Påvens synkretistiska resor

The basic principle behind syncretism is that all religions are of equal validity. While the Pope does not actually say this, his praise and uncritical deference towards heathen, man-made religions and to Judaism will certainly convey to many that basic principle, i.e., his incessant travels must serve to reinforce the syncretism of Assisi. Consider: he smoked sweet grass with Canadian Indians on his Canadian tour, 1984. In 1984 he visited a Buddhist Temple in Thailand. In 1985 he apologized to Moslems in his Morocco visit and also heaped great praise on them. That same year he visited the sacred forest near Lohomay, Togo, in the company of Asenu or Great Priest of the Sacred Forest.

During his Togo visit the Pope met with snake-worshipers who were later to participate at Assisi. John Paul II on August 8, 1985 also did pray with animists. He recalls the meeting: "The prayer meeting in the sanctuary at Lake Togo was particulary striking. There I prayed for the first time with animists." It has been stated that while in Togo he actually paid homage to the sacred snakes. Standing with a voodoo chief before a snake hut in the center ot the town, John Paul II cast cucumber peelings on the ground in front of it's entrance. Moments later, a serpent slithered forth from it. The chief then turned to the Pope exclaiming that the reptile's appearance meant the snake god had favored his offering! What to say about a person and in this particularly case a pope who activated did take part in voodoo ceremonies and offerings to false gods? In 1986 he visited the main Rome Synagogue on terms and seating posture of absolute equality with the old and superseded Covenant of Judaism. In India, 1986, John Paul II allowed the ‘tilak,’ a sandal wood paste, to be applied to his forehead by a Hindu "Priestess." Everywhere he went in India, he quoted from the Hindu scriptures and actually partook in Pagan rites. He praised the Hindu syncretist Gandhi to the skies. Gandhi said, "I am a Christian and a Hindu and a Moslem and a Jew!" The Bahais acted as religious advisers to the movie on Gandhi. Moreover he recited the so-called "peace prayer," the "asothama satgamaya," whose introduction by Cardinal Hume in England the great Hamish Fraser tried so hard to prevent. What chance did Hamish have when the Pope himself used that prayer? In Suva, Fiji, November, 1986, the Pope drank "kava," a drink once condemned as a tool of devil worship. The Pope downed it in one swallow.

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