On June 15, 2025, Father Fred Daley opened Mass at All Saints Parish Roman Catholic Church in Syracuse, New York, by saying “Namaste.”
WHAT IS NAMASTE
Namaste is a traditional Sanskrit greeting and gesture of respect used widely in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, particularly in India and Nepal. Literally translating to “I bow to you” (namaḥ meaning “bow” and te meaning “to you”), it acknowledges the divine spark or soul within the other person.The greeting is typically accompanied by the Anjali Mudra, a hand gesture where palms are pressed together at the heart or brow with fingers pointing upward, often accompanied by a slight bow of the head. While in India it serves as a common everyday hello or goodbye, in Western yoga culture it is frequently used at the end of classes to signify gratitude and unity, often interpreted spiritually as “the divine in me honors the divine in you.”
He stood below a projected cross laid over a rainbow flag. A NAMASTE banner and an Immigrants Welcome sign were on the walls. He told the people they were gathered on the territory of the Onondaga Nation.
He lost his place and gave the welcome again. Then he said every person is made in God’s image and likeness out of love. From there he went straight to Pride Weekend.
He said God’s imagination goes to the ends of the earth. He called the rainbow a beautiful symbol of God’s diversity. He asked for a hand of applause, especially for the LGBTQ folks in the church and those joining from home.
Are you kidding? Talk about conflating things. This is insane.
A namaste greeting is used in yoga and Hindu practice. It has no place at the start of a Catholic Mass. Celebrating Pride Weekend has no place in a Christian church either.
God created all of us and loves all of us. We are called to love each other. That is not the point.
We go to church to celebrate God, not gay sin. Love of neighbor is not a license to applaud sexual sin in the sanctuary. Mass is for God, not a parade.
Daley took a Hindu greeting, a land acknowledgment, and a Pride shoutout and set them under a cross. That does not make any of it worship. A priest who will not say what the Church has always said about sex should not dress the altar in a rainbow and ask for a hand.
The problem is the mixing. A political land claim and a Pride applause line do not become liturgy because a priest says them after the welcome. The Church does not exist to bless the culture’s parade.
Should a Catholic priest open Mass with Namaste and applause for Pride Weekend?
