August 3, 1968 : Montreal
Satsvarupa: During Prabhupada's stay in Montreal, Janardana showed him several news items concerning Pope Paul VI. The Pope was staunchly supporting the Catholic stand against abortion, despite a large protest movement within the church. Prabhupada admired the Pope for upholding the scriptures, even though millions of Catholics didn't; he decided to write him. He had tried such things before: writing to Gandhi and writing to Nehru. And in that same spirit he dictated a letter and sent it to the Vatican.
In his letter, Prabhupada explained his personal background and mission. He then defined love of God (as it is explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam) and stated that human life is especially meant for learning to love God. Noting that people were mostly interested in sense gratification, Prabhupada remarked, "This tendency is very much deteriorating. Because Your Holiness is the Head of a great religious sect, I think we should meet together and chalk out a program for cooperation."
Prabhupada went on to describe some of the symptoms of society as degradation, including the pro-abortion movement within the Catholic faith. "I understand it from reliable sources," Prabhupada wrote, "that people are trying to get Your Holiness's sanction for contraceptive method, which is certainly against any religion of the world. In the Hindu religion, such contraceptive method or abortion is considered equivalent to murder." Prabhupada closed his letter, "If you think that a meeting with You will be beneficial for the human society at large, I shall be very much pleased if Your Holiness will grant me an interview."
In his letter, Prabhupada explained his personal background and mission. He then defined love of God (as it is explained in Srimad-Bhagavatam) and stated that human life is especially meant for learning to love God. Noting that people were mostly interested in sense gratification, Prabhupada remarked, "This tendency is very much deteriorating. Because Your Holiness is the Head of a great religious sect, I think we should meet together and chalk out a program for cooperation."
Prabhupada went on to describe some of the symptoms of society as degradation, including the pro-abortion movement within the Catholic faith. "I understand it from reliable sources," Prabhupada wrote, "that people are trying to get Your Holiness's sanction for contraceptive method, which is certainly against any religion of the world. In the Hindu religion, such contraceptive method or abortion is considered equivalent to murder." Prabhupada closed his letter, "If you think that a meeting with You will be beneficial for the human society at large, I shall be very much pleased if Your Holiness will grant me an interview."
Reference: Prabhupada-lila - Satsvarupa Dasa Goswami
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