NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

      WHITE PLAINS, New York (CWNews.com) - A federal trial began on Monday in a lawsuit filed by three Catholic families against their New York state school district, claiming their children are being educated in New Age and Eastern religions and the occult.

      Among the lessons to which the parents objected were Earth Day celebrations, study of Hinduism, drug counseling, and the use of fourth-grade vocabulary words that refer to demons and the undead. The families also objected to the use of a card game -- "Magic: The Gathering" -- which the plaintiffs called worse than witchcraft.

      Six of the children of the families testified how they attended an assembly with a yoga teacher, were taught about the mystical properties of crystals by a mineralogist, and other activities they characterized as being contrary to their Catholic faith. School district lawyer Warren Richmond said the plaintiffs had mischaracterized and wildly misrepresented the programs which are not an endorsement of religion and are standard curricula throughout the country.

      "There are two standards," replied James Bendell, the families' attorney. "Any trace of Christianity must be banished, but teachers are free to smuggle in Eastern religions and any other forms (of belief)."