The Vatican Knows
Let me digress for a bit.
I find it disturbing that Christians look at all forms of Japanese Buddhism as inferior religions of idol worshippers. Still, this is not quite true.
The center of the Catholic Church, the Vatican, is aware that Agon Shu is the only different order of Japanese Buddhists. Most of the priests who reside at the Vatican are extremely erudite and are very well-studied. Most of the gentlemen I met with when I visited the Vatican a number of years ago held two to three academic degrees. They also studied Buddhism by reading the sutras in their original language, in Sanskrit, Pali or Magadhan, unlike Japanese priests, including myself, who study them in classical Chinese translation. They were fully aware that the only sutras that record the doctrine of the Buddha are the Agama Sutras, and that all other sutras such as the Mahayana sutras are fabricated fiction.
During my visit, I had a conversation with a priest who said to me,
"Christianity is founded on the Bible. It is a Biblical Faith. The Bible is the sole record we have of the words and actions of Jesus Christ and is similar to the Agama Sutras in Buddhism. They are the only record of Shakyamuni's words and actions. We know that Agon Shu is the only Buddhist Sect in Japan founded on the Agama Sutras."
Even though he spoke only of the Agama Sutras, I am certain that this priest was also aware that Agon Shu is a religion venerating the real Buddha, rather than an idol, as our honzon, the central object of veneration. He knew our spiritual practices were scripturally rooted in the Agama Sutras and must have known that our honzon would be Shakyamuni, Gautama Buddha.
I think that the following occurred as a result of this.
One day, I stood in a throng of 300,000 people at St. Peter's Square. I saw the august personage of the Pope walking towards me. As he neared, he broke ranks with his entourage and came up to me, the leader of a different religion. In an unprecedented move, he shook my hand.
Apparently, in the thousand year history of the papacy, this has never happened before or since. I think he greeted me this way because, even though Agon Shu is a relatively small organization, the Catholics feel it represents the real Buddhism.
From that point of contact, Agon Shu has joined hands with the Catholic Church in making efforts toward the achievement of world peace.