Posted on 11/26/2014 11:10:19 AM PST by NKP_Vet
It was a damp, cold morning in Rome. Many umbrellas and brightly colored ponchos could be seen as the popemobile circled around St. Peter's Square.
Before beginning his catechesis, the Pope gave an encouraging word to the pilgrims.
POPE FRANCIS "It's kind of an ugly day, huh? But you are courageous. Congratulations!”
Pope Francis explained that the Church is on a path towards the Kingdom of Heaven, a seed that has been in the Earth. He also said that after death, Christians will come face to face with God.
POPE FRANCIS "It is beautiful to think of this, to think of Heaven. And we will all meet there. All of us, All of us...Up there...all of us.”
In the Church, the Pope continued, there exists a communion among living Christians and those who have passed away. He concluded that they help one another through prayer.
During his greeting, Pope Francis reminded the pilgrims of his upcoming trip to Turkey.
POPE FRANCIS "I invite all of you to pray so that this visit of Peter to his brother Andrew may bear fruits of peace, sincere dialogue among religions and harmony in the Turkish nation.”
The Pope also greeted Christians from the Middle East. He said that God transforms the world with his forgiveness.
(Excerpt) Read more at romereports.com ...
“... the implication being “meet with them in an encounter that leads eventually to faith in Christ.””
The problem, as far as I see it, is that Christ should never be left as an implication. Christ is the focal point of the Gospel, and our main commission is to preach that Gospel, so Christ needs to be front and center.
I agree.
"Kiss the ring, or the Blood won't clean!"
Once upon a time you couldn’t get into Heaven unless you were a Roman Catholic, and now atheists can get in?
Amazing how Catholic doctrine changes!
POPE FRANCIS "It is beautiful to think of this, to think of Heaven. And we will all meet there. All of us, All of us...Up there...all of us.”
Perhaps Cardinal Avery Dulles, one of the ten greatest Catholic intellectuals in American history, can explain it for us:
Who, then, can be saved?God’s saving grace, channeled through Christ the one Mediator, leaves no one unassisted. But that same grace brings obligations to all who receive it. They must not receive the grace of God in vain. Much will be demanded of those to whom much is given.
- Catholics can be saved if they believe the Word of God as taught by the Church and if they obey the commandments.
- Other Christians can be saved if they submit their lives to Christ and join the community where they think he wills to be found.
- Jews can be saved if they look forward in hope to the Messiah and try to ascertain whether God’s promise has been fulfilled.
- Adherents of other religions can be saved if, with the help of grace, they sincerely seek God and strive to do his will.
- Even atheists can be saved if they worship God under some other name and place their lives at the service of truth and justice.
-- concluding paragraph (formatting mine), from the thread Who Can Be Saved?. Article by Cardinal Avery Dulles
This is probably going to come as a shocker, but if you read the entire homily, he is speaking of ‘the Church”. So I do not believe, in this instance, he is speaking of all non-Christians, atheists, etc. I do still have issues with his former quote that you have quoted here (but I won’t get into that here).
The problem is (as it has been with Francis and his pet Vatican II theology), exactly what is “the Church”? According to Francis and according to Vatican II all churches are means of salvation. Neither enforces nor teaches that the only true means of salvation is the Catholic Church.
Cardinal Dulles was wrong in this case. And, as far as your list of “ten greatest Catholic intellectuals in American history: it’s joke.
Courtney Murray? Neuhaus? Weigel? Give me a break!
Did someone die and make you Pope, to grant you the qualifications and authority to criticize a cardinal?
And, as far as your list of “ten greatest Catholic intellectuals in American history: it’s joke.
It wasn't my list. As to whether it's a joke, allow me to remind you that it wasn't my church or the current pope that gave Dulles his red hat.
The Second Vatican Council, in its Dogmatic Constitution on the Church and its Decree on Ecumenism, made some significant departures from the teaching of Pius XII.
At least he admits it. Now we just need a pope to fix it.
This is pure heresy. .Are there any members of the hierarchy that don't believe this? Are there any who are not Modernist heretics? Alex, I don't expect you to answer those questions.
Sorry to hear that; your loss.
Wouldn't a billion years be enough torment?
Many are called, but few are chosen.
You probably mean the liberal Protestant churches which preach the same as the Pope did in this article.
Which of course would be straying from God's Word, Holy Scriptures. As in John 14:
6 Jesus said to him,“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
So I agree, any church whether it be Roman Catholic or Protestant/Evangelical would be teaching a false gospel by stating 'anyone' (even those who do not believe in God!)can come to the Father by any means even 'good works.' For such eliminates the Work of Christ.
Don't know why the Pope keeps banging this drum. It is as if he has never picked up a Bible.
I mean, Pope Francis could have made a distinction between redemption and salvation by just quoting these EXACT verses in John 3:
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but[b] have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
All Pope Francis had to do, to spare Fr. Longnecker the ink, was to stick to the Scriptures. Those few verses right up there from John 3 would avoid such 'misquotes', 'mistranslations' etc.
But perhaps maybe we should look at why Pope Francis did not make the remainder of the Gospel message clear.
Do the pope a favor. Mail him a Bible.
John 3:
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but[b] have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
I normally like Father Longnecker’s columns, but not when he tries to sugarcoat Francis’ heretical ramblings. In Francis’ world there is no need for a Catholic CHurch because everyone will make it to heaven anyway. Makes no difference at all if you’re a Christian, buddhist, muslim, or atheist. Just be a “good person” and we will all meet in heaven. I think Pope Francis needs a lesson in Catholicism for Beginners. He sounds like someone with no knowledge whatsover of the Christian faith.
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