IRELAND, October 19, 2019 (Independent): A Catholic bishop has warned teachers against bringing yoga into the classroom, because it is “not of Christian origin.” In a letter sent to schools in his diocese, Bishop Phonsie Cullinan also hit out at mindfulness and encouraged more prayer time in schools. The bishop said that yoga was not suitable for a parish school, “especially not during religious education time”. The Catholic bishop of Waterford and Lismore said he had been asked by several people to speak about yoga and mindfulness. But the conservative bishop indicated that schools need to incorporate Christian mindfulness, which he described as “not mindlessness, but is meditation based on Christ.”
The bishop also referred to a homily given by Pope Francis in 2015 in which he said, “practices like yoga are not capable of opening our hearts up to God.” “You can take a million courses in spirituality, a million courses in yoga, Zen and all these things but all of this will never be able to give you freedom,” the Pope said. Many evangelical Christians believe Eastern practices such as yoga, which is Hindu in origin and has been praised for its calming effects and the sense of physical well-being it brings, are incompatible with Christianity.