pRIEST'S STUPID NOTIONS ON YOGA MAKE ME FEEL TRULY SORRY FOR HIS PARISHIONERS

Yes, what might normally have been seen as a positive, happy, empowering exercise can now, according to Fr Padraig O'Baoill in Donegal, "put your soul in jeopardy".

Fr O'Baoill has hit the headlines because of his incredibly ignorant and middle-aged notions. He feels that yoga, tai chi and reiki "go against our religion".

When I read about these archaic opinions, I laughed at first. Fr O'Baoill obviously doesn't know that people who practise the above are actually the most placid, sweetest folk on the planet. And soulless? They have more soul than all the Catholic priests on the planet.

So after my chuckling at his potty thoughts I got annoyed. I felt so sorry for the parishioners who actually have to listen to this man, to receive Holy Communion from him, who have to go and tell him their sins and allow him to wash those nasty sins away. And then I became furious for the people of that parish and surrounding areas who have had to reach outside the church to deal with all the tough things that life can throw at us.

The benefits of yoga and tai chi are wonderful for posture, strength, mental health, stress, weight, and if you want me to get a little hocus pocusy - the whole mind and body connection (something the Catholic Church have absolutely no interest in).

The idea that someone in a position of authority, such as Fr O'Baoill, can tell others to stay away from something that is life-enhancing, is criminal.

RELEVANT

I see that Pope Francis was speaking recently about how he intends to find solutions to celebacy in the priesthood. And he also spoke about the fact that 2% of Catholic priests were paedophiles. This man is having smart conversations about relevant important issues and is dealing with them head on.

Compare this to the drivel that our Donegal priest is spewing, its obvious that the leader of the Catholic Church is looking to the future while our man from the north is stuck way back in the past.