Buddhist monks chanted mantras in an Italian Roman Catholic church

Catholic priest Giusto Della Valle permitted a Buddhist rite to be performed at the ambo of the parish during a memorial service for a deceased woman. The rector of the Church of Saint Martin allowed a non-Christian ritual to take place inside the basilica. This was reported by Life Site News.

Two Buddhist monks performed a ritual chant at a memorial gathering in honor of Marta Pezzati at the Church of Saint Martin. Giusto Della Valle and another Catholic cleric were present in the church wearing liturgical vestments. The cleric also addressed those present with a speech, glorifying the founder of the Eastern religion.

"Marta was a contemplative person, a seeker of God on all possible paths, and she found this search in the Buddha — an enlightener who has continued to illuminate the path of many peoples throughout the centuries," said Giusto Della Valle.

At the conclusion of his address, the priest expressed the idea of the equality of all religious paths. In the rector's view, every person has their own image of paradise after death: rebirth, reincarnation, or resurrection. In his opinion, Holy Scripture speaks of the gathering of all the peoples of the earth on a holy mountain without any distinctions.

One of the participants in the ritual explained that the gathering did not constitute a funeral service. According to him, the organizers chose the church building because of the deceased's longstanding friendship with the rector.

As the Union of Orthodox Journalists reported, Buddhists meditated together with the Pope in the Vatican.

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