Catholic bishops say no to Reiki treatment

Uh huh---and until just a few years ago, American doctors felt that chiropractors were not much better than sellers of Snake Oil. That attitude has and is changing because of better research and findings--and because chiropractors do such a great job for so many people.

The Bishops shouldn't be so fast to judge a method of healing--that they personally know so little about. Who is doing their research for them? Do they know of people who used Reiki and have benefitted greatly from it? Or is this another area where Bishops are getting into something where they will end up opening their mouths to insert their feet.

It's about time. This is often described as the harnessing of "forces" for good. The sad fact is that often its the only time when two people touch (non-sexually). Many people will be disappointed to learn officially what they undoubtably suspected about Reiki. Its not a harmless thing spiritually. Pray for all concerned-especially those Catholics who now makee a good living off Reiki, but will have to stop. Grace and peace with prayers always in Christ

It is so embarrassing to let anyone know that you are a Catholic these days!!!

What about Catholic priests who supposedly have the power to heal?--or exorcise demons for that matter?

This is a very interesting article. First I heard of it. Also I loved Sister Sandra Schneiders article.

A-MEN, Little Bear!!

In my opinion, this is just another FEAR-based tactic by the Catholic Church to keep the blinders on the SHEEPLE, and if nothing else, by releasing this statement, have provided proof to their Sheeple of their own VAST IGNORANCE. Humanity fell out of balance when it was decided to divorce spirituality from science. By definition, Reiki is a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by "laying on hands" and is based on the idea that an unseen "life force energy" flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. If one's "life force energy" is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.

The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words - Rei which means "God's Wisdom or the Higher Power" and Ki which is "life force energy". So Reiki is actually "spiritually guided life force energy."

Reiki treats the whole person including body, emotions, mind and spirit creating many beneficial effects that include relaxation and feelings of peace, security and wellbeing. Many have reported miraculous results.

Reiki is a simple, natural and safe method of spiritual healing and self-improvement that everyone can use. It has been effective in helping virtually every known illness and malady and always creates a beneficial effect. It also works in conjunction with all other medical or therapeutic techniques to relieve side effects and promote recovery.

An amazingly simple technique to learn, the ability to use Reiki is not taught in the usual sense, but is transferred to the student during a Reiki class. This ability is passed on during an "attunement" given by a Reiki master and allows the student to tap into an unlimited supply of "life force energy" to improve one's health and enhance the quality of life.

Its use is not dependent on one's intellectual capacity or spiritual development and therefore is available to everyone. It has been successfully taught to thousands of people of all ages and backgrounds.

While Reiki is spiritual in nature, it is not a religion. It has no dogma, and there is nothing you must believe in order to learn and use Reiki. In fact, Reiki is not dependent on belief at all and will work whether you believe in it or not. Because Reiki comes from God, many people find that using Reiki puts them more in touch with the experience of their religion rather than having only an intellectual concept of it.

While Reiki is not a religion, it is still important to live and act in a way that promotes harmony with others.

It begs the question - Do these bishops have any idea what they are talking about? I think not.

This is where the bishops should do some studying before/if they do any speaking. They probably don't think it is okay with God if little skinny needles are placed in particular parts of the body either; yet research is proving them wrong. They just look silly with all these pronouncements about things they know little to nothing about.

Bishop Lori's analysis and conclusions are full of ignorant assumptions. Since when did he get a doctorate in Oriental Medicine, or one in Western medicine for that matter? Of course healing, like everything else, comes from God but, normally, it is mediated through human techniques whether surgical, pharmaceutical or, as in Reiki, energetic. Using such techniques does not "corrupt faith in God" as Bishop Lori asserts. This is just the latest of Lori's uninformed and reactionary theological stances. The bishops need a real theologian in charge of the doctrine committee. There are plenty of lay theologians around who would be a vast improvement.

These guys, and everyone else, would be better off if they would simply keep their mouths shut. They are so out of touch.

Reiki which has been offered at my retreat center as an option is highly regarded by those who have experienced it. Maybe the bishops could all undergo it before passing judgment?

Quote from the article:

But the bishops said "Reiki lacks scientific credibility" and "has not been accepted by the scientific and medical communities as an effective therapy."

So....many things the bishops say lack scientific credibility. They are still catching up from the days of Galileo. Now, they use "scientific credibility" to back themselves up? Is that not ironic?

They tell me I have a soul that separates from my body upon death, but there is no scientific credibility or evidence of this. They also teach that they can put my soul in a state of grace through confession. They also tell me the host changes to the true body of Christ through a process called transubstantiation, but there is no scientific evidence of this. We are just to accept their teaching based on "faith." How is this different from Reiki?
It just seems that Reiki is as "scientifically credible" as anything they teach us themselves.

Rumor has it that the sun revolves around the earth, too.

Blessed are those from whom you expect nothing: you shall not be disappointed.

"Tis the time's plague when madmen lead the blind." W. F. Shakespeare.
This is worse than a crime, it's a blunder. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Périgord

Most people lose or forget the subjectively religious experience, and redefined Religion as a set of habits, behaviors, dogmas, forms, which at the extreme becomes entirely legalistic and bureaucratic, conventional, empty, and in the truest meaning of the word, anti religious The mystic experience, the illumination, the great awakening, along with the charismatic seer who started the whole thing are forgotten, lost or transformed into their opposites. Organized Religion, the churches, finally may become the major enemy of the religious experience and the religious experiencer.
Abraham Maslow, Religions, Value and Peak Experiences.

I WILL CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR THOSE STILL SUFFERING OUT THERE AND FOR THOSE WHO CONTRIBUTE TO A CHALLENGE TO CREDIBILITY.

Another narrow escape from perdition, thanks to the bishops' undoubtedly exhaustive research and astute whistle-blowing! Now I need them to perform the same analysis on Lisinopril, which I am taking at the direction of my cardiologist. Could I be falsely circumventing the power of Christ in my effort to add a few years to my sixty-seven? Also, what about the practice of touching, wearing, or otherwise hanging out with relics of the saints? Or is this practice made kosher by the fact that a freewill offering is made to obtain one?

I wonder what would have happened if the bishops had warned people not to put their 401k's with Madoff. Probably have a lot of unhappy progressives.

Since the Bishops have so much time on thier hands, why don't the evaluate reflexology or acupressure.

From the same Magisterial Authority that is trying to convince us that condoms are resonsible for the spread of aids, ...

that women using contraceptives are responsible for the reduced fertility of men ...

that women using contraceptives are somehow responsible for the deforestation of the rain forest and global warming ...

the same ones who persecuted galileo, who not that long ago, said that is was ok now to believe in little green men living on other planets ...

from the same ones that told us that yoga is a doorway to demon possession ...

I'm beginning to see a pattern here.

Two years ago, I had chronic pain in both of my shoulders which was getting worse. None of the pain relievers helped. Instead of taking prescription drugs with multiple side effects, which my doctor recommended, I had three Reiki treatments one week apart. Before the third treatment, the pain completely subsided and has not come back. I also noticed that my blood pressure went from 130/90 to 120/80. Reiki has had a very soothing and calming influence on me and I would recommend it to anyone including the Bishops.

I am a nurse, Reiki practitioner and a practicing Catholic. Every week I wonder how my church is going to tell me what a horrible person I am. First of all, when a Reiki treatment is done you do not touch the patient. I use my energy to be able to tell where there are blockages to keep the energy from flowing through the body. I use my faith, prayer and my beliefs in order to be able to do this. I do not charge for what I do. I studied Reiki to help my nursing practice to help my patients who are interested in not just taking a pill. I know many religious who are practitioners. In fact, to prepare myself for Holy Week, I just returned from a Qi gong day, taught by a Salesian monk at a Indian Ashram. What I study is just to further my awareness of my spirituality and to be able to meditate and pray. I feel that all my years of study have made me a better person and Catholic. Maybe the bishops should each get a treatment and then write an opinion. I can guarantee that none of them have ever gotten one. I am just so thankful that I did not conceive my daughter through IVF, because there definitely would be no hope for me.

I am stunned and frankly...SICK to my stomach. What do these men think they are doing? So out of touch, so narrow minded, so afraid...so defensive. It is such an embarrassment to even be reading the catholic papers. I have been away from the church for awhile...just to get a view from the outside...like being in the world..not in the narrow confines of the rigid, fearful structure that the Catholic church continues to perpetuate. My prayers are certainly that fear can be overcome by LOVE. It is a daily practice....please catholics stop the criticizing game...and just be gentle with each other and with divergent views. PEACE TO ALL...

I am deeply saddened to read the Bishops recent statement which discourages promotion of Reiki in Catholic instutions. Clearly there are mis-understandings. After all, Christ's Resurrection 'lacks scientific credibility', yet the faithful hold true to Christ for 2000 years. I have personally experienced healing through use of Reiki, and rather than leading me on a path to superstition, Reiki has expanded and deepened my faith in a loving God who is present in the Eucharist for my healing and likewise present in all of life for my healing, and healing of all the world...

To me, the funniest thing about this article is when they say, 'operating in the realm of superstition' and that, 'Reiki lacks scientific credibility.'
What the hell do you think religion is?

I am a practicing Catholic, hospice chaplain and a Reiki Master Teacher specializing in Reiki for Hospice and end of life care. As one of the previous commenters noted, Reiki is a stress reduction tool. It is that simple. And yes, miracles can happen. And they do happen plenty. However, mostly Reiki helps to bring homeostasis back to the body. There is nothing magical or superstitious about THAT!
If Reiki was "human directed" or whatever it is they say... then we would be able to predict when a miracle occurred and we would be able to get better and better at somehow "performing" miracles the more we practiced. That will never happen, and no human practicing Reiki will ever have 100% rate of miracles happen.
Only when we open ourselves in silence: prayer, meditation, or Reiki, can God come through if God wants.
And not scientifically proven. That is wrong. There are plenty of documented research reports on Reiki. First and foremost it induces the relaxation response. If that is superstitious then we need to say "no" to ANYTHING that helps us relax!
Second, no "christian" miracles are necessarily scientifically researched. So that argument is very confusing to me.
Third, Kindess and physical touch increases endorphins in the body. So, anything, including Reiki, will help make people feel better. That to me is a miracle.
Fourth, Reiki has become a very important if not ESSENTIAL part of our hospice plan of care for some of our hospice patients. It is helped many relax and finally feel ok to die. For others on the brink of death - brings them back to help them have a quality of life for just a bit longer. And for others it simply helps them relax, or reduces pain.
I will continue to teach and practice Reiki and pray for our bishops. That they may find peace and balance in their hearts.

Before issuing a very strongly worded statement to try to shut down the growing interest in Reiki, did the US Bishops consult with ANY of their brother bishops in Asia to ask "Hey, bros, you are actually part of the culture that this practise came from, so can you shed some light on this for us?" This would have been a logical and respectful step in trying to understanding something before they condemned it. The Asian bishops have been asking the Western church to be more open to the fact that billions of people have a different cultural starting point of understanding how our bodies and minds work- in this case, as energy systems rather than machines. I hope the Japanese bishops speak up on this one.
And did the US bishops even consider asking the Catholic nuns who practise it how they integrate it with Christianity? Again, they would have learned something. Now, there is just more division in the church and less respect for the way the US bishops try to exercise authority. Sad.

It is interesting that the bishops disparage Reike in part because of the lack of scientific support for its efficacy. Yet, they also disparage the use of condoms to help prevent the spread of AIDS even though the scientific community has identified condoms as one of the most effective prevention tools. I guess science is good when it supports the bishops and irrelevant when it does not. Sigh. The bishops never seem to miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity to make fools of themselves.

I don't see anything wrong with this teaching. The conflict you all are unable to see is that Reiki therapy, as it has been established by the Japanese, is fundamentally different from healing achieved through God.

One of you said this "I use my energy to be able to tell where there are blockages to keep the energy from flowing through the body. I use my faith, prayer and my beliefs in order to be able to do this."

First of all, "energy" is not Catholic, and is potentially incompatible with Catholicism, depending on what exactly you believe that energy to be. On the one hand, all is factually energy, as that is what all matter and existence is composed of. However, that energy is purely physical, not spiritual or to be manipulated by our minds.

Second of all, using faith, prayer and beliefs to heal is not Reiki therapy - it's faith healing. They're different. Reiki manipulates fictional spiritual energy, which is incompatible with Catholicism, and is of the occult. Faith healing is asking God to heal through you by whatever means He wishes.

On another note, often when things are said to lack credibility, it usually means that the placebo effect is suspected. If a scientifically valid study were conducted showing that Reiki therapy works whether the client knows what's happening or what it's supposed to do, then somebody might give it credibility. Have such studies been done? If so, what were the results? If they have been done, and the results showed that it only worked if the client knew that what you were doing was supposed to have a particular effect, then there is reason to suspect that the placebo effect is at work, rather than any real healing.

On a side note, condoms are not the best way to deal with AIDS. HIV is actually small enough to fit through the porous holes in latex condoms. There is also evidence that presenting a group with condoms increases sexual activity within that group, especially when some fear has been alleviated. Therefore, more people become exposed to HIV, and are using a flawed method of protection, thereby putting more people at risk, even if numbers show that the number of infected is becoming smaller. The numbers could just as easily show an increase in infection.

The Church is right - the only truly effective way of dealing with AIDS anywhere is to somehow get people to practice abstinence. Giving them condoms doesn't do that.

This sounds a lot like the attack on those who teach the Enneagram in Catholic retreat centers. The enneagram program at Casa in Arizona was the retreat center's most successful program until the Bishop used his power to ban it. On the lighter side, did you catch the article on Sister Nobili, the former lap dancer who is now a nun and does holy dance. Her before and after photos were on BBC. I still have trouble keeping a straight face when I read her order is called, the Working Lady Nuns of Nazareth House. Oh, those working ladies.

Oil lubricants cause condoms to become porous, otherwise they do work as prevention to AIDS. Otherwise, good luck on the abstinence.

Don't knock Reiki unless you've tried it and it didn't do anything for you. I was very skeptical until the practitioner told me where I was ailing without me telling her. Plus I could feel the heat from her hands throughout the entire session.

I don't view Reiki as spiritual healing, but rather as holistic healing. My wife had high blood pressure, but was able to quit her prescription after having Reiki treatments.

Did you ever observe a man who is threatened with loss of control? He huffs and puffs and beats his chest and shouts inanities like Archie Bunker, and he tries to "lay down the law" about something inconsequential. He does this to help himself recover a sense of power and control.

These "pronouncements" have nothing to do with Reiki or science or the Enneagram or true religion. They reflect the present reality of the bishops' loss of power, control, and credibility with the faithful and in society.

The latest witch hunt by the Vatican in "investigating" the Leadership Conference of Women Religious falls into this same category of a behavioral reaction to FEAR. Nuns don't need a huffing, puffing bishop telling them what to do any more, and that scares the daylights out of the hierarchy.

What happened when the woman with the hemorrhage touched Jesus' robe? His healing energy flowed out to heal her! It's in the bible folks and was considered a good thing for the woman.

What about the people who use the holy water from Lourdes or go to Lourdes to enter the water hoping for a miracle? Where is the scientific proof that the water heals anyone? Some may get a miracle there but where is the proof the water does it? Please don't say it's their faith as why use the water then? And when Jesus brought the Roman Centurion's daughter back to life, don't tell me it was through HER faith, but perhaps her father's and perhaps just Jesus'. Who knows as no science can corroborate it.

Magic (what superstition leads to) is just science not learned yet!

God created the whole world so all energy comes from him. It can be used for good (try Xrays) or bad (try nuclear bombs) but it still ALL comes from Him. It's OUR use of His energy that makes the good or bad of it and with Reiki, I have not heard of anyone using it for evil so why do the bishops put it down? Because they aren't the ones with the power of using it - they could be but they aren't.

There were several of us Catholic couples in conversation yesterday evening and this was brought up. It's interesting that more than half of us have experienced Reiki at one level or another and find it to be spiritual as well as healing.

I've enjoyed reading the responses to the article. I find that the people that make the great points, make real sense, and sound intelligent and well-informed are those that are open to and/or have experienced the benefits of Reiki. On the other hand, the people that are willing to just go along with this condemnation of Reiki just because the bishops said so don't impress me. Seem like lemmings to me. It makes me wonder how far people would follow down the wrong path. I find that it has become impossible for me to continue practicing the Catholic faith because Catholism has lost its way. The leadership has bungled every important issue over the last few years and it has become embarrassing, more than that, a tragedy that as some one quoted above, it has truly become madmen leading the blind. I don't believe their movtives have anything to do with being imitators of Christ. From the sex scandals to the reinstatement of the bishop who denied the holocaust, to the sinful attitude toward birth control and condom use for people who are in desparate situations, to the bishops and priests that told their parishoners that they shouldn't come back to church if they voted for Obama. I could go on and on and I'm just sick of it. When I became Catholic in 1990, the rays of sunshine from Vatican II were still shining. I found a place of love and compassion. It seems that has been lost. Fortunately I have grown spiritually and plan to find a new church community that is truly concerned with teaching and living in a way that expresses what Jesus taught. My priest once said to me that the Catholic Church seems to always be busy rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Well, I'm getting off!

I feel neither called nor qualified to be an apologist for Reiki, but I will share my personal feelings about the Conference of Bishop's regretful decision. When I first studied and was attuned to Reiki more than 16 years ago, several tenets were impressed upon me and my fellow initiates by our Master Teacher. The first was that Reiki is not a religion, can be practiced by anyone of anyfaith, and does not require a "belief system" to work. The second was that Reiki energy comes from the "universal source" and comes through us and not from us. The third, and for me the most important, was that channeling Reiki with the purest and highest intention is an act of love. Therein lies my disappointment with the Bishop's decree. They seem to have forgotten about love.

To deny the ability to share love and compassion through the laying on of hands and relegate it only to divine inercession through prayer is forgetting the foundation of Christian healing as described in Luke 9:1-2: (1) "When Jesus had called the Twelve together, he gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases, (2) and he sent them out to preach the kingdom of God and to heal the sick."

According to their own canon, Jesus empowered the disciples to heal and charged them with the responsibility to minister to the sick. To deny Reiki, is to deny all forms of spiriutal and energy healing and to forget the loving foundation of all healing. It also serves to disempower the wonderful nuns and priests I have had the privilege to study with and attune over the years.

Reiki for me was a spiritual accelerant. It brought me closer to God and opened my heart. May those with closed hearts look deeply inside and may God move them from egoism to altruism, from dogma to open-mindedness and from fear to love

I think the Bishops have lost credibility long ago and this is just another example of lack of serious reseach. There are plenty of studies regarding Reiki and other "healing touch" therapies. Who did they talk to, so they could get a boarder and more informed perspective? Internet sources are not the most reliable source and if you do not know the background of the many authors who have written on Reiki, some of them are not reliable either. Check out the footnotes of the actual statement.

The "universal life energy" comes from God and this terminology is often used, to express the "Divine" origin of all healing, so as not be be offensive to other religious traditions. As has been previously stated, Reiki is not a religion and requires no belief system,and therefore there is no doctrine involved. Reiki as a healing technique can be adapted and integrated into Catholic Spirituality. It certainly has brought be closer to Jesus and his Gospel of Love and Forgiveness and after all it is ultimately all about LOVE. I would also recommend John 14: 12-14.

I am a Catholic Sister and a Reiki Master since 1980 and our Loving God has called me to this ministry and with all due respect to the bishops, I must must follow my conscience regarding this issue of which I have much more experience and done more research in 29 years, than this Bishop's committee has done.

As a catholic and a Reiki Master I find it hard to agree with the bishops on this matter.
They should all have a Reiki session or better yet be attuned to the Reiki energy before dismissing it as having no scientic backing.
Reiki has been around for thousands of years. It is know by other names in every part of the world.
There are millions of documented cases to show that the energy is felt and has helped millions of people.

to deny catholics from knowing the gentle energy felt through reiki should be a sin!
Reiki promotes deep relaxation and helps our bodies heal ourselves. It has been shown to lower blood pressure and relieve pain.
I get to feel this daily, and wish the bishops could feel this.
Everyone has this ability and its a shame that it isnt being taught more.

to say its new age thinking is nuts, its an ancient art that anyone can learn how to use we all have the ability and when it gets turned on all you can say is where was it and how did it get here.
Its amazing.

Just like praying for someone to get better it can't be proven to work.
The bishops should go after the big drug companies who want to keep us all sick and profit off of it.
To they condem the doctors who prescribe the meds that are making our society drug addicts.
We are medicating parents to cope and medicating our young kids to comply and fit in is that acceptable to the bishops??
To feel Reiki is to feel a miracle. I have been able to witness so many people get relief from pain while giving a reiki session.
It sad that the bishops will never get to feel that joy and its sad that they are denying catholics from feeling it too.
Imagine if everyone practiced Reiki I'm sure there would be no wars or hate. It is a truly beautiful feeling and i am so happy that I was given this gift.

I teach Reiki in California, and just wrote an article about the bishop's on my website, www.ReikiMastery.com entitled "Catholics Bishops Anti-Reiki Decree Unconvincing" (look in the right hand navigation bar on ReikiMastery.com for the May newsletter)

One of my students sent me a link to this discussion on the Reporter, and I am delighted to read all of your thoughtful commentary.

Blessings!

I'll have to call the local Bridgeport Diocese, for a copy of this report.
Reiki is a liscense to heal, and an excellent excersize of Faith, and I think any local bishop should be seeking communion with the leaders of this skill, rather than seeking to judge others as "Unscientific."

I think Jesus may have learned, or been inspired in, this skill, but meant something more practical by "The Laying of Hands." It could actually have been what he meant, but I think his teaching was more liberal. First, the Acolyte of Christianity should attend to the Cast-Outs, the Shut-Ins, and others who suffer as the practicioner would rather not, and then attend to Church, to share in the getting of Wisdom, and The Holy Spirit, and grow in this attendance, that you can eventually lay hands on these cases, and heal them, until a mere visit is healling enough, and you can send that miracle man on tour, to teach Wisdom and the Holy Spirit.

Arawn Graalrd

I received my first Reiki attunement from a Catholic nun in New Jersey. As a novice at Reiki, the first time I tried it, my subject was my son, who was probably about 9 or 10 at the time, and a totally normal kid. When I was done, he opened his eyes and told me that he had been talking to St. Peter!

One of the objects of Reiki, in channeling the life force, is to open the chakras, which are the body's spiritual centers. There are seven of them and it is the belief of many that the Book of Revelation is about opening these centers so that God's spirit can rise through them, from the base of the spine, up and over the top of the head to the third eye, the object being to spiritualize the body.

It is a total shame that the Church is shutting them down, but not a surprise, either. The ironic thing is that in Jesus' time, the Pharisees wanted to kill him because he was the first New Ager. People who pursue things like Reiki want more of God in their lives, not less. This will all work itself out in God's own time.

I have a couple of quotes from William Rand's book entitled Reiki The Healing Touch. In the beginning of the book, he explains the meaning of Reiki -"The word Rei as it is used in Reiki is more accurately interpreted to mean higher knowledge or spiritual consciousness. This is the wisdom that comes from God or the Higher Self and is the God-Consciousness which is all-knowing." (chapter 1, page 1) On page 2, he explains that Ki (the second part 0f Reiki) means life energy. On page 3, he explains that " It is the God Consciousness called Rei that guides the life energy called Ki in the practice that we call Reiki. Therefore, Reiki can be defined as spiritually guided life energy."

That is what I learned about Reiki on the first day of training! I have had 3 levels of Reiki training, from different teachers, who all said the same thing. I learned that we ARE NOT the healers, we simply act as a conduit for the energy. Since man did not create the energy that has been around since the beginning of life , then I wonder where it came from? If I recall my Baltimore Catechism, we studied that God created all things. Seems to me that would include "energy" and if God created it, then how can we be directing or manipulating it? And if we are "created" by God as I learned, then I guess we are part of God and God is in us, so perhaps then we are channeling God's energy.

It is such a shame that "proven scientific data" is the only means that some folks will accept in putting a stamp of approval, per se, on any type of practice. During my 16 years of Catholic education, I was asked to accept a lot of things on faith. In fact, there are few things that I learned during this time that could be "proven scientifically". But yet I was told to accept and believe them.

It was only as I grew spiritually, emotionally and physically, that I realized that God was not an old man, standing by a lectern, placing check marks or "x's" in a book with my name on it, and that I needed more checks than "x's" to get to heaven. It has been by exploring other religions and faiths, both East and West, that I have come to the realization that God (by any name) means love and the best way that we as humans can be like God is to love one another as we love ourselves and God. I think we need to remain open and accepting to other religions and healing practices that strive to do this.

As so many others have said, it is sad that the bishops did not do more research, including receiving treatments before they made their statements. Who knows, perhaps Jesus used Reiki or other energy practices as He laid His hands on others to heal them. We can't prove "scientifically" that He in fact, did even heal others. Yet , we accept this. If the bishops believe that God is with them always, then surely, He would protect them from a Reiki treatment if it would do harm to them.

Perhaps the world would be in a better state if more folks would learn to just accept folks that are different or have different beliefs, and "COEXIST" as that bumper stick shows.

Superstitious? Miraculous medals, buried St. Joseph statues to sell homes,
novenas which "never fail" published in Catholic newspapers... superstitions abound in our Church, but are never condemned because it might offend the wrong people.

Some people experience healing, but also begin to be demonized or oppressed by demons during their reiki experience and suffer the consequences in later weeks, months, years. Some practitioners don't know/believe that demons (devil or Satan) are real entities/agents and that their main strategy is to lie and deceive. Know yourself, and know your practitioner well! Since we are operating in the spiritual world and in a culture without faith in Jesus and the Holy Spirit, I would discourage anyone from giving or receiving a reiki treatment. It's not spiritually safe!