We have recently examined how the St Stephen’s Cathedral ‘mystery’ shrine The Human Search For God is, among other things, an expression of a particular, occult-based New Age spirituality. Key aspects of this spirituality have been identified as:

• a particular ‘New Age Koori’ perspective, as much western as Aboriginal;

• an ‘Australian’ spirituality, drawn from both the western occult and Aboriginal worlds; &

• a calculated mockery of both traditional Aboriginal and Christian spiritualities.

There is nothing about this spirituality which is unusual nor original. What is unusual, however, is that such an alien perspective is on display in a Catholic Cathedral.

We have previously noted that His Grace Archbishop John Bathersby appears incapable of either defending or explaining the presence of the shrine in his Cathedral. So complete has been this failure that this controversy now bears upon the Archbishop as much as upon the shrine itself.

This failure raises a number of questions, including: Your Grace, as Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane, how far are you prepared to go in accommodating the New Age? Is the occult in or out of scope?

We know that His Grace believes strongly in a ‘radically inclusive’ church – a church very much open to the world. Those who frequent St Stephen’s have heard this from his own lips. Who could object to such a position? After all, the Catholic Church has always held that it is a church of sinners. Jesus Himself ministered to prostitutes and tax collectors.

What those of us who have heard the ‘radically inclusive’ sermon do not know, however, is whether His Grace places any limits to the ‘radically inclusive’ position for which he so clearly stands. For example, does being ‘radically inclusive’ mean that an unrepentant Crowleyan occultist can legitimately feel at home in the church?

Or, to put it more finely, does being ‘radically inclusive’ make it acceptable for occult artworks to be installed on the Cathedral walls? Are the messages of those who revile and mock Christ now to be given an honoured place in St Stephen’s?

On the evidence on display in St Stephen’s Cathedral, the answer to this question, it seems, is: "Yes, this is acceptable here".

In an earlier issue of News From The Pews, we asked the question: Is what is wrong in St Stephen’s Cathedral merely symptomatic of a wider problem in the archdiocese?

One of those who have looked at the question of the New Age and the church is Dr Maurice Ryan of the Australian Catholic University’s Mitchelton campus. In his paper, Christians and the New Age Movement: Friends or Foes?, Dr Ryan puts forward four broad categories of response:

1. conservative critics;
2. liberal sceptics;
3. tolerant sympathisers; and
4. active convergers

This group would include many orthodox Catholics among others and many of the supporters of News From The Pews. Per Dr Ryan’s paper, "Their analysis of the New Age Movement identifies it as a direct challenge to the Christian churches and an absurd and unwelcome development in late twentieth century society."

Per Dr Ryan, the ‘liberal sceptics’ include many who, "believe that the New Age Movement is excessively privatised and too concerned with each individual’s personal spirituality." This group tend to see the New Age Movement as "superficial, transient, faddish and often risible."

Per Dr Ryan, for this group, "The unifying theme .. is that the New Age Movement represents an alternative religious tradition within Western liberal cultures. Those who support this view see the New Age Movement as seeking to claim and legitimise those aspects of Western and Eastern religious thought which have remained outside the mainstream or dominant forms of religious thought and practice. These forces are presently being formed into a coherent and viable religion." This group see a "transition from dominant Christianity to a radical pluralism".

Per Dr Ryan, "Many mainstream Christian Church theologians and ordinary Church members have merged teachings and practices of the New Age Movement with their Christian beliefs and practices. Typically, these people hold to much of their traditional Christian religious identity … Most often, they have remained committed to Christianity with the conscious intention of influencing or transforming it from within…"

"…When active convergers articulate their views, the language of the New Age Movement and that of traditional Christian theology are often used interchangeably. Catholics talk about the New Age Movement’s concern for oneness and wholeness using the language of sacrament and sacramentality… In contrast to the liberal sceptics, those who merge New Age and Christian beliefs commonly speak of a radical transformation of the present order which is brought about by the New Age Movement."

Perhaps Dr Ryan’s most interesting reference was the one to those who remain in the Church "with the conscious intention of influencing or transforming it from within". Whatever else may be said about such people, it is clear that such a life could only be led from a standpoint of hypocrisy.

Quite where Archbishop Bathersby might place himself personally in the above range of opinions is a matter for him. Insofar as his official duties as Catholic Archbishop of Brisbane are concerned, however, his position is a matter of relevance for all Catholics. It goes without saying that the office of Archbishop is a position of great trust, involving a responsibility for preserving and promoting the faith.

Bear in mind here that with the Human Search For God shrine we are not talking about anything remotely Catholic nor Christian. We are not talking about anything mainstream nor even vaguely respectable to most New Agers. We are talking about something from the Crowleyan ‘hard core’ element of the New Age Movement.

This is a shrine, moreover, which disparages both traditional Aboriginal and Christian spiritualities. In short, we are talking here about something alien, offensive and clearly beyond the limits of Christian tolerance.

So, Your Grace, when are you going to do what has to be done?

Tim Pemble-Smith
3 – 111 Central Avenue
Indooroopilly Q 4068
after hours: (07) 3871 2047

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