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The New Age Through the Eyes of a Catholic Bishop
Prominently displayed in the reception area of St. Matthew's Cathedral Rectory is a photograph of Bishop John M. D'Arcy and his auxiliary bishop, Daniel Jenky, CSC, with Pope John Paul II. Relatively young for a bishop - in his early 50s - Jenky was consecrated auxiliary for the Fort Wayne-South Bend diocese in December, 1997. His is a deep, scholarly voice, matching his dark hair, beard and glasses. He is a big man, as well, with more the stature of a nose tackle than a Catholic priest.
While friendly in demeanor, Jenky is as concise as a nose tackle's aim in his opinion that New Age religions are dangerous. Knowledgeable about Catholic Church history, he seemed to sidestep the well-recorded relationships between Pagan and Christian beliefs in the earliest days of the Christian era.
Jenky is very concerned about the current state of the Catholic Church, especially in the area of catechesis - that is, the teaching of the religion to members. He admits that changes which took place in the manner of teaching the faith in the 1970s has led to infiltration of New Age ideas into the viewpoints of not just people in the pews, but priests and bishops, as well. Prime examples of this would be the skewed concept of angels and the growing attitude that "there is no sin."
"A generation to a generation and a half have not been taught the specifics about their faith," Jenky related. "The people are looking for substance, and turn to New Age beliefs for the general religiosity it offers."
Of Polish descent from Chicago's South Side, Jenky was ordained a priest in the Congregation of Holy Cross in April, 1974. He was initially assigned to teach high school in Phoenix, Arizona, but was called back to Notre Dame a year later to take charge of liturgies at the Basilica of Sacred Heart on the university campus. Within a short time, he was named rector. Part of his responsibility was overseeing a massive restoration of the 100 year old church building. He also had constant interaction with the college students, many of whom participated in church functions throughout the week. In those early days of his assignment, he noted how New Age beliefs and music overran many Catholic aspects of the liturgies. He is glad to see that much of that has been weeded out in the decades which followed.
Jenky sees the New Age as a "fuzzy distortion of faith". This distortion began in the early 70s, about the time he was studying in the seminary and taking courses at the University of Notre Dame. The theology professors would bring in gurus, Buddhists, Hindus and others to discuss various approaches to spirituality. "There was a positive side," he cited, "in that we learned understanding of others' faith. In the enthusiasm of the time, we were expected to explore these ideas, then return to our own." He added, "Some people didn't return."
The difference between Christianity and New Age, in Jenky's view, is, "There is no cross in New Age." This is a religious country, he noted, not a secular one, but without the disciplines required by the teachings of Jesus, everything ends up on the same level. A person believes what he or she wishes, instead of having the authority of the Bible and the Church to provide guidance.
Jenky discounts the idea of reincarnation, "You can't believe in reincarnation and be a Christian." Either he hasn't heard or refuses to acknowledge how many Christians do believe in reincarnation. He does see a chance of salvation for those following New Age tenets, recalling the dictates of Church Fathers who claimed those people with a "good but erroneous conscience" - who may never have heard of the Law or Jesus, but who follow their "inner lights" - will still be judged justly by God.
Overall, Jenky holds the New Age as a temptation for people who want to be assimilated into the current culture of doing as they please, which indicates he is not as familiar with the tenets of New Age beliefs as he presents. He has obviously been influenced by the same misinformation put out by talk shows, news programs, and even politicians as the people he attests experience a decline in "true faith". He acknowledges a real danger lies in the ease with which people can be swayed from idea to idea, yet cannot help but fault his own Church for not teaching that faith in a solid, consistent manner. It might be safe to say that Bishop Jenky needs a bit of education about the New Age, as well.