A letter addressed “to the faithful and to all men of good will”, warning them of the danger of the diffusion of occult practices, was issued in recent days by Cardinal Audrys Backis, president of the Lithuanian Bishops’ Conference (LBC), by its general secretary Msgr. Gintaras Grusas, and by an expert in psychology, Fra Arunas Peskaitis. “Occult practices destroy the values of community life, subvert faith in man and common sense, and are more especially incompatible with the Catholic faith”, say the bishops, reminding the faithful that “the claim to have supernatural powers is a grave sin”. The bishops remind the many Catholics who have recourse to magicians and quacks for “horoscopes, amulets and magic cures, even if at times only as a joke”, that these are “dangerous practices” that “deprive the person of the God-given freedom to decide and choose for himself”. Sorcerers, clairvoyants and shamans (the latter mainly coming from Russia) are able, in the view of many Lithuanians, to “furnish simple and speedy responses to their most pressing problems”, observe the bishops, who denounce the fact that “publicity for such quacks is often made by personalities with a high profile in society and, of course, by the media: various magazines and at least five programmes on national television channels”. In the view of the bishops, “the legal provisions and the ethical codes aimed at defending Lithuanian citizens from the baneful influence of occult practices are ignored. The national Radio and Television Commission itself has issued norms that regulate, among other things, broadcasts linked to esoteric and paranormal phenomena, but says the letter they have still to be implemented”. The bishops affirm the need “to clearly distinguish the activities of physicians and psychotherapists from the practices of magicians” and deplore the fact “that various bodies linked to the practice of occultism pretend to the title of ‘academy’, ‘university’ or ‘research centre’. The presence of magicians, as experts, in television debates creates confusion and disorientation, say the bishops, who conclude their letter by underlining the risks of the “diffusion among children of manuals and videocassettes on the paranormal, also in public schools”.
