terms of caring for one's physical health or the physical health of others, to employ a technique that has no scientific support (or even plausibility) is generally not prudent.
In terms of caring for one's spiritual health, there are important dangers. To use Reiki one would have to accept at least in an implicit way central elements of the worldview that undergirds Reiki theory, elements that belong neither to Christian faith nor to natural science.
Without justification either from Christian faith or natural science, however, 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. While sometimes people fall into superstition through ignorance, it is the responsibility of all who teach in the name of the Church to eliminate such ignorance as much as possible.
Since Reiki therapy is not compatible with either Christian teaching or scientific evidence, it would be inappropriate for Catholic institutions, such as Catholic health care facilities and retreat centers, or persons representing the Church, such as Catholic chaplains, to promote or to provide support for Reiki therapy.
The bishops add, “Some forms of Reiki teach of a need to appeal for the assistance of angelic beings or ‘Reiki spirit guides.’ This introduces the further danger of exposure to malevolent forces or powers.”
Source(s): these links will take you to other sites, in a new window.
- Guidelines for Evaluating Reiki as an Alternative Therapy (USCCB Committee on Doctrine)
- Reiki Therapy Unscientific, ‘Inappropriate for Catholic Institutions,’ Say Bishops’ Guidelines (USCCB)
(With thanks to Catholic Culture.)
1 comment:
For the record, reiki was developed in the early 20th century, not the late 19th.
I am not a practitioner, but I have studied it from a scholar's standpoint; most of what the commitee wrote about reiki in the guidelines is simply factually incorrect. The lack of citations led to my wondering where on earth they gathered their information; one source I managed to find online said that they had done a great deal of research on the internet.
Sadly, the internet is, as we are so often told by teachers in academic institutions, a place one must approach with caution. When it come to portraying reiki accurately...well, looking at the guidelines made me wonder what someone would think about the Catholic Church if they researched it and found certain websites online. The result would be quite similar.
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