Pope Benedict XVI said  in a recent speech that the media’s increasing reliance on images, fueled by the endless development of new technologies, risked confusing real life with virtual reality, and set off an alarm bell.

“The image can also become independent from reality, it can give birth to a virtual world, with various consequences — above all, the risk of indifference towards real life,” he said.

The use of hypnotic ceremonies for modifying reality was not mentioned. – Ed.