Vatican Asks Buddhists to "Pray for Peace"

by Christopher A. Ferrara

        The lunacy that has overtaken the human element of the Church since Vatican II was nowhere more apparent than in the Vatican’s announcement on April 30, 2003 that it wished Buddhists to "pray for peace in the world." The announcement, as reported by Catholic News Service, came from Archbishop Michael L. Fitzgerald, president of the "Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue."

       Archbishop Fitzgerald "asked Buddhists around the world to ‘join in prayer for the cause of peace in the world’" in his "message to Buddhists" concerning the May 15 "feast of Vesakh" which "commemorates the principal events in the life of Siddhartha Gautama, Buddhism's founder."

        The Archbishop even suggested that "Buddhists use the ‘mala’ for their peace prayer. Buddhists repeat a mantra or phrase while fingering the mala, normally a string of 108 beads." The Archbishop dared to compare the "mala" beads with the Holy Rosary, observing that for Catholics "the rosary represents a most effective means of fostering contemplation of Jesus Christ." There was no suggestion, of course, that Buddhists convert to Christianity for the salvation of their souls, for that would be contrary to the aim of "inter-religious dialogue" — which, as we know, involves endless discussion with Buddhists and other pagans about how wonderful and profound their religions are.

        Aside from its shameful indifferentism, there is one other wee problem with Abp. Fitzgerald’s call for Buddhists to "pray for peace": Buddhists do not pray to God because they do not believe in His existence. One need only consult one of the many "frequently asked questions on Buddhism" websites to learn that Buddhists do not pray to God: "Question: Do Buddhists pray? Answer: Buddhists don't pray to God, because there is no supreme God in Buddhism." (http://web.ukonline.co.uk/buddhism/faqs.htm) Indeed, if Abp. Fitzgerald had consulted a source as elementary as The Complete Idiot’s Guide to the World’s Religions, he would have known that Buddha himself taught that "one should not seek divine intervention in this life" because the assorted minor Hindu deities "do not hold dominion over daily life."

        So, forty years into the "springtime of Vatican II," the head of a Pontifical Council exhorts Buddhists to "pray for peace" when he knows, or should know, that Buddhists do not even believe in one Supreme Being or divine intervention in this world. In consequence, Buddhists are living in utter darkness, far from the light of Christ, Who is the one and only Prince of Peace. Yet the "Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue" seeks to give the impression that Buddhist "prayers" can help bring peace to the world. What sort of mockery is this? It is a mockery born of the diabolical disorientation in the Church remarked by Sister Lucia of Fatima herself.