Posted on 09/23/2024 1:10:55 PM PDT by ebb tide
On this week’s episode of Faith & Reason, John Henry-Westen, Father Charles Murr, and Frank Wright discuss Pope Francis’ recent comments about all religions leading to God, popesplainers trying to explain away the heresy before being corrected by the Pope himself, the Synod on Synodality including a ceremony confessing “sins” against migrants and synodality, the Pontiff’s comments on how American Catholics should vote this November, Cardinal Burke’s statement that it certainly seems like we’re living in the last times, and more.
The panel dove into Pope Francis’s comments that “Every religion is a way to arrive at God,” comparing different religions to different languages. The Pontiff first made the statement during an interreligious meeting of young people at the end of his recent trip to Singapore. Westen said these comments confront Christ.
“Christ says, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me.’ And yet the Pope says every religion is a way to arrive at God.” The host added that Francis isn’t just talking about different Christian denominations here either, but rather enumerates that Muslims, Hindus, and others are all on an equal playing field with Christianity.
Fr. Murr said that perhaps after over 60 years of dumbed-down Catholicism, not many Catholics were surprised by the Pope’s comments. He noted that he wasn’t even shocked because he’s become accustomed to similar statements coming out of the Vatican.
“But I’ll tell you who was shocked: Protestants that I know were shocked. Muslims were shocked because they are absolutely convinced that Muhammad is the only way to get to Paradise. And so, he’s actually insulted them all, but he’s certainly insulted us [Catholics], and he’s certainly insulted the faith of the Church,” he said, adding that it is “outrageous” for a successor of St. Peter to say that Christ is not the only way to the Father.
Wright emphasized that the result of this statement and similar ones from Pope Francis is confusion among Catholics and non-Catholics alike at a time of civilizational crisis.
“And the reason why this confusion is so tragic is not just because it misleads Catholics into apostasy and everyone else by extension. But this is a time of civilizational crisis. Western civilization that was founded by the Catholic Church between the ninth and 12th centuries can be restored in Christ through the Church and through that alone. And it is the Catholic Church that has the answers to the crisis in our civilization,” the journalist said.
“And yet, tragically, instead of supplying those answers according to its doctrine… this is what we get. Instead, we get confusion, we get apostasy, and we get the repetition of these confusing statements instead of the doctrine of the Catholic Church.”
The panel then shifted to discussing the responses of some bishops denouncing the errors of Francis’ statement, including some popesplaining in one bishop’s response. In an X post, Bishop Joseph Strickland asked the faithful to pray that the Pope clearly states that Jesus Christ is the only way to God. Archbishop Viganò released a statement calling the Pontiff’s statement “apostasy.” Even Archbishop Charles Chaput, the archbishop emeritus of Philadelphia who usually doesn’t comment on news from the Vatican, wrote an explosive column in First Things calling the Pontiff’s comments “extraordinarily flawed.”
“To suggest, even loosely, that Catholics walk a more or less similar path to God as other religions drains martyrdom of its meaning. Why give up your life for Christ when other paths may get us to the same God?”
But the archbishop-emeritus wrote in the same column that “[since the Pope’s] comments were extemporaneous, they naturally lacked the precision that a prepared text would normally possess, and so hopefully what he said is not quite what he meant.”
“Okay, that is popesplaining,” Westen said, noting how the Holy See Press Office initially released a misleading translation of Francis’s statement that stated, “Religions are seen as paths trying to reach God,” massaging away the heresy. But the Vatican quickly corrected the translation to what Francis actually said, “Every religion is a way to arrive at God.” Finally, upon returning to Rome, the Pope doubled down on his comments to a group of ecumenical young people, saying the “diversity of religious identities is a gift from God.”
“These are stunning things from the Pope. This extends the heresy that we first heard,” Westen said.
Fr. Murr underscored that all this shows the Pontiff’s lack of missionary zeal and that he is trying to pave the way for a new man-centered religion. “And … this new religion, if you will, has much more concern for the environment than it does for God. As a matter of fact, this new religion doesn’t need God. I know that sounds horrific to say, but it’s true. It is a man-centered religion; it is about ecology; it is about globalism – that’s where he wants to take everything. So it’s not just that he’s not making mistakes; he really believes this, and he’s taking us in this direction.”
Wright jokingly asked listeners to spare a thought for “our poor, hard-working popesplainers.” He noted that popesplainers had to explain away the live English translation at the Vatican when the French, Italian, and Spanish translations all contained the heresy, so of course they had to say it was a mistranslation until the Pope corrected them.
“With the Pope himself correcting the popesplainers, they are certainly the hardest hit, and [they] probably suffered the most of all,” Wright said, adding that the reason Chaput tried to say the statement was extemporaneous was because it was indefensible.
“If the Pope did misspeak because he’s extemporizing, which means he’s talking without notes, he’s just speaking his mind. Then it bespeaks of the contents of his mind, which are necessarily disordered. Are they not? If that’s what happens when he speaks without guidance.”
For more discussion on the Pope’s comments that all religions lead to God, the reaction from popesplainers, and much more, tune in to this week’s episode of Faith & Reason.
Wright jokingly asked listeners to spare a thought for “our poor, hard-working popesplainers.” He noted that popesplainers had to explain away the live English translation at the Vatican when the French, Italian, and Spanish translations all contained the heresy, so of course they had to say it was a mistranslation until the Pope corrected them.
“With the Pope himself correcting the popesplainers, they are certainly the hardest hit, and [they] probably suffered the most of all,” Wright said, adding that the reason Chaput tried to say the statement was extemporaneous was because it was indefensible.
Ping
It is easy for me to imagine the Pope - along with many other clerics, both Catholic and Protestant - looking on with approval as the Romans executed Christians for their “divisive” and “intolerant” views.
This obvious evil is NOT the Pope. Pope Benedict did not offer a valid resignation, Pope is not a “shared” position, and this evil was not validly elected. He was placed, much like so many of the world “leaders” now. Evil is currently squatting in the seat, defiling all that it touches. Stop calling this evil, “Pope”. The “But… but… but he’s the Pope” mentality allows the evil to continue in the face of common sense. The answer is NO.
He is Bergolio the ImPopester.
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