Pope Francis Shows His True Colors
By Richard Bennett
In the sixteenth century, the Reformation, through its
emphasis on the ultimate authority of the Bible and the Gospel of grace, began
to dislodge the Papacy from its position as co-ruler of the Holy
Roman Empire . The truth of
Scripture and the Gospel gave men and women the knowledge and courage to stand
up against the Inquisition, a system of tortures by which the Papacy had
enforced submission to papal dogma. This
enforced submission had given the Papacy the power to wield tremendous
influence with the emperor and among the kings of the empire. Thus Ignatius of Loyola, a contemporary of Martin Luther,
founded the Jesuits in 1530 for the very purpose of defending the Papacy from
further loss of its power base. The
Jesuits’ objective has always been to increase the temporal power of the Papacy
to align with the Roman Catholic dogma that the Pope has the right to judge,
“the highest civil office in a state.”[1] However, since the demise of the Holy Roman Empire in the late eighteenth century, the
Papacy has had no civil authority by which to enforce obedience to its moral
rulings.
It is a well-established fact that the Jesuits throughout
their history have caused many serious disturbances by their nefarious schemes
within the civil governments of many countries.
Over the centuries, they have justifiably earned their reputation as
troublemakers to the extent that they were denied residence in some nations for
varying periods of time. Nevertheless,
their objective of increasing Papal religious and civil power beyond its
previous height remains unchanged. Therefore,
in order to move forward the Papacy’s drive for power in the current religious
and civil arenas, this Jesuit Pope must efface the historic image of the Jesuit
Order.
Cosmetic
Alteration of the Historic Jesuit Image
Once Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected, he chose the name
Pope Francis in honor of St Francis of Assisi . St Francis, known to be a softhearted lover
of nature, was also known for his humility and gentleness. Thus, in building an image or persona for himself in the public eye, Pope Francis has shrewdly
implied that he would be similarly unassuming, kind, and harmless. Since there has never been a pope named
Francis, the name carries with it no papal baggage. Immediately
following Pope Francis’s election, the media made much of his unassuming nature
by showing him paying his own hotel bill for his stay during the enclave. This was followed with news that he was not
going to take up residence in the Vatican ’s usual papal apartments, but instead would take a
smaller, more humble suite, ostensibly to live a “normal” life in touch with
the laity by being visibly among them.[2] Further, he graciously welcomed back into the Vatican the previous pope, Benedict
XVI, who under rumors of unpleasant circumstances, had abruptly resigned. Was this not the modern St Francis,
kindly restoring to the aged and ailing Benedict some remnant of the honor that
had so suddenly departed him? The steady
stream of these and other similar public appearances continues to craft the
optics into an
image for the new pope that is the anti-type of the traditional Jesuit.
Catholic Dogma
Underlying Pope Francis’s Inaugural Address
However, in the very first sentence of his inaugural
address on March 19, 2013, Pope Francis presented a feature very different from
the persona being carefully groomed
by the optics. Indeed, even as out of
the heart the mouth speaks, so the new Jesuit Pope began to display audibly his
genuine image. While thousands of people
were crammed into Saint Peter’s Square, and millions across the world listened
by television and radio, the new pope stated, “Dear Brothers and Sisters, I
thank the Lord that I can celebrate this Holy Mass for the inauguration of my
Petrine ministry...”[3] Francis knew the claimed power that is
embedded in the term, “Petrine ministry.”
As the official Catechism of the
Catholic Church states, “…the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as
Vicar of Christ, namely, and as pastor of the entire Church, has full, supreme
and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise
unhindered.”[4] It is highly significant that Pope Francis
began his speech by thanking the Lord that he could celebrate Mass for the
inauguration of what he said was “my Petrine ministry.” His opening sentence shows where his heart
is; namely, in himself, in his position, and the power entailed in such a
position. It is this
particular idea, i.e., that the Pope is the Apostle Peter’s successor, which
has been the undergirding authority for the Papacy’s identity in the world since
the time of Pope Gregory VII in the eleventh century. The nature, indeed, the very identity of the
Office of the Papacy of the Roman Catholic Church is at stake. Thus, the Papacy will concede nothing
regarding this claim but rather use it to establish itself as the stable institution in the midst of
current tumultuous times.
Accordingly, using this supposition, Pope Francis’s inaugural
homily was a masterpiece in showing his Jesuitical disposition. He opened by saying, “I thank the Lord
that I can celebrate this Holy Mass for the inauguration of my Petrine ministry
on the solemnity of Saint Joseph …” He then stated that God called Joseph—
“to be the custos, the protector. The protector of whom? Of Mary and Jesus; but this protection is
then extended to the Church… How does Joseph exercise his role as
protector? Discreetly, humbly and silently,
but with an unfailing presence and utter fidelity…”[5]
These are carefully chosen words
meant to evoke a certain frame of mind in the listener. He then makes application:
“Let
us protect Christ in our lives, so that we can protect others, so that we can
protect creation! The vocation of being
a “protector,” however, is not just something involving us Christians alone; it
also has a prior dimension which is simply human, involving everyone.”
At this point, Francis has introduced major Catholic social
doctrine under the guise of “protection;” that it is everybody’s job, not just
the Christians’ job, to protect everybody; and also (though not stated here),
all goods because all possessions in the creation belong to everyone.[6] In Catholic social doctrine, everyone, even
those who are not Roman Catholic, must fulfill his duty to others as the Roman Catholic Church defines that
duty; and this is one of the things to which Pope Francis is referring when
he states that there is a “prior dimension” to his idea of protection.[7] Thus he says,
“Please, I would like to ask all those who have positions
of responsibility in economic, political and social life, and all men and women
of goodwill: let us be “protectors” of creation, protectors of God’s plan
inscribed in nature, protectors of one another and of the environment…”
He also
states that protection is required because in every age “there are ‘Herods’ who
plot death, wreak havoc, and mar the countenance of men and women.” He does not define the lurking “Herods” more
closely; but he does define what he thinks needs protecting. It is this:
“To protect Jesus with Mary, to protect the whole of
creation, to protect each person, especially the poorest, to protect ourselves:
this is a service that the Bishop of Rome is called to carry out.…”
Clearly
Pope Francis does not understand that the glorified Jesus Christ, the “only
Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords”[8] needs no protection! Then he ignores the biblical commandment not
pray to the dead as he closes his homily by praying, “I implore the
intercession of the Virgin Mary, Saint Joseph, Saints Peter and Paul, and Saint
Francis, that the Holy Spirit may accompany my ministry…” He has not prayed to Almighty God through
Jesus Christ; rather, he has totally disobeyed the Lord God’s commandment in
calling on dead saints.[9] Clearly, Pope Francis does not have any
biblical understanding of who the Lord Jesus Christ is nor how He fulfills His
role as Head of the Church.[10]
Notice the position to which the Lord Jesus Christ has been
relegated in all this. Rather, by weaving together the choice of papal name
with the theme of protection as his opening homily, Pope Francis has made it
clear that he intends to protect the Papacy and its social objectives during
his term of office.[11] The fact that he has said it in gentle terms,
by calling on the images of Francis of Assisi and Joseph, Mary’s husband, does
not make it any less lethal.
Thus, it was on day of his inaugural address that Pope
Francis began his Pontificate with the mark of a true Jesuit, i.e., primarily
defending the Papacy against the Gospel and biblical truth at all costs. With the very opening of his pontificate, the
true image of Francis was brought forth into the light of day by his own words,
showing him not as humble and harmless, but as proudly dogmatic and utterly
opposed to biblical truth.
The Pope’s
Objective Regarding Pagan Religions and Evangelicals
Further, on March 20, 2013, Pope Francis addressed
religious leaders across the world.
Among other matters, Francis stated,
“…It
is a cause for particular joy to meet today with you, delegates of the Orthodox
churches, the Oriental Orthodox churches and ecclesial communities of the
West...Together with you I cannot forget how
much that Council has meant for the road of ecumenism...For my part, I wish to
assure you…of my determination to continue on the path of ecumenical
dialogue. I ask you, dear brothers and
sisters, to bring my cordial greeting and the assurance of my remembrance in
the Lord Jesus to the churches and Christian communities here
represented... I then greet and
cordially thank you all, dear friends belonging to other religious traditions;
first of all the Muslims, who worship the one God, living and merciful, and
call upon Him in prayer, and all of you.
I really appreciate your presence: in it I see a tangible sign of the
will to grow in mutual esteem and cooperation for the common good of humanity.”[12]
From these remarks, Pope Francis has demonstrated
effectively that he will not protect the truth of the Scripture and the Gospel
of grace. He does not believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible alone. It is a well-known fact that Allah, who the
Muslims worship, is not the God of the Bible.
Since Pope Francis must know this, his remarks point to his ecumenical
objective, a goal to be accomplished by high-powered flattery and false
ecumenical dialogue.
The Pope’s
Objective Regarding Nations and Governments
Moreover, two days later on March 22, 2013, Pope Francis
spoke to a group of diplomats representing governments that have a relationship
to the Vatican . His speech began with these words:
“Dear Ambassadors, Ladies and
Gentlemen, thank you again for all the work that you do, alongside the
Secretariat of State, to build peace and construct bridges of friendship and
fraternity. Through you, I would like to renew to your Governments my thanks
for their participation in the celebrations on the occasion of my election, and
my heartfelt desire for a fruitful common endeavour. May Almighty God pour out his gifts on each
one of you, on your families and on the peoples that you represent. Thank you!”[13]
In his address, Pope Francis emphasized the fact that the
Pope is known as the “pontiff,” or “a builder of bridges,” and stated, “In this
work [with governments], the role of religion is fundamental.” While few
people realize it, the Pope claims the right to judge those who hold
highest civil office in a state. This blending of things civil and religious has been
the papal method of operation throughout the centuries. At the present time, the Roman Church
seeks to implement her socialist ideas by using her power as a religious system
working through her own status as a civil state. As a religious system, she is able to command
a “fifth column” within many nations.[14] By her influence as a civil power, Papal Rome
is also able to substantially influence civil rulers and civil policy in many
nations and international bodies. The
Church of Rome has 179 legal agreements with nations across the world. These “concordats,” as they are called, guarantee
that the Catholic Church has the right to define religion and worship for
Catholics within that sovereign nation.
They also secure for the Vatican
the right to define doctrine, establish Catholic education, and negotiate laws
regarding property, appointing bishops, and Catholic laws of marriage and
annulments.
The Republic
of Argentina Argentina ,
he would have known well the benefit that the legal agreement meant to the
Roman Church.
In addressing the diplomats from governments that have a
relationship to the Vatican ,
Pope Francis knew just how important it is to woo civil governments into legal
liaison with Papal Rome. Thus, the new
Pope continues the Vatican ’s
civil/legal relationships with nations across the world in its endeavor to move
civil governments to implement its global socialist agenda.
On April 23, 2013, less affable
facets of the namesake of St Francis surfaced again. In Pope
Francis’s sermon
for Mass that day, he stated explicitly,
“The
reading today makes me think that the missionary expansion of the Church began
precisely at a time of persecution, and these Christians went as far as Phoenicia , Cyprus
and Antioch Jerusalem Mother Church
Pope Francis’s premise is that one’s identity as a Christian can come only through
faith in “Mother Church
“Believing is an ecclesial
act. The Church’s faith precedes,
engenders, supports and nourishes our faith.
The Church is the mother of all believers. ‘No one can have God as Father who does not
have the Church as Mother.’”[16]
These statements are a serious affront to those who
recognize them for the falsehoods that they are. Undoubtedly Pope Francis believes what he has
stated. However, his teaching reflects
an old but clever argument aimed at those who do not know their Bibles. Pope Francis and his Church refuse to believe
in the authority of the Bible alone; therefore, they fail to believe that faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ alone is a
gift given by the Lord God Himself through the Holy Spirit, and not by any
church. The object of faith is the
Person of Christ Jesus, as Scripture states, “Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved
...”[17] This
faith is God-given, as declared in Scripture by the Apostle Peter, “Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of
Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious faith with us through the righteousness of God and
our Saviour Jesus Christ.”[18]
Furthermore, this God-given faith comes by hearing the Word of God as is
stated, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”[19] Nevertheless,
Pope Francis stated, “The Mother
Church that gives us Jesus gives us our identity.” This is traditional Roman Catholic
Church teaching.[20] Thus it is that the
Papal Church Mother Church
Conclusion
Pope Francis is both clever and deceitful as he protects
his Church against the Scriptures and the Gospel of grace. He is moving forward with the centuries old
papal objective of ruling the world as Vicar of Christ. Therefore, he continues to set before the
world an optical persona of humility
and harmlessness while the words from his mouth delineate him as dogmatic and
destructive. In opposition to the Gospel
of salvation, Pope Francis talks about salvation gained by trusting in “Mother Church
The Lord Jesus Christ prayed emphatically the night before
He died. His prayer is answered in the
life of every believer who is justified by God’s saving grace alone. God’s grace is received through faith alone,
and the object of that faith is Christ alone.
Christ Jesus prayed, “that they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee,
that they also may be one in us: that
the world may believe that thou hast sent me.”[26] The Lord knew very well those for whom He
prayed. The objects of His prayer were
clear to Him. These believers embrace
eternal life as the Holy Spirit regenerates them. Thus, the foundation for true saving faith is
utterly of God. Those for whom the Lord
prayed are “born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God.”[27] It
is only by the absolute grace of God that you receive the gift of
eternal life. There is, nevertheless,
the correlation between your inheritance, the gift of eternal life in Christ
Jesus, and your duty, which is to obey God.
The greater the gift, the greater is the obligation to express our
gratitude in a suitable and becoming manner.
Thus the Word of God instructs us, “whereby we may serve God acceptably
with reverence and godly fear.”[28]
The same truth has a grave
warning for Pope Francis and all those who believe in the traditions and
sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church rather than directly believing on the
Lord Himself by the authority of His written Word. God is the same just and righteous God under
the Gospel as He was under the Law in the Old Testament. He deals with us in love and grace; yet, He
in Himself remains “a consuming fire.”[29] He is the God of strict justice who will
avenge Himself on all who have not received the love of the truth, but rather
look to a church or some person other than the Lord Jesus Christ alone for
life. The Lord Jesus Christ has lived
the perfect life and, willingly of His own volition, has made the faultless,
propitiatory sacrifice for sin. To
refuse to believe in Him alone is a critical offense. When the
Lord Jesus dealt with the sincere and devout Pharisees, He gave them a very
strong word, “I said therefore unto you, that you shall die in your
sins: for if ye believe not
that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.”[30] You may say that you are a good Catholic and
that you want to please God in this present life and hope to live with Him
forever; that is a noble goal. You may
be as sincere and devout as the Pharisees, but like them, if you personally
neglect to believe on Him alone for your salvation, you likewise will die in
your sins.
Distinct faith and trust on the
Lord Jesus Christ alone is essential and frequently highlighted in
Scripture. “He that believeth on the
son hath everlasting life.”[31] “He that believeth on the Son of God hath
the witness in himself: he
that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.”[32] Thus, it is that you must believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, who gives life now, and forever!
This is the living way, the only way to eternal life. It is spiritual death to attempt to come to
God through a so-called “Mother
Church
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[1] In present-day Canon law, the Catholic Church states, “It
is the right of the Roman Pontiff himself alone to judge in cases mentioned in
Can. 1401:1 those who hold the highest civil office in a state....” Canon 1405, Sect. 1
[3] www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/homilies/2013/documents/papa-francesco_20130319_omelia-inizio-pontificato_en.html
[4] Catechism
of the Catholic Church, Para 882
[5]www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/homilies/2013/documents/papa-francesco_20130319_omelia-inizio-pontificato_en.html
www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/letters/2007/documents/hf_ben-xvi_let_20071012_settimane-sociali_en.html
[7] “As citizens of the State, it is their duty to take
part in public life in the first person and, with respect for the legitimate
autonomies, to cooperate in forming social life correctly, together with all
other citizens, in accordance with the competencies of each one and under his
or her own autonomous responsibility.”
www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/homilies/2013/documents/papa-francesco_20130319_omelia-inizio-pontificato_en.html
[8] 1 Timothy 6:15
[9] Deuteronomy 18:10-11
[10] “For the husband is the head of the wife,
even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.”
Ephesians 5:23
[11]
These objectives are listed
in the “Compendium of Church Social Doctrine” and in the Vatican Council II
documents on ecumenism.
[12] www.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-s-address-to-representatives-of-the-churches-ecclesial-communities-and-other-religions
[13] www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/speeches/2013/march/documents/papa-francesco_20130322_corpo-diplomatico_en.html
[14]
Radical Islam is doing essentially the same thing today as it demands the right
to teach its people their religion, including Sharia Law, within the Western
nations – regardless of the fact that Sharia Law contravenes the laws of the
sovereign nations in which these Muslims live, even as the Papal socialist
agenda contravenes the U. S. Constitution.
[15] www.vatican.va/holy_father/francesco/homilies/2013/documents/papa-francesco_20130319_omelia-inizio-pontificato_en.html (emphasis not in original)
[16] Catechism of the Catholic Church (Libreria
Editrice Vaticana 1997) Para 181
[17] Acts
16:31 Conditional: if his family believed in Christ as he is commanded to do,
they too would be saved.
[18] II
Peter 1:1 (emphasis added)
[19] Romans 10:17
[20] Catechism, Second Ed., Para
824 “It is in the Church that
‘the fullness of the means of salvation’ has been deposited. It is in her that ‘by the grace of God we
acquire holiness.’”
[21] Hebrews
12:2
[22] John
6:44
[23] John
6:44 and John 6:29
[24] Galatians 1:9
[25] II
Thessalonians 2:10
[26]
John 17:21
[27] John
1:13
[28] Hebrews
12:28
[29] Hebrews
12:29
[30] John
8:24
[31] John 3:36
[32] I John
5:10
[33] Psalm 36:7-9
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