EWTN News portal reports that approximately 500 adherents of the conciliar sect in Pakistan, organized by the “parish” of St. Francis Xavier in Gujranwala, undertook a pilgrimage to the archaeological site of Sirkap in Taxila on July 4, 2026, to commemorate the feast of St. Thomas the Apostle. The event, presided over by “Father” Yousaf Yaqoob and endorsed by “Archbishop” Joseph Arshad of Islamabad-Rawalpindi, centered on a stone throne attributed to the Apostle by local Muslim archaeology officials and the apocryphal *Acts of Thomas*. Pilgrims collected twigs and stones as “souvenirs and blessings,” endured 99°F heat without shade or water, and visited the Taxila Museum and the “Taxila Cross”—a relic discovered in 1935 and handed to the Anglican bishop of Lahore. This spectacle of naturalistic piety, devoid of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the supernatural life of grace, epitomizes the conciliar sect’s reduction of the Catholic mission to cultural tourism and interreligious dialogue.
The Invalid “Mass” and the Abomination of Simulated Worship
The report states that “Father Yousaf Yaqoob celebrates Mass at the throne of St. Thomas.” From the perspective of integral Catholic faith, this is the primary crime. Since the usurpation of the Holy See by John XXIII in 1958, the conciliar sect has propagated a fabricated liturgy—the *Novus Ordo Missae*—which, by its very nature as a Protestantized memorial supper, lacks the form, intention, and priesthood necessary for the Sacrificium Incruentum. The “priest” Yaqoob, ordained in the invalid post-1968 rite by “bishops” who themselves lack jurisdiction and valid orders, possesses no power to confect the Eucharist. What occurred at Sirkap was not the Unbloody Sacrifice of Calvary, but an idolatrous simulation, a cena luterana offered under the open sky to the elements, witnessed by a congregation deprived of the true Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ. As Pope Pius XII defined in *Mediator Dei*, the sacrifice of the altar is “the supreme act of worship”; the conciliar sect replaces this with a community meal, rendering the pilgrimage an exercise in falsa religio.
Apocryphal Foundations and the Rejection of the Magisterium
The entire theological justification for the pilgrimage rests on the Acts of Thomas, a Gnostic apocryphon condemned by the early Church. The article cites this spurious text as the source for the narrative of King Gondophares, the palace money, and the resurrection of Gad. The true Church, guided by the Holy Ghost, rejected these fables in the Decree of Gelasius and the Tridentine Canon. Yet the conciliar sect, in its Modernist hunger for “inculturation” and “dialogue,” elevates Gnostic mythology to the level of historical fact. “Father” Yaqoob declares: “The Gospel reached the far corners of the world through the companions of Christ, and that same mission has been entrusted to us.” This is a lie. The mission entrusted to the Apostles was docere, sanctificare, regere—to teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Trinity (Matt. 28:19). The pilgrimage featured no preaching of the Credo, no condemnation of Islam or Hinduism, no call to conversion. It was a capitulation to indifferentism, condemned by Pope Pius IX in the *Syllabus Errorum* (Prop. 16, 17, 18): “Man may, in the observance of any religion whatever, find the way of eternal salvation.”
Superstition, Syncretism, and the Cult of Creatures
The behavior of the pilgrims exposes the paganization of the conciliar conscience. Sagar Rahat, the “choir leader,” admits: “We keep them as souvenirs and blessings. Our hearts are filled with pride, passion, and honor simply by standing at a place visited by one of Christ’s apostles.” This is not Catholic piety, which venerates relics only when authenticated by the Church’s authority and directed to the worship of the Latria due to God alone. Here, twigs and stones from an archaeological dig—administered by the Punjab Archaeology Department, a Muslim state agency—are treated as quasi-magical talismans. The “throne” itself is a locus of syncretism: Muslim archaeologists preserve a “Christian tradition” for tourism, while the conciliar clergy legitimize the site. This fulfills the condemnation of *Lamentabili Sane Exitu* (Prop. 39, 40): the sacraments are reduced to “reminders of the benevolent Creator,” arising from “circumstances and events,” not divine institution. The two “brick baptismal basins” used for “infant and adult baptisms” by the sect are invalid, lacking the matter, form, and ministerial intention of the true Church. Baptismus flaminis cannot be supplied by a heretical sect.
The Naturalistic Discourse: History Replaces Dogma
“Father” Yaqoob’s homily is a masterpiece of Modernist naturalism: “In this digital age, people speak of the Gospel but have largely forgotten the great sacrifices and miracles behind it… A nation that forgets its history is forgotten by history.” Not a word on sin, grace, the Four Last Things, the necessity of the Church for salvation (Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus), or the Social Kingship of Christ. The mission is reduced to historical memory. This echoes the error condemned by St. Pius X in *Pascendi*: the Modernist “transforms the Church into a purely human institution,” making history the measure of truth. The “Archbishop” Arshad compounds the betrayal: “The example of St. Thomas invites us to profess our faith courageously, remain committed to sincerity and sacrifice, continue proclaiming the good news, and persevere despite opposition and hardship.” Vague exhortations to “sincerity” and “good news” replace the depositum fidei. There is no mention of the Catholic faith, the Papacy, or the condemnation of false religions. It is a message fit for a Rotary Club, not a successor of the Apostles.
Ecumenism with Anglicans and the Taxila Cross
The article notes the “Taxila Cross” was “presented to the Anglican bishop of Lahore” and resides in the “Cathedral Church of the Resurrection.” This is the fruit of the conciliar sect’s false ecumenism, condemned by Pius XI in *Mortalium Animos*: “The Apostolic See cannot on any terms take part in [non-Catholic] assemblies, nor is it anyway lawful for Catholics either to support or to work for such enterprises.” The cross, a dubious artifact, serves as a trophy of “shared heritage” with heretics. The sect’s “Archbishop” of Lahore (not named, but implied by the structure) collaborates with the Anglican hierarchy, recognizing their orders and jurisdiction—an act of schism and heresy. The UNESCO designation of Taxila as a “World Heritage Site renowned for its Buddhist and Gandharan ruins” further situates the pilgrimage in a secular, relativistic framework: Christianity is just one “heritage” among many, equal to Buddhism and Islam.
Systemic Apostasy: The Conciliar Sect as the “Abomination of Desolation”
This pilgrimage is not an anomaly; it is the modus operandi of the conciliar sect. It possesses:
- No valid hierarchy (John XXIII–Leo XIV are manifest heretics, ipso facto deposed per Bellarmine, *De Romano Pontifice* 2.30; Canon 188.4; *Cum ex Apostolatus Officio*).
- No valid sacraments (invalid rites, defective intention, lack of jurisdiction).
- No Catholic doctrine (Modernism, religious liberty, ecumenism, collegiality).
- No supernatural mission (reduced to NGO humanitarianism and cultural preservation).
The faithful in Pakistan, like those in the catacombs worldwide, are abandoned by the structures occupying the Vatican. They are fed stones for bread (Matt. 7:9). The heat they endured—99°F, no water, no shade—is a grim metaphor: they suffer physically for a phantom “Church” that cannot give them the Living Water (John 4:10). The true Church of Christ, Una, Sancta, Catholica, Apostolica, subsists in the remnant of bishops and priests who retain the Traditional Latin Mass, the pre-1958 doctrine, and the rejection of the conciliar antipopes. Quas Primas declares: “His reign extends not only to Catholic nations… but His reign encompasses also all non-Christians, so that most truly the entire human race is subject to the authority of Jesus Christ.” The conciliar sect denies this Kingship by its silence and its dialogue. The pilgrimage to Sirkap is a pilgrimage to a mirage. Vade retro, Satana.
Source:
Under a scorching sun, 500 pilgrims mark St. Thomas feast in Pakistan (ewtnnews.com)
Date: 06.07.2026