Is the Pope Catholic? This is supposed to be an easy question to answer, and of course it is assumed the answer to this question is yes. However, Pope Francis has made a number of comments now that has raised some doubts around this question, but none more so than recent comments he made in Singapore. Pope Francis when speaking to youth at an interfaith event stated that, “Every religion is a way to arrive at God.” Some times when you speak to the older generation, they use the word religion to refer to different denominations as opposed to different religions, but to avoid being misunderstood in this way the Pope went on to list some of these religions that are different ways to arrive at God, “Sikh, Muslim, Hindu and Christian.” The Pope also claimed that we (meaning all people regardless of religion) are all sons and daughters of God. He also said “It is wrong to say that my God is more important than your God.” So, the question must be asked, “Is the Pope Catholic?”
The statement “Every religion is a way to arrive at God” is clearly false. The Bible clearly rejects such ideas, Jesus says, “I am the way the truth and the life, no-one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6) The Apostle Peter says, “There is salvation in no-one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we may be saved” (Acts 4:12). If we look at the different religions given by the Pope as examples, we see that other than Christianity, none of the others acknowledge Jesus as the only way to heaven. Muslims believe that Jesus was a Prophet, but clearly reject Him as being God, in-fact according to Muslims Jesus is a lesser prophet than Allah. Hindus believe in many gods, of which one may choose to include Jesus if they want to, but He is not traditionally included. Sikhs do not believe in Jesus either they believe in a god named “The True Name.”
Pope Francis’ suggestion that we (all people regardless of religion or ideology) are sons and daughters of God also contradicts the clear teaching of Scripture. Romans 8:14 tells us, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” This means those who are not led by the Spirit of God are not sons of God.
According the religion of Secularism it is wrong to say that one god is more important than any other, but this concept is completely foreign to Christianity, as it is to most religions. When the Apostle Paul addressed the Areopagus, he condemned their gods as not being real, and referred to their worship of them as ignorance, going on to declare that God was calling all men everywhere, including them, to repent (Acts 17). If the God of the Bible is the only true God and the only real God, as all Christians, except the Pope, believe; than He is more important than any other God.
Is the Pope Catholic? I don’t think so. He has clearly rejected the teachings of Scripture, and disagrees with words of Jesus and the Apostles. If this was a Christian celebrity, politician, or your average pew-warmer; one might assume that they were just ignorant, but I find it hard to believe that the Pope is ignorant of basic Christian teaching.
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