Here is a link to the official Vatican statement in Italian and here is a link to a Google translation of it.
On Friday, June 17 at the Vatican Pope Francis welcomed a delegation of dozens of Thai Buddhist and Catholic representatives. They met to commemorate the 50th anniversary meeting between Buddhist and Roman Catholic leaders and to renew their “bonds of friendship and mutual cooperation.” Francis expressed “profound consideration for the spiritual, moral and socio-cultural treasures” belonging to them through their “precious traditions.” Francis also encouraged strengthening dialogue and collaboration for greater unity in the face of growing division. The Pontiff quoted statements from the Buddha and Jesus demonstrating they both “understood the need to overcome the selfishness that generates conflict and violence,” the Pope asserting that, “It is our task today to lead our respective faithful to a more vivid sense of the truth that we are all brothers and sisters.”
Roman Catholicism falsely asserts itself as true Christianity through its works-salvation, transubstantiation view of communion, Mariolatry, the priesthood, and the church as authoritative not the Scriptures, to name a few. Buddhism is idolatry, rejecting the Triune God of the Christian Scriptures; they are not “brothers and sisters.” Buddhism and Catholicism are conduits for demonic teaching (1 Tim 4:1). Jesus does not stand with Buddha as an equal or the Pope as a brother but instead calls such thieves, strangers, and hirelings (John 10:1-13) whereas Jesus is the door (10:9), the good shepherd (10:11), the way, the truth, and the life (14:6). Nowhere in the Bible are Christians told to “dialogue and collaborate” with idolaters; rather, Christians are not to engage in any spiritual fellowship or mutual effort with such (2 Cor 6:14-18). Furthermore, Christians are not to welcome as “brothers and sisters” those who deny Christian truths, much less wish them well and support them in their spiritual endeavors (2 John 7-11).
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Dan Greenfield 