calhounOne of the nastiest forms of attack, which has spiraled out of control in recent decades, is the use of the media to form and shape the minds of the public. There appears to be no relenting as this machine of the state tramples over our freedoms and tears the pillars of our culture to the ground. A picture can express a thousand words. The way a title is worded can lead people to focus their thought in a direction deliberately designed by the agenda of the writer or the news outlet. The job of these corporate manipulators is to sell a product, to extract the money of the public and they do so by sensationalizing their story lines and appealing to popular trends in the culture. And no trend is more popular in our modern Ireland than tearing down the Catholic Church.

And so enters Donna Deeney of the Belfast Telegraph who wrote an article this month entitled “Yoga and Indian head massages lead to Satanism, says Northern Irish priest”.

Now I do not know Father Roland Calhoun and I have no knowledge of his personal life but the purpose of this article is to call out the deceptive nature of those who claim to be feeding our country fair and neutral information. In fact, if Catholic priests have committed crimes or have been involved in scandals I would be the first to accept they should answer for their actions. However, in this case, Donna Deeney has made every effort to turn the mind of the Irish people against an innocent man just because he is a priest. She has yet to write an article, which highlights the beauty and strength of Catholicism. In her cowardice she has become a conformer and has bought into the tide of anti Catholicism that appears to be sweeping the world. There is nothing brave about parroting popular opinion and packaging it as “journalism”. Real bravery is having the courage to stand up for age old Truths even if you have to pay the ultimate price. Father Calhoun is not giving his life physically but Donna Deeney has made every effort to destroy his reputation and paint him as an extremist. She has done this at no expense to herself.

Here is why this coward must be called out for what she is:

  1. She based her article off an interview given by Father Calhoun in the Derry journal. Here is the link to that article: “Derry priest warns of risk involved in yoga” . If you read the original article you will see that Father Calhoun never once mentioned the word “satanism”. Satanism is the religious worship of evil. Father Calhoun was in no way linking yoga to satanism. Yet Donna Deeney would have you believe that he did. This is dishonest. Donna Deeney is a liar.
  2. Father Calhoun is a Catholic. Why would anyone be surprised if he would attempt to teach what Catholics believe? Yet Donna Deeney attempts to paint him as a foolish or crazy man and in the process, due to association, she attempts to make the Catholic Church look out of touch with modern thought.
  3. Once again, Catholicism is what Father Calhoun has signed on for. The Catholic Church has clearly taught about the existence of a spiritual world were there are good spirits and evil spirits, souls and heaven and so on. When he speaks of these things it is because that is the role of a Catholic priest – to teach us about Catholicism. Donna Deeney appears to think this is an extraordinary idea to report about…or she is doing it deliberately to discredit the Church in the mind of Irish people.
  4. Yoga can mean several things in our modern world. Typically in the Western world it is related to stretching and breathing. If, in fact, that is all it is then there is no problem from the perspective of the Catholic Church. What the Catholic Church, who Father Calhoun represents, has an issue with is when yoga begins to incorporate the practice of other religions which the Church believes to be untrue. Donna Deeny may do well to read and review the Vatican document “Letter to the bishops of the Catholic Church on some aspects of Christian Meditation“
  5. In Hinduism there is belief in many gods who are not the Triune God. If they are not the Triune God, then what are they? If they don’t exist then why bother worshipping them or involving yourself with them at all? If they do exist and they are not involved in directing the person toward God but instead direct us away from the faith considered true and holy, then isn’t it logical to assume they are bad? In yoga, a Hindu practice, a person postures their body in poses or stretches, which were originally designed as offerings to Hindu gods. You can then conclude what you want about its practice.
  6. In Buddhism, there is a belief in spirituality, which is fundamentally opposed to that of Christianity. The practice of Buddhism essentially focuses the individual inwards upon the self while Christianity essentially focuses one outward toward love of others.
  7. The question for any person who is Catholic, like the “good Catholic” presented in Donna Deeney’s article, is why would anyone want to substitute the beautifully Christ focused Catholic meditative practice of Eucharistic adoration for the inward self-focusing meditation of yoga? Yoga proponents must answer this.
  8. Father Calhoun is quoted out of context and his ideas are manipulated by the twisting of Donna Deeney to make his perfectly acceptable defense of his faith sound ridiculous and outlandish. She purposefully presents two versions of Catholicism – the poor, unfortunate tale of the “good Catholic” Evelyn Donnelly and the mean spirited out of touch priest Father Calhoun trying to stifle her. She creates this dichotomy deliberately to appeal to the emotion of the reader for it is in the emotion that a person is most easily swayed.
  9. Father Calhoun is not in any way stifling the freedom of Evelyn Donnelly as we are lead to believe in this pathetic piece. Ms. Donnelly is free to practice yoga all she wants. What is most disingenuous is that Donna Deeney makes it look like Father Calhoun is trying to stop her when he is simply explaining and teaching Catholicism as he is charged to do. If Evelyn Donnelly rejects what he says then that is her prerogative and Donna Deenys. You can see how Donna Deeney engineers her article to control the reader and turn them against the priest, an innocent man.
  10. The Catholic Church teaches exorcism. This should not be a shock. Therefore, Father Calhoun rightly believes, as his faith teaches, the very real possibility of people becoming obsessed and even possessed by evil. Gabriel Amorth, the Vatican exorcist, provides multiple testimonies to the existence of evil and the effect it has on the human mind if we allow ourselves to be open to the bad side of the spiritual world (An Exorcist Tells His Story; An Exorcist: More Stories). M. Scott Peck, a renowned psychiatrist testifies to the existence of evil and his experiences dealing with real possession in his book “Glimpses of the devil: A psychiatrists personal accounts of possession”. Read these testimonies if you doubt.

These types of attacks against Catholicism have gained frequency and popularity and represent one of the greatest and most insidious threats to Ireland in modern times. It is time that brave Irish men and women stood up and exposed these people for what they are even if it means losing your reputation and popularity, even if it means losing your life. The early Christians died for their faith, for Christ, even when they had an opportunity to save themselves by renouncing their Christian beliefs. Ireland must raise brave, strong men and women to give all they are, to become true Irish heroes and finally, when finished, to write their names in heaven.

For an excellent synopsis of the incompatibility of yoga and Catholicism please read “The trouble with yoga” by Michelle Arnold of Catholic Answers.

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