Msgr. Dermot R. Brennan Vicar letter

Dear Mrs. DiBari,

I have studied the material you provided to me in reference to the game, "Magic,
the Gathering" and quite frankly, I am appalled that parents can see any educational
value in such a game at all. There are a number of reasons for this statement.

I fail to see any justifiable reason for this game's use to teach Mathematics. At
a time when the U.S. students are compiling the lowest Math scores in the western
world, it seems downright ludicrous to even suggest that such a "game" will improve
Math skills.

The art work reveals absolutely nothing that is of redeeming value. It is
grotesque. violent, and capable of conjuring up only thoughts that inspire revenge
and even the annihilation of one's designated enemy. Again, in a society that has,
through the various media, gradually but steadily desensitized its population to pain
and the suffering of others, there is not the slightest hint here of anything that refers
to beauty, nobility, compassion, honesty, human dignity or genuine peace and love,
all this at a time when so many supposedly right thinking citizens - I am sure there
are many in Pound Ridge and Bedford - are wondering out loud, "What's wrong with
our society? Why is there so much violence?" Could it be that such "games" are
at the heart of at least some of the violence? It has been clearly shown that the
morals portrayed on the media have a definite impact on the minds of those who
watch. The same can be said of such "games".

The idea that people who survive are those strong willed enough to survive
contradicts the reality that all of us will die no matter what we will. It also fosters
the notion that "wishing will make it so". a theme that is repeated so often in the
sports world by claiming, "the team that won wanted the victory more than we did."
What preposterous nonsense that is, how out of touch with reality that is. "Wishing
wil make it so" may work in the world of Disney but not in the world which we and
our children inhabit. Moreover. there appears to be the real possibility that failure
to "will" success and survival may produce in the player the notion of failure and
even suicide. I have seen this in real life a number of times; such "games"
as"Magic, the Gathering" can be such an influential force.

Most insidious of all is the obvious connection with the cult of Satan and the
spirit underworld that is advanced by this so-called game. In a school system which
denies the very mention of the name of God or the introduction of the Bible in a
class on the world's great literature, the admission of a game that clearly advances
the occult and even Satanism is, yes, diabolical. I wonder how many of the parents
who are defending the game have actually played it or examined its purpose and
goals.

This is not a matter of First Amendment rights; it is a matter of introducing into a culture that is more and more godless a force that encourages meddling with the very enemy of God, the Devil. To declare such activity as "harmless" is to cave in to whatever the latest fashion or fad might be at the risk of being called "counter cultural" or "not with it", when the real risk is the mental and spiritual health of our children.

I encourage you to do all you can to fight against this insidious force, no matter how "fashionable" others may think it is, for it can accomplish absolutely no lasting good and can clearly bring about lasting harm in our most cherished possessions, our children.

Please call upon me for whatever future assistance you may feel I can provide.

Sincerely,

Msgr. Dermot R. Brennan