Vatican begins to explore New Age

An international conference on New Age religious movements took place in Rome last week. It concluded that there was a need for further study, analysis and discussion. During the conference, members responded to questions in the 2003 document, "Jesus Christ, the Bearer of the Water of Life: A Christian Reflection on the 'New Age', studied New Age techniques and made comparisons between Christian spirituality and the mystical experiences proposed by New Age. Spirituality workshops examined perspectives offered by New Age groups. "..the solid richness of the spiritual, ascetic and mystical patrimony of Christianity, which many Catholic do not know adequately," was highlighted. At the end of the conferene, a summary was presented by those taking part. A spokesman said the conference said it felt it was necessary to continuing an exchange of information in order to respond in a "rich and articulate way" to the "silent request for help made by so many people faced by the phenomenon of the New Age which is so complex in its ideas and manifestations". Source: VIS