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Is Leo adopting the namaste?

Namaste is a way of greeting characteristic of Hinduism and Buddhism. It consists in greeting the other person with joined hands and a small bow. The name namaste comes from Sanskrit and means "the divine and self is the same in you and me," or in a less scholarly way: "I bow to the divine in you." It has a clear note of worship in these two Pantheistic religions.

With the dissemination in the West of the Buddhist philosophy and Hindu practices – yoga is just one among many – this way of greeting has increasingly been adopted by certain circles from high society to the middle class. In addition, measures taken to prevent Covid from spreading were a pretext to give new momentum to this way of greeting.

No matter how widespread this pagan custom has become in the West, Catholics should never use it in order not to contaminate themselves with the evil doctrine infused in it.

Above all, priests, Bishops and Popes have the obligation to avoid it, be it to maintain the Faith pure, or to give good example to the flock they should lead to Heaven.

It is therefore with surprise that we see Pope Leo XIV adopting this way of greeting a delegation of Catholics from Burundi, whom he received at the Vatican on October 22, 2025.

It is a small thing for sure, but it is the snowball that starts the avalanches.

Photos from L'Osservatore Romano, October 22, 2025 & the Internet

Posted December 21 , 2025

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