US senator's anti-Hindu views repudiated by Catholic leadership

New York, March 21: The US state of Idaho's Catholic leadership has declared that a state senator's anti-Hindu views run counter to the teachings of the Church and Pope Francis's support for inter-religious dialogue. When Universal Society of Hinduism President Rajan Zed recited prayers for the state senate's March 3 session in Boise, Senator Sheryl Nuxoll boycotted the invocation and said that she believed the US is a Christian nation and "Hindu is a false faith with false gods". Her opinions "do not represent the opinions or teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, (Boise) Bishop Peter Christensen or even our Holy Father, Pope Francis, who has been an outspoken supporter of ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue," a statement from the Boise Diocese said on Friday. "Nuxoll's comments reflect her own personal opinions," the statement said. Nuxoll, who is a Catholic, was one of three Republican senators to boycott Zed's prayer, although Republican Senate President Pro-Tem, Brent Hill, had invited Zed to be the guest chaplain. Zed's prayer was non-denominational and Hill said, "it refers to deity supreme".