It's Vesakh, Not Miller, Time At The Vatican

by Thomas A. Droleskey

As the seven to fifteen readers of this website may recall, I have had a lifelong aversion to the taste of alcoholic beverages ever since my father invited me to sip a few drops at the bottom of a Schaefer beer bottle in 1959 in the living room of our house at 39 Kings Point Road in Great Neck, New York. It was loathing at first taste, and I have had absolutely zero desire to have another taste, thank you so very much. I hate the taste of alcohol. Yuk! Phooey!

I am, however, fully versed in the whys and wherefores of the old commercials produced to advertise various beers. Remember, I am a recovery television addict who wasted his childhood and adolescent years in front of the idiot box. I remember all of the old jingles for various beers and their advertising slogans. I think that catchiest jingles were the Schaefer Beer jingle and the Rheingold Beer jingle, giving a nod also to Ballantine Beer jingle that became famous on telecasts of the games of incarnation of all evil in the world, the New York Yankees, on WPIX-TV, Channel 11 in New York City, during the 1950s and 1960s (Schaefer beer had been the sponsor of the Brooklyn Dodgers and Rheingold beer was the sponsor of the New York Mets from the inception in 1962 through the end of their eleventh season in 1973). The beer jingle that works best in conjunction with this brief article, however, is the one for one of those "national" beers, Miller High Life, which was the chief competitor of another "national" beer, Budweiser. The Miller Time Beer Commercial is quite appropriate to recall as it is yet again "Vesakh Time" at the Vatican.

What's Vesakh time, you ask yet again this year, 2011? Here's a little review:

Dear Buddhist Friends,

1. On the occasion of Vesakh, which commemorates the Nativity of Sakyamuni Buddha, I wish to express to you, in my capacity as President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, the best wishes of Catholics throughout the world.

2. I am happy to say that ongoing dialogue between Buddhists and Christians is distinguished by efforts to meet at the level of religious experience. Both Buddhism and Christianity emphasize the "contemplative dimension" in their practice of religion. Since 1979, through the "Intermonastic Spiritual Exchange" and the "Monastic Hospitality Programme", Buddhists and Christians who are committed to a contemplative life through their respective monastic disciplines have engaged in encounter where in-depth dialogue is possible. This effort is truly commendable.

3. It is hope of new life that has been at the source of our dialogue although our understanding of this new life differs. For us Christians, the new life is to be sought and found only in Jesus Christ. Jesus indicated the way when he said: "I am the way, the truth and the life" (John 14:6). He taught us not only not to engage in revenge, but to defeat evil with good. He said: "You have learnt how it was said: Eye for eye and tooth for tooth. But I say this to you: offer the wicked man no resistance. On the contrary, if anyone hits you on the right cheek, offer him the other as well" (Matthew 5:38-39). This makes me think of Ven. Maha Ghosananda's rendering of the one of the teachings of Buddha: "When we are wronged, we must set aside all resentment and say, 'My mind will not be disturbed . Not one angry word will escape from my lips; I will remain kind and friendly, with loving thoughts and no secret malice.'"

4. Hope rescues us from discouragement. We are enabled to begin anew by perceiving around us numerous "signs of hope": the growing solidarity among people in our time, especially with the poor and destitute, the desire for justice and peace, voluntary service, the return of the search for transcendence, an awareness of human dignity and of the rights which flow from it, attention to the environment, etc. I wish to mention here a particular sign of hope, which Pope John Paul II has underlined, namely interreligious dialogue.

5. People of hope are, at the same time, realists who do not close their eyes to reality with all its positive and negative aspects. We cannot turn a blind eye to the dramatic crises of our world: the wars between different countries, civil wars, terrorism in all its forms, injustice which is forever widening the gap between rich and poor, hunger, the lack of shelter, unemployment - especially among the youth, globalization without solidarity, the heavy burden of external debt, the problem of drugs, immorality, abortion. The list could be extended. Nevertheless the small lamp of hope must always remain alight, shining on the paths leading humanity to a better future.

6. We Christians and Buddhists, embarked on our respective spiritual paths, can work together to give increased hope to humanity. Yet first we must accept our differences and show each other mutual respect and true love. This will render us more credible, and we shall be for humanity a further sign of hope in addition to those which exist already.

7. It is in this spirit that I convey to you once again, dear Buddhist friends, my best wishes for the feast of Vesakh. Cardinal Francis Arinze, President. (Message for Vesakh 1998.)

 

Yes, Vesakh celebrates the birth of the devil-worshiper known as Buddha. One will notice how Francis "Cardinal" Arinze, the President of the "Pontifical" Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, capitalized the word "nativity" in association with the birth of Buddha. One will also notice that Arinze did not tell the Buddhists that Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is the Way, the Life and the Truth for "us Christians," never once exhorting the Buddhists to convert. Indeed, Arinze made compared the "teachings" of one of Buddhism's false priests to those of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity made Man in Our Lady's Virginal and Immaculate Womb by the power of God the Holy Ghost, going on to say that Christians and Buddhists "can work together to give increased hope to humanity" while respecting their differences and showing "mutual respect and true love" to each other. This is a concession that the beliefs of false religions can give "increased hope to humanity," increasing our "credibility" as a "sign of hope."

This is, of course, far, far, from the teaching of the Catholic Church. It is far, far from the work of the great missionaries, such as Saint Francis Xavier, who sought to convert the Buddhists and who mocked their false beliefs:

As to the numbers who become Christians, you may understand them from this, that it often happens to me to be hardly able to use my hands from the fatigue of baptizing: often in a single day I have baptized whole villages. Sometimes I have lost my voice and strength altogether with repeating again and again the Credo and the other forms. The fruit that is reaped by the baptism of infants, as well as by the instruction of children and others, is quite incredible. These children, I trust heartily, by the grace of God, will be much better than their fathers. They show an ardent love for the Divine law, and an extraordinary zeal for learning our holy religion and imparting it to others. Their hatred for idolatry is marvellous. They get into feuds with the heathen about it, and whenever their own parents practise it, they reproach them and come off to tell me at once. Whenever I hear of any act of idolatrous worship, I go to the place with a large band of these children, who very soon load the devil with a greater amount of insult and abuse than he has lately received of honor and worship from their parents, relations, and acquaintances. The children run at the idols, upset them, dash them down, break them to pieces, spit on them, trample on them, kick them about, and in short heap on them every possible outrage. (St. Francis Xavier: Letter from India, to the Society of Jesus at Rome, 1543.)

 

Buddhism is evil. All false religions are evil. God wants them eliminated by means of the conversion of their adherents. He wants their places of devil worship to be destroyed or transformed into Catholic church buildings. The Catholic Church does not need to work "together" with the devil-worshiping Buddhists to make herself more "credible" in the eyes of the world, although this certainly could be true in the case of the counterfeit church of conciliarism.

Ah, some might be prone to say at this juncture. "That was in 1998. It's 2010 now. That was under 'Pope' John Paul II. We now have the 'Pope' Benedict XVI, the 'pope' of Tradition. He's changing things little by little." 

Such a belief is entirely delusional.

The man who has entered into false places of worship and has called them "sacred" is the "pope" of Tradition?

The man who has personally esteemed the symbols of false religions with his own priestly hands is the "pope" of Tradition?

The man who last year referenced his own "Theological Commentary" on Our Lady's Fatima Message and its Third Secret, which was an effort to deconstruct and to
"de-mythologize" the apparitions of Our Lady in the Cova da Iria near Fatima, Portugal in 1917, is now going to come clean to usher in the Triumph of the Immaculate Heart of Mary?

Happy Vesakh greetings are a thing of the past?

Guess again. Ratzinger/Benedict's own appointee as the president of the "Pontifical" Council for Inter-Religious Dialogue, Jean-Louis "Cardinal" Tauran, has continued the work of his predecessors, including Francis Arinze and Paul "Cardinal" Poupard:. Here is the 2009 "Happy Vesakh" message:

Dear Buddhist friends,

1. The forthcoming feast of Vesakh/Hanamatsuri offers a welcome occasion to send you, on behalf of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, our sincere congratulations and cordial best wishes: may this feast once again bring joy and serenity to the hearts of all Buddhists throughout the world. This annual celebration offers Catholics an opportunity to exchange greetings with our Buddhist friends and neighbours, and in this way to strengthen the existing bonds of friendship and to create new ones. These ties of cordiality allow us to share with each other our joys, hopes and spiritual treasures.

2. While renewing our sense of closeness to you, Buddhists, in this period, it becomes clearer and clearer that together we are able not only to contribute, in fidelity to our respective spiritual traditions, to the well-being of our own communities, but also to the human community of the world. We keenly feel the challenge before us all represented, on the one hand, by the ever more extensive phenomenon of poverty in its various forms and, on the other hand, by the unbridled pursuit of material possessions and the pervasive shadow of consumerism.

3. As recently stated by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI, poverty can be of two very different types, namely, a poverty “to be chosen” and a poverty “to be fought” (Homily, 1st January 2009). For a Christian, the poverty to be chosen is that which allows one to tread in the footsteps of Jesus Christ. By doing so a Christian becomes disposed to receive the graces of Christ, who for our sake became poor although he was rich, so that by his poverty we might become rich (Cf. 2 Corinthians 8, 9). We understand this poverty to mean above all an emptying of self, but we also see it as an acceptance of ourselves as we are, with our talents and our limitations. Such poverty creates in us a willingness to listen to God and to our brothers and sisters, being open to them, and respecting them as individuals. We value all creation, including the accomplishments of human work, but we are directed to do so in freedom and with gratitude, care and respect, enjoining a spirit of detachment which allows us to use the goods of this world as though we had nothing and yet possessed all things (Cf. 2 Corinthians 6, 10).

4. At the same time, as Pope Benedict noted, “there is a poverty, a deprivation, which God does not desire and which should be fought; a poverty that prevents people and families from living as befits their dignity; a poverty that offends justice and equality and that, as such, threatens peaceful co-existence (l.c.).” Furthermore, “in advanced wealthy societies, there is evidence of marginalization, as well as affective, moral, and spiritual poverty, seen in people whose interior lives are disoriented and who experience various forms of malaise despite their economic prosperity” (Message for World Day of Peace 2009, n. 2).

5. Whereas we as Catholics reflect in this way on the meaning of poverty, we are also attentive to your spiritual experience, dear Buddhist friends. We wish to thank you for your inspiring witness of non-attachment and contentment. Monks, nuns, and many lay devotees among you embrace a poverty "to be chosen" that spiritually nourishes the human heart, substantially enriching life with a deeper insight into the meaning of existence, and sustaining commitment to promoting the goodwill of the whole human community. Once again allow us to express our heartfelt greetings and to wish all of you a Happy Feast of Vesakh/Hanamatsuri. (Message to Buddhists for the Feast of Vesakh/Hanamatsuri 2009, April 3, 2009.)

 

The life of a Buddhist monk "spiritually enriching life with a deeper insight into the meaning of existence, and substantially enriching life with a deeper insight into the meaning of existence, and sustaining commitment to promoting the goodwill of the whole human community"?

Isn't the the true God of Divine Revelation just offended by this just a little bit?

Where is the concern for Divine Truth, for the honor and glory and majesty of the Most Blessed Trinity?

This is all suborned by the "pontificate" of "Pope" Benedict XVI, the man who has of yet to utter a word of public correction about "Archbishop" Robert Zollitsch's denial that Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ died on the wood of the Holy Cross in atonement for our sins. How many days has it been since Zollitsch uttered his blasphemous heresy without a word of "papal" censure. Seven hundred twenty--and counting. Seventy hundred twenty.

Here is last year's message from Jean-Louis Tauran to the devil-worshipers of Buddhism:

Dear Buddhist friends,

1. On the occasion of your feast of Vesakh, the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue extends congratulations and heartfelt best wishes for peace and joy to all of you around the world. May this message help strengthen our existing bonds of friendship and collaboration in service to humanity.

2. Let us take this opportunity to reflect together on a theme of particular relevance today, namely, the environmental crisis that has already caused notable hardship and suffering throughout the world. The efforts of both of our communities to engage in interreligious dialogue have brought about a new awareness of the social and spiritual importance of our respective religious traditions in this area. We recognize that we hold in common a regard for values like respect for the nature of all things, contemplation, humility, simplicity, compassion, and generosity. These values contribute to a life of nonviolence, equilibrium, and contentment with sufficiency.

3. Pope Benedict XVI, has noted that “the various phenomena of environmental degradation and natural disasters… remind us of the urgent need to respect nature as we should, and to recover and value a correct relationship with the environment in everyday life” (General Audience, 26 August 2009). The Catholic Church considers the protection of the environment as intimately linked to the theme of integral human development; and for her part, she is committed not only to promoting the protection of land, water and air as gifts destined for everyone, but also to encouraging others to join the efforts to protect mankind from self-destruction. Our responsibility to protect nature springs, in fact, from our respect for one another; it comes from the law inscribed in the hearts of all men and women. Consequently, when human ecology is respected within society, environmental ecology also benefits (cf. Encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, n. 51).

4. Both Christians and Buddhists have a profound respect for human life. It is crucial therefore that we encourage efforts to create a sense of ecological responsibility, while at the same time reaffirming our shared convictions about the inviolability of human life at every stage and in every condition, the dignity of the person and the unique mission of the family, where one learns to love one’s neighbour and to respect nature.

5. May we together promote a healthy relationship between human beings and the environment. By enhancing our efforts to promote ecological consciousness for serenity and peaceful coexistence, we can give witness to a respectful way of life that finds meaning not in having more, but in being more. By sharing the insights and commitments of our respective religious traditions, we can contribute to the well- being of our world.

Dear Buddhist friends, once again allow us to express our sincere greetings and to wish all of you a Happy Feast of Vesakh. Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran. (Message to Buddhists for the Feast of Vesakh/Hanamatsuri 2010.)

 

Pantheists of the world unite! We are eyewitnesses to natural disasters that should serve as a clear sign to Catholics that God is chastising us at the present moment, and the conciliarists pat the Buddhists on the back for sharing their concern for "improving" the environment? How are the Buddhists going to "improve" the physical environment of the earth?

Moreover, it is a lie to contend that "Christians and Buddhists have a profound respect for human life." Most sects of Buddhism support baby-killing in at least some circumstances. No less than a Buddhist authority than the Dalai Lama himself believes that each individual circumstance is different, providing women with an opportunity to use their "conscience" to determine how to act:

 

 

The current Dalai Lama of Tibetan Buddhism, Tenzin Gyatso, has referred to abortion as a sin against "non-violence to all sentient beings". However, he has also stated that abortion might be permissible in specific, limited circumstances, "Of course, abortion, from a Buddhist viewpoint, is an act of killing and is negative, generally speaking. But it depends on the circumstances. If the unborn child will be retarded or if the birth will create serious problems for the parent, these are cases where there can be an exception. I think abortion should be approved or disapproved according to each circumstance." (Dalai Lama and Abortion.)

Other sects are almost openly permissive of abortion. "Christians and Buddhists" have a profound respect for human life"? This is a lie from the liars in the counterfeit church of conciliarism.

Buddhists have a profound respect for human life? Go tell that to the Catholic Martyrs of Thailand, who were killed by those "peace loving" friends of the environment, the Buddhists:

Our thrilling story begins in Songkhon, a Catholic village on the Thai side of the mighty Maekhong River as it flows along the North Eastern border. The people of Songkhon were all Catholics and since the beginning they have always been in the Archdiocese of Thare-Nongseng.

The year 1940 was a time of fear and uncertainty in many areas of the world. Nazism was on the march in Europe and in Asia, imperialism was spreading rapidly. In Thailand, people felt fearful and threatened and a foreign faith was an obvious scapegoat, although Catholicism had already been in Thailand over three hundred and fifty years. In this tense atmosphere the usually tolerant Thais forsook their normal friendliness and began a religious persecution.

So it happened that in the winter of 1940, the police moved into Songkhon. Their first hostile act was to banish and then deport the parish priest. With guns in their hands, they then went from door to door intimidating the good simple people of the village and ordering them to abandon their faith in Christ. Naturally the people were nervous and frightened by they remained quiet and steadfast.

Living in Songkhon were two Sisters of the Congregation of the Lovers of the Holy Cross: Sister Agnes and Sister Lucia. There was also an excellent catechist, Mr. Philip Siphong. Since their pastor had been deported, these three good people felt responsible for the Catholic community and were in charge of the village school.

Mr. Siphong gave both moral and physical support to the worried people by visiting each house, praying with each family and speaking words of encouragement and strengthening their faith. The police were naturally furious at this act of rebelliousness and decided to get rid of Mr. Philip Siphong.

So in early December 1940 the police sent a letter to Philip supposedly from the Sheriff of Mukdahan requesting him to go to Mukdahan to meet the Sheriff. The people were suspicious and they warned Philip about the false letter and not to trust the police. They also told Philip that the police had every intention of killing him. However this good man told the people that if that was the case, then he, Philip Siphong was prepared to die for his Faith. Eventually he set out with the police for Mukdahan. Actually when they got the poor man into the forest the police shot him dead. So on December the 16th 1940 Mr. Philip Siphong died for his Faith and became the first of the Seven Holy martyrs of Thailand.

When the two Sisters Agnes and Lucia heard the news of the death of their faithful catechist, they were both saddened and very frightened. Nevertheless they continued their care of the school and their guidance of the community. Each day the children of the village came to the convent to be taught and catechised.

The police on their part kept up their pressure on the Sister and the local community. They tried to frighten everyone by firing their rifles in the air and by shouting at the people. They kept reminding the villagers of the murder of Philip by warning the people. "We'll get rid of all of you."

The children like everyone else were terrified of the police but the Sisters encouraged the children and themselves by saying that if the police killed them, they would be martyrs for Jesus.

On the Christmas Day. Mr. Lue, the police officer in charge of Songkhon, came to the Sister' house. On arrival he discovered the Sisters were instructing the children in their Catholic Faith. The officer was furious and berated the Sisters: "I've told you many times not to speak about Jesus. You must not mention god in Thailand, otherwise I'll kill you all." Sister Agnes who was the elder Sister, conscious of her role, in turn became indignant. She confronted the police officer saying: "Mr. Policeman, do you mean to say that you will kill us all because we are Catholics and loyal to our Catholic Faith. Do you really mean that, Mr. Policeman?"

Mr. Lue replied: "Yes I do, I will kill all of you if you continue to talk about God like this."

Sister Agnes with rising indignation and raised her voice saying to the officer: "Be sure you have sufficient guns and bullets." "Oh yes, we have enough guns and bullets to kill all of you." Mr. Lue retorted.

"Then be sure you polish the barrels of your guns lest the bullets get stuck." Countered the brave Sister Agnes. "Yes, we will." concluded the policeman.

On the evening of that same Christmas Day, the Sister prepared some coconut oil and sent a small bottle of it to the police so that they could clean and polish their gun barrels. Then the brave Sisters began preparing themselves and their companions for their coming martyrdom, by prayers and hymns' singing throughout the night.

Late that same night, our inspired Sister Agnes sat down and wrote a letter to the police. It is a document of utter simplicity and of a lively faith.

 

"To the Chief Police in Songkhon

"Yesterday evening you received your order to wipe out, definitely, the Name of God, the Only Lord of our lives and minds. We adore Him only, Sir. A few days earlier, you had mentioned to us that you would not wipe out the Name of God and we were rather pleased with that in such a way that we put away our religious habits which showed that we were His handmaids. But it not so today. We do profess that the religion of Christ is the only true religion. Therefore, we would like to give our answer to your question, asked yesterday evening which we did not have a chance to respond because we were unprepared for it. Now we would like to give you our answer. We are asking you to carry out your order with us. Please do not delay any longer. Please carry out your order. Please open the door of heaven to us so that we can confirm that outside the Religion of Christ no none can go to heaven. Please do it. We are well prepared. When we will be gone we will remember you. Please take pity on our souls. We will be thankful to you and will be grateful to you for it. And on the last day we will see each other face to face.

"Do wait and see, please. We keep your commands, oh God, we wish to be witnesses to You, dear God. We are: Agnes, Lucia, Phuttha, Budsi, Buakhai, Suwan. We would like to bring little Phuma along with us because we love her so much. We have already made up our minds, dear Sir."

This letter is such a simple yet moving and powerful Gospel of faith that reminds us that the faith witnessed in the early church in roman times is still alive and potent in Thailand in our own time. The diocesan archives now have Sister Agnes's wonderful profession of faith statement.

The police reacted quickly. On the following afternoon of the 26th of December 1940 on the feast of St. Stephen the first martyr, they arrived at the convent and shouted: "Are you ready, Sisters? If you are, go straight to the bank of the Maekhong." But Sister Agnes objected, "No, that is not the place for us to die for Christ. We must go the cemetery, the holy place."

In line they walked to the cemetery singing hymns and calling to the people.

"Good-bye, we are going to Heaven, we are going to become martyrs for Christ." How these brave and noble women remind us once again of the martyrs of ancient Rome, joyfully entering the arena for the love of Jesus Christ.

Seeing the police marching the children and Sisters to the cemetery, the people of the village realized that the police were going to kill them there. They too followed the Sisters and their companions wishing to die with them. However the policed brushed the people aside with their rifles saying angrily: "We only intend to kill those in the line."

A young girl named Suwan was one of those in the line. She was willing to become one of Christ's Martyrs but her father upon hearing what was happening rushed to the scent to rescue his little daughter. Suwan on her part clung to Sister Agnes begging him: "Mother Agnes, help me please, I want to die with you and go to Heaven." "But you are too young to die" said her father and he snatched her away and carried her back home where he locked her in a room.

On arrival at the cemetery the brave women knelt down beside a fallen tree trunk. They continued praying and hymn-singing fervently in that crucial atmosphere.

Sister Agnes turned and addressed the police: "You may kill us but you cannot kill the Church and you cannot kill God. One day the Church will return to Thailand and will flourish more than ever. You will see with your own eyes that what I am now saying, will come true. So we thank you from our hearts for killing us and sending us to Heaven. From there we will pray for you." Once again her words echoed those of many great martyrs before her.

Then turning to her companions, Sister Agnes said, "My dear friends, we will soon be in Heaven."

On the cross, Jesus said to the thief, "This day you will e with me in Paradise," (Lk.23:43) When all were ready, Sister once more addressed the police saying: "Mr. Policeman, we are ready, please do your duty."

Immediately the police opened fire and left the cemetery shouting to the people, "Bury them like dogs, for they are bad people." The poor villagers who were watching the scene from behind nearby bushes, rushed forward and began to shake the bodies to see who was alive or dead. They found that both Sister Agnes and Phorn were still alive but badly wounded.

Looking around, Phorn asked: "Where is heaven?" She understood from the Sisters' teaching that if one died a martyr one went straight to Heaven, but looking around Phorn saw not Heaven but a crowd of villagers. Sister Agnes on her part enquired: "where are the police?" They've left already." someone spoke out. "Then you better call them back I'm not dead yet:' said the brave sister Agnes. So one of the villagers returned to the village to inform the police that Sister Agnes and Phorn although badly wounded were still alive.

In the meantime another girl called Sorn who hand knelt at the end of the line stood up and looking around exclaimed: "Where is heaven?" Seeing that her clothes were spattered with blood the people enquired if she was hurt. "I'm afraid not, I don't feel any pain," Sorn replied. She then examined herself more closely but found no bullet wounds. "You'd better run home," she was advised: "as the police will soon be back here." So the little girl ran home. (She is still alive, healthy and living in Songkhon. She is also an excellent catechist.) In a short time the police returned to the cemetery and killed the wounded Sister Agnes and Phorn.

In all, six good and holy women were dead and the villagers buried them hurriedly, placing two bodies in each grave for they had not the time to make coffins. Thus were these brave and noble women of Songkhon laid to rest.

Many eye witnesses including those who took part in the burial of our brave martyrs are still alive. They are proud and grateful to recall, the bravery, the loyalty to Christ and the wonderful faith displayed on that momentous day, the 26th December 1940 by the Holy martyrs of Songkhon  (The Martyrs of Thailand)

 

The year 1940 was just seventy-one years ago. The Buddhists have changed in the past seventy years? Go tell that to the Catholics in parts of India and Sri Lanka today who are suffering at their hands .

Buddhists have a profound "respect" for human life? Go tell that to the Catholic Martyrs of Kyoto, Japan, among whom is counted a married woman, Tecla Hashimoto, who was martyred while carrying her preborn child:

The location, about three hundred meters from Hokoji Temple, was the busiest place in the city. The temple, affectionately called the “Big Kyoto Buddha,” was modeled after the “Big Buddha” temple in Nara. Years later, in 1798, the “Big Kyoto Buddha” was struck by lightning and completely destroyed. All that remains today is a huge temple bell, bearing silent witness to the events narrated below.

On the river bank was a plot of land 50 meters long and 25 meters wide where a huge pile of kindling, wood beams and trash taken from the condemned Christians’ homes, was piled high around 27 large cross-like stakes.

The official in charge, Katsushige Itakura, was the governor of Kyoto. As a young man, he had been a Buddhist priest. Itakura knew that in executions by fire, the kindling was set away from the victims, allowing the flames to prolong the suffering. This special torture could cause some to give up their faith and recant. But Itakura also realized that with these faithful Christians, there was little hope of recanting. For this reason he had pity on the victims, and ordered the kindling placed as close as possible to them, so their sufferings would be brief.

The victims were bound two to each cross, back-to-back. The leader of the martyrs was John Hashimoto, who, with his wife Tecla and their five children, drew sympathetic glances from the bystanders. Tecla was expecting her seventh child.

To celebrate her martyrdom, she wore a stately, white silk veil that reached to her feet. The sight of this young mother and her five children as they walked to their crosses brought tears to the eyes of many. She clutched her three-year-old daughter Luisa, as her 12-year-old son Toma was tied to her cross at her right side. Eight-year-old Francisco was tied to her left. Her six-year-old Pedro and 13-year-old Katarina were tied together to another cross close by.

When the fires were lit, the night sky shone brilliantly with flames leaping from the ghastly funeral pyre. All of the martyrs began praying and singing hymns. When Katarina cried that she could no longer see because of the smoke, her mother shouted, “Sing out the names of Jesus and Mary.”

The raging flames soon brought an early end, leaving onlookers stunned by the sublime sacrifice of the parents and the heroic bravery of the children. That evening, the Catholics secretly buried about 30 bodies found in the ashes. The location of this mass grave, somewhere in Kyoto, remains unknown to the present day.

The eldest child of the Hashimoto family, Miguel, was not home when the rest of the family was arrested. Later he appeared at the prison declaring his intention to join his family as a martyr too, but he was turned away, since his name was not on the list of the condemned. Instead, he was admonished by the prison officials to return home and think about carrying on the family name.

The pastor, Father Diego Ryosetsu Yuki, had been hearing confessions when the Christians were arrested. He and a foreign priest witnessed the martyrdoms, and provided what remains one of the most detailed accounts in the history of martyrdoms in Japan. Several years later, Father Yuki himself was martyred and is among the 188 beatified.

Those early Christians, all spiritual children of Saint Francis Xavier, died in the early years of the 17th century. They will join 42 canonized saints and 205 other “blesseds” who adorn the pages of Japan’s 400 years of Christian history. (The Great Kyoto Martyrdom. This article is written by a priest in the conciliar structures; thus the reference to "canonization" of these martyrs. There are, however, other excellent articles maintained on the site where this article was found. The site is Tecla Hashimoto..)

 

Ah, yes, those "peace loving," planet-caring Buddhists. Happy Vesakh? I don't think so. For to do wish a "Happy Vesakh" to those steeped in the false religion of Buddhism would be to violate the First Commandment.

The paradoxes of conciliarism are such that the Thai martyrs, whose story was recounted earlier in this article, who professed the true Faith and would give the idolatry of Buddhism no quarter whatsoever, were "beatified" by Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II in 1989 while the conciliar authorities in the Vatican continue to wish the devil-worshiping Buddhists a happy "feast of Vesakh" each and every year without fail. The Buddhists worship devils. Devils. How can any right-thinking Catholic express "best wishes" to devil worshiping pantheists on their diabolical "feasts"? The three phases of Buddha indeed. The three phases of Buddha's life were fat, fatter and fattest.

Pope Pius XI, writing in Ad Salutem, August 30, 1930, noted the views of the son of Saint Monica, whose feast we celebrate in four days, Saint Augustine of Hippo, on false religions:

 

 

Let us add a word further. Augustine set the mark, or more truly, the fiery brand of his condemnation on the moral infamy of Greek and Roman paganism. And yet yearning for such a religion has been seen to infatuate, even in our day, certain writers, shallow and even licentious, who extol such a cult for its beauty and fitness and attractiveness. Again, knowing thoroughly his contemporaries and their unhappy forgetfulness of God, with a pen at one time caustic, at another indignant, he scored in his pages all the compulsion and folly, all the outrages and lust, introduced into man's life by the demons through the worship of false gods. There can be no salvation in the ideal of the earthly City, as it sets before its eyes a vain picture- of completeness and perfection. For scarcely anyone will take such an ideal seriously or, if he does, the prize he wins will be only the satisfaction of empty and fleeting glory.

 

It is thus Vesakh Time once again at the conciliar Vatican. Here is this year's message from Jean-Louis "Cardinal" Tauran to the devil worshipers known as Buddhists:

Below is the full text of the message for the Feast of Vesakh/Hanamatsuri from the President of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue entitled "Seeking Truth in Freedom: Christians and Buddhists live in Peace"

Dear Buddhist Friends,

1. On behalf of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue I am happy once again to offer heartfelt good wishes to all of you on the occasion of Vesakh/Hanamatsuri. I pray that this annual feast may bring serenity and joy to Buddhists throughout the world.

2. In the light of an exchange of mutual friendship, as in the past, I would like to share with you some of our convictions in the hope of strengthening relations between our communities. My thoughts turn first to the relationship between peace, truth and freedom. In the pursuit of authentic peace, a commitment to seek truth is a necessary condition. All persons have a natural duty to seek truth, to follow it and freely to live their lives in accordance with it (Cf. Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, Declaration on Religious Freedom Dignitatis Humanae, no. 1). This human striving for truth offers a fruitful opportunity for the followers of the different religions to encounter one another in depth and to grow in appreciation of the gifts of each.

3. In today’s world, marked by forms of secularism and fundamentalism that are often inimical to true freedom and spiritual values, interreligious dialogue can be the alternative choice by which we find the “golden way” to live in peace and work together for the good of all. As Pope Benedict XVI has said, “for the Church, dialogue between the followers of the different religions represents an important means of cooperating with all religious communities for the common good” (, no. 11). Such dialogue is also a powerful stimulus to respect for the fundamental human rights of freedom of conscience and freedom of worship. Wherever religious freedom is effectively acknowledged, the dignity of the human person is respected at its root; by the sincere search for what is true and good, moral conscience and civil institutions are strengthened; and justice and peace are firmly established (Cf. ibid., no. 5).

4. Dear Buddhist friends, we pray that your celebration of Vesakh will be a source of spiritual enrichment and an occasion to take up anew the quest of truth and goodness, to show compassion to all who suffer, and to strive to live together in harmony. Once again allow us to express our cordial greetings and to wish all of you a Happy Feast of Vesakh/Hanamatsuri.

Jean-Louis Cardinal Tauran, President

Archbishop Pier Luigi Celata, Secretary (Message to Buddhists for the Feast of Vesakh/Hanamatsuri 2011, March 31, 2011.)

 

So much madness, so little time.

This year's Vesakh Time message is an encapsulation of the key component parts in the DNA, if you will, of conciliarism

Religious liberty and freedom of conscience get a nod as is compulsory, it would appear, for conciliarists to do repeatedly during the course of any given week (see Ever Faithful to False Gods).

There is also yet another invitation for Catholics and Buddhists to "discover" each other's "gifts" in the search for "truth," defying the simple fact that Catholics do not "search" for truth as It has been revealed to them by God Incarnate, Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and defying as well the plain reality that the Catholic Church does not need to "discover" anything any about false religion, each of which is displeasing in the sight of God and can never serve as an instrument of personal sanctification or of any kind of true social order.

The apostasy is all there for those who have the eyes of the true Faith to see.

Unfortunately, of course, many people cannot see. I didn't see this clearly for far too long. It is sometimes difficult to accept the truth about any situation, no less than that facing the Church Militant on earth today. So many people who have come to recognize that the Catholic Church cannot be responsible for the words and actions of the conciliarists are charged by some of their closest friends--even by their spouses--with being "schismatic" or "disloyal" or that they are engaging in "calumniating the 'pope.'" Truth, however, must take us where it will. I get so many notes from men and women whose spouses are unwilling to accept that the conciliarists are blaspheming God. There is so much suffering in so many families. Alas, this is the path to Heaven. None other.

Everything gets revealed on the Last Day at the General Judgment of the Living and the Dead, and those who wag their fingers at people who are simply adhering, despite their own sins and solely by the graces sent to them by Our Lady, to everything that the Catholic Church has taught from time immemorial without any shadow of change or alteration--those who are trying to defend the honor and glory and majesty of God--may be in for a little bit of surprise at that time as all of the self-delusion of the present moment is replaced in a blinding flash with the light of Truth Himself, Christ the King

The Catholic Church cannot be stained by any taint of error, as pope after pope has taught us:

As for the rest, We greatly deplore the fact that, where the ravings of human reason extend, there is somebody who studies new things and strives to know more than is necessary, against the advice of the apostle. There you will find someone who is overconfident in seeking the truth outside the Catholic Church, in which it can be found without even a light tarnish of error. Therefore, the Church is called, and is indeed, a pillar and foundation of truth. You correctly understand, venerable brothers, that We speak here also of that erroneous philosophical system which was recently brought in and is clearly to be condemned. This system, which comes from the contemptible and unrestrained desire for innovation, does not seek truth where it stands in the received and holy apostolic inheritance. Rather, other empty doctrines, futile and uncertain doctrines not approved by the Church, are adopted. Only the most conceited men wrongly think that these teachings can sustain and support that truth. (Pope Gregory XVI, Singulari Nos, May 25, 1834.)

Just as Christianity cannot penetrate into the soul without making it better, so it cannot enter into public life without establishing order. With the idea of a God Who governs all, Who is infinitely Wise, Good, and Just, the idea of duty seizes upon the consciences of men. It assuages sorrow, it calms hatred, it engenders heroes. If it has transformed pagan society--and that transformation was a veritable resurrection--for barbarism disappeared in proportion as Christianity extended its sway, so, after the terrible shocks which unbelief has given to the world in our days, it will be able to put that world again on the true road, and bring back to order the States and peoples of modern times. But the return of Christianity will not be efficacious and complete if it does not restore the world to a sincere love of the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. In the Catholic Church Christianity is Incarnate. It identifies Itself with that perfect, spiritual, and, in its own order, sovereign society, which is the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ and which has for Its visible head the Roman Pontiff, successor of the Prince of the Apostles. It is the continuation of the mission of the Savior, the daughter and the heiress of His Redemption. It has preached the Gospel, and has defended it at the price of Its blood, and strong in the Divine assistance and of that immortality which has been promised it, It makes no terms with error but remains faithful to the commands which  it has received, to carry the doctrine of Jesus Christ to the uttermost limits of the world and to the end of time, and to protect it in its inviolable integrity. Legitimate dispenser of the teachings of the Gospel it does not reveal itself only as the consoler and Redeemer of souls, but It is still more the internal source of justice and charity, and the propagator as well as the guardian of true liberty, and of that equality which alone is possible here below. In applying the doctrine of its Divine Founder, It maintains a wise equilibrium and marks the true limits between the rights and privileges of society. The equality which it proclaims does not destroy the distinction between the different social classes. It keeps them intact, as nature itself demands, in order to oppose the anarchy of reason emancipated from Faith, and abandoned to its own devices. The liberty which it gives in no wise conflicts with the rights of truth, because those rights are superior to the demands of liberty. Not does it infringe upon the rights of justice, because those rights are superior to the claims of mere numbers or power. Nor does it assail the rights of God because they are superior to the rights of humanity. (Pope Leo XIII, A Review of His Pontificate, March 19, 1902.)

For the teaching authority of the Church, which in the divine wisdom was constituted on earth in order that revealed doctrines might remain intact for ever, and that they might be brought with ease and security to the knowledge of men, and which is daily exercised through the Roman Pontiff and the Bishops who are in communion with him, has also the office of defining, when it sees fit, any truth with solemn rites and decrees, whenever this is necessary either to oppose the errors or the attacks of heretics, or more clearly and in greater detail to stamp the minds of the faithful with the articles of sacred doctrine which have been explained. (Pope Pius XI, Mortalium Animos, January 6, 1928.)

 

We must ask Our Lady to overcome the torments of the devil in our own days of the apostasy and betrayal wrought by the conciliarists, revolutionaries who have set believing Catholics against believing Catholics almost as never before in the history of the Catholic Church.

The hour is late. Figures of Antichrist walk among us in the realm of civil government and pose, albeit falsely, as leaders of the Catholic Church. We must be about the business of making reparation for our sins and those of the whole world as the consecrated slaves of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary according to the formula of Saint Louis de Montfort. Every Rosary we pray can help to plant a few seeds for the resurrection of the Church Militant on earth and for the restoration of the Social Reign of Christ the King.

What are we waiting for? Isn't it time to pray a Rosary now?

Immaculate Heart of Mary, triumph soon.

 

Viva Cristo Rey! Vivat Christus Rex!

 

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us.

Saint Joseph, pray for us.

Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.

Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.

Saint John the Evangelist, pray for us.

Saint Michael the Archangel, pray for us.

Saint Gabriel the Archangel, pray for us.

Saint Raphael the Archangel, pray for us.

Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us.

Saints Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar, pray for us.

See also: A Litany of Saints