The true colors of the often-smiling Bishop of Rome, Pope Francis Bergoglio are starting to emerge quite clearly since his ascension to the throne in March of 2013. He is a man who speaks compassion in despite the theology. In early 2016, the Pope released a video in which he said: “Many think differently, feel differently, seeking God or meeting God in different ways. In this crowd, in this range of religions, there is only one certainty that we have for all: we are all children of God.”[i] To those who know their Bible this was a shocking statement. The 1st chapter of John’s Gospel clearly teaches that only those that accept the sonship of Jesus the Christ have bestowed on them the right to be called “children of God.”
Early in his papacy he seemed to open the gates of Paradise to atheists who “follow their conscience,” and softened the Church’s stance on homosexuality and sex outside of marriage. It has also been reported that he denied the existence of Hell. But perhaps his most glaring biblical error would be his acceptance of alternate ways to the Father. He has reached out to other religions, including both paganism and Islam to – offering them as alternatives – it would seem – to the ‘Catholic way’ of salvation. In the Spring of 2019, Pope Francis signed the Abu Dhabi Declaration with a leading Islamic Imam, entitled, “A Document on Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together.” The document contained a statement which reads, “The pluralism and the diversity of religions, colour, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings.”[ii] Sooo, the diversity of religions is “willed by God,” mmmmm! That certainly is an unbiblical statement. But given the fact that Francis was the first to condone and allow Muslim prayers at the Vatican, it should not be so surprising.
But his most recent actions may have reached a most curious zenith…or perhaps nadir. Pope Francis thought it would be a really keen idea to acknowledge and bless the statue of a pagan, naked fertility and mother goddess of the indigenous people of South America. [I mean, what could possibly be wrong with that?!]
EN News reported that the ceremony dedicated to the Pachamama goddess began with a dance around two female statues that represented ‘Mother Earth’ and a male one “with an erection.” [NO, the Pope was NOT one of the dancers….I’ll give him that.] It was then that a “female shaman, with feathers in her hair, lifted her hands for some kind of invocation while sixteen concelebrants knelt and bowed around the blanket. Francis sat nearby surrounded by cardinals, bishops, and normal people. He closed his eyes as if he were ‘praying.’ Finally, the shaman shook a rattle, went up to Francis and fooled him by casting some spells on his hands.”[iii]
Cardinal Abp Vigano, a papal critic, pulled no punches when levying his charges against the Holy See. “The abomination of idolatrous rites has entered the sanctuary of God and has given rise to a new form of apostasy whose seeds…. are growing with renewed vigor and effectiveness. The process of the internal mutation of the faith, which has been taking place in the Catholic Church for several decades, has seen with this Synod a dramatic acceleration towards the foundation of a new creed, summed up in a new kind of worship [cultus]. In the name of inculturation, pagan elements are infesting divine worship so as to transform it into an idolatrous cult.” Life Site News reports “The ‘Amazon paradigm”’is aimed at fundamentally ‘transforming’ the Catholic Church, is aligned with a ‘globalist’ agenda, and ‘serves as a catwalk to ferry what remains of the Catholic edifice towards an indistinct universal religion.’”[iv]
This is right in line of course with where the Bible says we’ll be heading during the Tribulation; a One World Religion managed by the False Prophet in honor of the Antichrist. There is no equating non-biblical religions, even the meanderings of indigenous paganism with its idol worship. Scripture weighs in on such practices. “Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” (Romans 1:24-25) [And now you can add in to that the fact that the Pope wants to add sins against the ecology of the earth to the Catholic Catechism.] Believing Christians cannot condone the honoring / worship of a pagan idol, – statue or the earth itself – even if disguised as some dedicatory ceremony to St Francis, which the Catholic Church did. And in 2nd Corinthians we find a warning. “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God.” (2Corinthians 6:14-16) Did you catch that? “What part has a believer with an unbeliever?” We CANNOT compromise the purity of our faith. Jesus called upon us to worship God in spirit and in truth…and to honor the pagan – or the Islamic – or the Hindu – or the what-have-you, is to deny the Truth for which Messiah came and died and rose. He is “the way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6) And there is no other!
[i]In first prayer video, Pope stresses interfaith unity: ‘We are all children of God’, Catholic News Agency, January 7, 2016
[ii] Mary Rezac, Pope Francis signs peace declaration on ‘Human Fraternity’ with Grand Imam, Catholic Herald, February 5, 2019
[iii] Mumbo-Jumbo in Vatican Gardens, EN News, October 4, 2019
[iv] Diane Montagna, Abp Viganò: ‘The abomination of idolatrous rites has entered the sanctuary of God’, Life Site News,
November 6, 2019
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