“A NEW EARTH CLASS… Our Summer series at the labyrinth continues next Sunday, August 10th at 7:00 PM at the labyrinth at Lourdes. It is not too late to join us! Come and enjoy a delightful and enlightening summer evening where we will discuss the first two chapters of the best-selling book, A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. Bring a lawn chair. Refreshments provided! This could be a life changing experience for you! (If there is inclement weather, we will meet in the OLL Church Hall.)” From Our Lady of Lourdes(Elmira) bulletin, 8/17/08

“The core of Eckhart’s teaching is a religious relativism, in which he eschews all rigid doctrine or exclusive claims to truth as dangerous and manifestations of ‘egoic consciousness.’ ‘The moment you say ‘only my belief’ or ‘our belief’ is true, and you deny other people’s beliefs, then you’ve adopted an ideology,’ Eckhart told the participants in Monday’s online class. ‘And then religion becomes a closed door.’ Eckhart explains away conscience and feelings of guilt as but the consequence of years of conditioning. He told one caller, who confessed that she still feels guilt when she decides against going to church on Sunday, that she must recognize that ‘the voice’ which tells her to go to church is simply the result of social conditioning. From Lifesite News, 3/7/08

Lisa Rustici is the director of Sacramental preparation at Our Lady of Lourdes parish in Elmira. Lisa Rustici is also leading the above mentioned summer program, A New Earth, at this parish. It is reported that about 20 parishioners are currently attending these weekly sessions. It is also being reported that this program is being promoted at Sunday Mass by the pastor, Father Moynihan.

In a nutshell, here we have a Catholic parish sponsoring a program that, at least implicitly, denies the Divinity of Christ. This same program teaches that the truth is relative and that there are many paths to God. The author of this program, Eckhart Tolle, has stated that “Man made God in his own image”. The key promoter of this program, Oprah Winfrey, has stated that Christ did not come to start a religion but came to teach us “Christ consciousness”.

This is a sorry example of the state of confusion that exists in far too many quarters of the diocese.