IllegalL Acts Committed by Nichiren Shoshu
The Argentine government revoked Nichiren Shoshu’s registered corporate status. On July 2, 1998, the Office of Registration passed a resolution revoking Nichiren Shoshu’s 1995 registration and banning further religious activities. A government report dated July 15 made the official announcement. The Argentine government passed this resolution in response to both a critical remark about Mother Teresa made by Rev. Dorei Ito, a Nichiren Shoshu priest in Argentina, and Nichiren Shoshu’s establishment of a religious center without obtaining a necessary permit.
Rev. Ito denounced Mother Teresa, a recipient of the Nobel peace prize, as “a devil leading people to hell” and published his remark in the September 1997 issue of the Argentine Nichiren Shoshu publication Senzetsu. Rev. Ito’s remark provoked widespread denunciation from the media in a nation that holds Mother Teresa in deep reverence for her long years of humanitarian efforts.
Also, in April 1998, Nichiren Shoshu opened a religious center in Buenos Aires without obtaining a proper permit. Local residents petitioned and protested the sect’s illegal activities. The Argentine government responded to the citizens’ protests by banning the sect.
The Argentine government banned Nichiren Shoshu’s religious activities