[ultima ratio]

"Indian Catholics...use 'Aarti' when a child returns home after receiving First Holy Communion, and when a newly married couple are received by their respective families. Nowadays, 'Aarti' is often performed to greet the principal celebrant at a liturgical event, as it was on the occasion shown in the photograph. On such occasions, 'Aarti' is usually offered by a Catholic married lady, and certainly not by a 'priestess of Shiva' as has been alleged ... Use of the 'Aarti' ceremonial by Indian Catholics is no more the worship of a heathen deity than is the decoration of the Christmas tree by American Christians a return to the pagan rituals of Northern Europe. Your schismatic friend in the Society of St Pius X should check his facts before spreading such malicious gossip about the Holy Father (cf. Acts 23:1-5). He was simply about to say Mass and received the traditional Indian form of greeting for the celebrant."

This is another Novus Ordo falsehood. Aarti is not a harmless greeting, it is a prayer of the Hindu faith to one of their gods. Here is its definition, which may be found on any Hindu website:

"Aarti is a Divine hymn which is sung as an invocation for the deity to come & bless. Singing of the Aarti is the last stage of the Poojan/worship/Sadhana. It should be sung in standing position. You should light the lamp, and chant the Aarti with the lamp in your hand." (from http://www.siddhashram.org/aarti.shtml)

Also check: http://www.urday.com/onlineaarti.htm

[gbcdoj]

Thank you. I guess I'm not surprised the false claim was made in the first place.

I agree, I'm not surprised at all that the Pope is slandered. Ultima provided a web page, which listed things for the "ceremony" which were not evident in the photograph of the Pope. Here is the photograph:

Now where is the singing? Here's ultima's description:

Aarti is a Divine hymn which is sung as an invocation for the deity to come & bless. Singing of the Aarti is the last stage of the Poojan/worship/Sadhana. It should be sung in standing position. You should light the lamp, and chant the Aarti with the lamp in your hand.

So, is the Pope holding a lamp? Is the married Catholic woman? No! This is a different ceremony, as is apparent from the fact that ultima's "Aarti" makes no mention of the anointing as is documented in the picture.

Another "traditionalist" falsehood.

[Hermann the Cherusker]

Aarti is a Divine hymn which is sung as an invocation for the deity to come & bless.

Are you claiming its impossible to do this in a Christian way? Invoke "ho Theos" to come and bless?

I guess you'd say the Church was wrong to use the sacred springs of the pagans as the running waters of Baptismal fonts across Europe, to buidl Cathedrals were pagan worship sites stood, to transform pagan festivities into Christian feasts, or to turn the Pantheon into a Church.

Or is inculturation only valid in Europe but not India?