Viganò: Has the Pope now ‘disavowed’ being Vicar of Christ and declare himself 'absolute monarch?

Life Site Apr 4, 2020

Former papal nuncio Archbishop Carlo Maria Viganò has called the dropping of Pope Francis’ essential title “Vicar of Christ” from the 2020 Pontifical Yearbook an act that appears to “officially alter the Papacy,” such that the Pope “no longer recognizes himself as guardian.”

“This change in the layout and content of an official text of the Catholic Church cannot be ignored, nor is it possible to attribute it to a gesture of humility on the part of Francis, which is not in keeping with his name being so prominently featured,” wrote Viganò in a statement he sent to LifeSiteNews (read full statement below). 

“Instead, it seems possible to see in it the admission — passed over in silence — of a sort of usurpation, whereby it is not the “Servus servorum Dei” [The Servant of the Servants of God] who reigns, but the person of Jorge Mario Bergoglio, who has officially disavowed being the Vicar of Christ, the Successor of the Prince of the Apostles and the Supreme Pontiff, as if they were annoying trappings of the past: only mere ‘historical titles,’” he added. 

LifeSite reported April 2 that  Pope Francis, in a surprise move, dropped the historic and essential title “Vicar of Christ” from the 2020 Pontifical Yearbook, the Holy See’s annual directory, relegating the title to a footnote, calling it a “historical title.”

While previous yearbooks listed the title “Vicar of Christ” and the name of the reigning Pope under that title, this year’s annual directory simply lists the name “Jorge Mario Bergoglio,” the name of the man who became Pope Francis in 2013. The title “Vicar of Jesus Christ” stems from Holy Scripture where Jesus granted St. Peter the power of the keys in the Church.

Archbishop Viganò said it’s as if Pope Francis now views himself as becoming “master of the Church, free to demolish it from within without having to answer to anyone.”

 

“In short, a tyrant,” he said.

Shall I obey God rather than men?

“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” Isaiah 8:20. The people of God are directed to the Scriptures as their safeguard against the influence of false teachers and the delusive power of spirits of darkness. Satan employs every possible device to prevent men from obtaining a knowledge of the Bible; for its plain utterances reveal his deceptions. At every revival of God's work the prince of evil is aroused to more intense activity; he is now putting forth his utmost efforts for a final struggle against Christ and His followers. The last great delusion is soon to open before us. Antichrist is to perform his marvelous works in our sight. So closely will the counterfeit resemble the true that it will be impossible to distinguish between them except by the Holy Scriptures. By their testimony every statement and every miracle must be tested.  

Those who endeavor to obey all the commandments of God will be opposed and derided. They can stand only in God. In order to endure the trial before them, they must understand the will of God as revealed in His word; they can honor Him only as they have a right conception of His character, government, and purposes, and act in accordance with them. None but those who have fortified the mind with the truths of the Bible will stand through the last great conflict. To every soul will come the searching test: Shall I obey God rather than men? The decisive hour is even now at hand. Are our feet planted on the rock of God's immutable word? Are we prepared to stand firm in defense of the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus? 

Before His crucifixion the Savior explained to His disciples that He was to be put to death and to rise again from the tomb, and angels were present to impress His words on minds and hearts. But the disciples were looking for temporal deliverance from the Roman yoke, and they could not tolerate the thought that He in whom all their hopes centered should suffer an ignominious death. The words which they needed to remember were banished from their minds; and when the time of trial came, it found them unprepared. The death of Jesus as fully destroyed their hopes as if He had not forewarned them. So in the prophecies the future is opened before us as plainly as it was opened to the disciples by the words of Christ. The events connected with the close of probation and the work of preparation for the time of trouble, are clearly presented. But multitudes have no more understanding of these important truths than if they had never been revealed. Satan watches to catch away every impression that would make them wise unto salvation, and the time of trouble will find them unready.  

When God sends to men warnings so important that they are represented as proclaimed by holy angels flying in the midst of heaven, He requires every person endowed with reasoning powers to heed the message. The fearful judgments denounced against the worship of the beast and his image (Revelation 14:9-11), should lead all to a diligent study of the prophecies to learn what the mark of the beast is, and how they are to avoid receiving it. But the masses of the people turn away their ears from hearing the truth and are turned unto fables. The apostle Paul declared, looking down to the last days: “The time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.” 2 Timothy 4:3. That time has fully come. The multitudes do not want Bible truth, because it interferes with the desires of the sinful, world-loving heart; and Satan supplies the deceptions which they love.  

But God will have a people upon the earth to maintain the Bible, and the Bible only, as the standard of all doctrines and the basis of all reforms. The opinions of learned men, the deductions of science, the creeds or decisions of ecclesiastical councils, as numerous and discordant as are the churches which they represent, the voice of the majority—not one nor all of these should be regarded as evidence for or against any point of religious faith. Before accepting any doctrine or precept, we should demand a plain “Thus saith the Lord” in its support.  

Satan is constantly endeavoring to attract attention to man in the place of God. He leads the people to look to bishops, to pastors, to professors of theology, as their guides, instead of searching the Scriptures to learn their duty for themselves. Then, by controlling the minds of these leaders, he can influence the multitudes according to his will.      Great Controversy pp. 593-595

7 Headed Beast of Revelation

Spiritualist teachers refuse to acknowledge Christ as the Son of God

Modern spiritualism, resting upon the same foundation, is but a revival in a new form of the witchcraft and demon worship that God condemned and prohibited of old. It is foretold in the Scriptures, which declare that "in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils." 1 Timothy 4:1. Paul, in his second letter to the Thessalonians, points to the special working of Satan in spiritualism as an event to take place immediately before the second advent of Christ. Speaking of Christ's second coming, he declares that it is "after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders." 2 Thessalonians 2:9. And Peter, describing the dangers to which the church was to be exposed in the last days, says that as there were false prophets who led Israel into sin, so there will be false teachers, "who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them. . . . And many shall follow their pernicious ways." 2 Peter 2:1, 2. Here the apostle has pointed out one of the marked characteristics of spiritualist teachers. They refuse to acknowledge Christ as the Son of God. Concerning such teachers the beloved John declares: "Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son. Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father." 1 John 2:22, 23. Spiritualism, by denying Christ, denies both the Father and the Son, and the Bible pronounces it the manifestation of antichrist.        Patriarchs and Prophets pp. 686

Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ?

¹⁸ Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.

¹⁹ They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.

²⁰ But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.

²¹ I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.

²² Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.

²³ Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.

²⁴ Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.

²⁵ And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

²⁶ These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.

²⁷ But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.

²⁸ And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

²⁹ If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.      1 John 2:18-29

God shall send them strong delusion

Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him,

² That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.

³ Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

⁴ Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.

⁵ Remember ye not, that, when I was yet with you, I told you these things?

⁶ And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time.

⁷ For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

⁸ And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming:

⁹ Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,

¹⁰ And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.

¹¹ And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:

¹² That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

¹³ But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:

¹⁴ Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

¹⁵ Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether by word, or our epistle.

¹⁶ Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,

¹⁷ Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.      2 Thessalonians 2

Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ?

1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
7 Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
8 Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
9 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
12 I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name's sake.
13 I write unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father.
14 I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
18 Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time.
19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.
20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
21 I have not written unto you because ye know not the truth, but because ye know it, and that no lie is of the truth.
22 Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.
23 Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father.
25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.
26 These things have I written unto you concerning them that seduce you.
27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
28 And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
29 If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.          1 John 2

Who is the last world power? Is it the bankers, secret societies, Islam or the United States?

Who is the last world power? Is it the bankers, secret societies, Islam or the United States? What is historicism, preteretism and futurism? Who is the Antichrist? This is study that will look at and will attempt to answer these questions using current affairs, history and prophecy and the book of Daniel will be the foundation off this study.

Nigerian priests must clearly manifest total obedience to the Pope.

by Thomas D. Williams, Ph.D.11 Jun 2017

In what is perhaps the most strongly worded address of the Francis pontificate, the Pope blasted a group of Nigerian priests who have rejected the papal appointment of their bishop to the diocese of Ahiara, comparing them to the “murderous tenants” spoken of by Jesus in the gospel.

The Pope goes on to describe the priests’ offense against the Church as a “mortal sin,” demanding that each one write a personal letter of apology manifesting “total obedience to the Pope.”

This act of rebellion goes beyond “tribalism,” Francis said, and is rather “an attempted taking of the vineyard of the Lord.”

The Ahiara diocese has been embroiled in controversy ever since 2012, when Pope Benedict XVI appointed Peter Okpaleke as its bishop, an appointment that was reportedly opposed by “lay people and priests of the diocese.”

Members of the local church have demanded a bishop from the Mbaise region, like their former bishop, the late Victor Adibe Chikwe, who came from Mbaise and was accepted as a “son of the soil.”

In 2013, Pope Francis appointed Cardinal John Onaiyekan as apostolic administrator of the diocese but no resolution to the crisis has been found.

Now, Pope Francis has issued an ultimatum to the priests of the Diocese of Ahiara, giving them 30 days to write a letter promising absolute obedience to him along with the acceptance of their appointed bishop. Priests who do not write a personal letter imploring the Pope’s forgiveness will be suspended from the priesthood.

On Wednesday, Pope Francis received a delegation from the Diocese of Ahiara, which included the Archbishop of Abuja and the apostolic administrator of Ahiara, Cardinal John O. Onaiyekan, along with a number of other Nigerian prelates and diocesan staff.

In the text of his address, released on Saturday by the Vatican, Pope Francis says that the behavior of the Ahiara clergy reminds him of “the parable of the murderous tenants, of which the Gospel speaks, that want to grasp the inheritance.”

“Whoever was opposed to Bishop Okpaleke taking possession of the Diocese wants to destroy the Church,” Francis said. “This is forbidden; perhaps he does not realize it, but the Church is suffering as well as the People of God within her. The Pope cannot be indifferent.”

In his speech, the Pope praised the “holy patience” demonstrated by the bishop during these four years. He also states that he had considered “suppressing the Diocese,” but then thought that “the Church is a mother and cannot abandon her many children.”

Francis also suggests that the priests of the diocese “are being manipulated even from abroad and from outside the Diocese.”

“The Church is a mother and whoever offends her commits a mortal sin, it’s very serious,” Francis said, before laying out his ultimatum to the priests.

Every priest or ecclesiastic of the Diocese of Ahiara, Francis said, must “write a letter addressed to me in which he asks for forgiveness; all must write individually and personally. We all must share this common sorrow.”

In the letter, he continued, the priests “must clearly manifest total obedience to the Pope,” and “must be willing to accept the Bishop whom the Pope sends and has appointed.”

“The letter must be sent within 30 days, from today to July 9th, 2017. Whoever does not do this will be ipso facto suspended a divinis and will lose his current office,” Francis said.

“This seems very hard, but why must the Pope do this?” he continued. “Because the people of God are scandalized. Jesus reminds us that whoever causes scandal must suffer the consequences.”      Breitbart

The Face Of Deception

The penalty of the transgression of God's law is death. Christ suffered death for man, and brought life and immortality to light by coming from the dead. When he died, the death knell of Satan was sounded. The work of Christ was to destroy him who had the power of death; therefore we are today prisoners of hope. How grateful we should be that, notwithstanding this earth is so small amid the created worlds, God notices even us. The nations are before him as the drop in the bucket, and as the small dust in the balance; and yet the great, the stupendous work that has been done for us shows how much he loves us.  

     As soon as Christ was raised from the dead, Satan's lying propensities led him to start the lie that the body of Christ had been stolen. By this he thought he could conceal the fact that it was the Son of God who had died, and he could, after all, make a victory out of his terrible defeat. Failing in this, he tried another scheme. He had controlled the Jewish nation so that they had rejected and crucified the Son of God. He now pretends to exalt Christ before the Christian world by telling them that instead of keeping the seventh-day Sabbath they must keep the first day of the week in memory of Christ's resurrection. Anything, he cares not what, to show that the law of God can be changed! If he can make the world believe that this law can be changed, he has gained his point.  

     There is one pointed out in prophecy as the man of sin. He is the representative of Satan. Taking the suggestions of Satan concerning the law of God, which is as unchangeable as his throne, this man of sin comes in and represents to the world that he has changed that law, and that the first day of the week instead of the seventh is now the Sabbath. Professing infallibility, he claims the right to change the law of God to suit his own purposes. By doing, he exalts himself above God, and leaves the world to infer that God is fallible. If it were indeed true that God had made a rule of government that needed to be changed, it would certainly show fallibility.  

     But Christ declared that not one jot or tittle of the law should fail until heaven and earth should pass away. The very work that he came to do was to exalt the law, and show to the created worlds and to heaven that God is just, and that his law need not be changed. But here is Satan's right-hand man ready to carry on the work that Satan commenced in heaven, that of trying to amend the law of God. And the Christian world has sanctioned his efforts by adopting this child of the papacy,--the Sunday institution. They have nourished it, and will continue to nourish it, until Protestantism shall give the hand of fellowship to the Roman power. Then there will be a law against the Sabbath of God's creation, and then it is that God "will do a strange work in the earth." He has borne long with the perversity of the race; he has tried to win them to himself. But the time will come when they shall have filled their measure of iniquity; and then it is that God will work. This time is almost reached. God keeps a record with the nations: the figures are swelling against them in the books of heaven; and when it shall have become a law that the transgression of the first day of the week shall be met with punishment, then their cup will be full.  
     We should consider that it was not merely to accomplish the redemption of man that Christ came to earth; it was not merely that the inhabitants of this little world might regard the law of God as it should be regarded; but it was to demonstrate to all the worlds that God's law is unchangeable, and that the wages of sin is death. 
     There is a great deal more to this subject than we can take in at a glance. Oh that all might see the importance of carefully studying the Scriptures! Many seem to have the idea that this world and the heavenly mansions constitute the universe of God. Not so. The redeemed throng will range from world to world, and much of their time will be employed in searching out the mysteries of redemption. And throughout the whole stretch of eternity, this subject will be continually opening to their minds. The privileges of those who overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony are beyond comprehension.  

     We have each to battle with the fallen foe. I feel an intense interest that all should look upon this battle in the light of the Bible. Begin the warfare at once by gaining victories over self. Do not give place to the Devil. Do not sin against God, by indulging sinful thoughts or words. Do not let the enemy have control over your powers, but throw all the weight of your influence on the side of Christ.  

     When you look at the cross of Calvary, you cannot doubt God's love or his willingness to save. He has worlds upon worlds that give him divine honor, and heaven and all the universe would have been just as happy if he had left this world to perish; but so great was his love for the fallen race that he gave his own dear Son to die that they might be redeemed from eternal death. As we see the care, the love, that God has for us, let us respond to it; let us give to Jesus all the powers of our being, fighting manfully the battles of the Lord. We cannot afford to lose our souls; we cannot afford to sin against God. Life, eternal life in the kingdom of glory, is worth everything. But if we would obtain this precious boon, we must live a life of obedience to all of God's requirements; we must carry out the principles of the Christian religion in our daily life.  

     The law of God is made void in the land. For this reason every one who sees the light in regard to that law should put on the armor, and in the name of Jesus try to build the breach that has been made in that law by the man of sin. "And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in. If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."  

     Oh that I might impress upon the minds of all the true mission of Christ in coming to our world! It was to redeem man, and at the same time to show the immutability of his Father's law. The very fact that it was necessary for him to give his life for the fallen race, shows that the law of God will not release man from one tittle of its claims upon him. Satan's work has ever been to find fault with the law of God. But the very fact that Christ bore the penalty of the transgression of the law, is a mighty argument to all created intelligences in heaven and in other worlds that that law is changeless; that God is righteous, merciful, and self-denying; and that his administration is one of justice and mercy. RH, March 9, 1886 

Similarities of Pope Francis and the antichrist

Revealed truth

Is Pope Francis the Antichrist?

By Michael Hoffman

The “who am I to judge?” pontiff issues a judgment on Donald Trump:  “Not a Christian”

We’ve got a history lesson for “His Holiness” —  Christianity from Britain to Italy was repeatedly saved and preserved through victories in border wars and by erecting walls and forts.  Mr. Trump is right about illegal immigration: we need a wall to defend our land.  If the pontiff is going to start issuing certificates of excommunication he ought to begin by cleaning his own papal house: 

I. Starting with the bishops and cardinals who approve of the crime of sodomy, such as Bruno Forte, who wrote: “...connected to homosexual unions it has to be noted that there are cases in which mutual aid to the point of sacrifice constitutes a precious support in the life of the partners.” 

—Archbishop Bruno Forte, Relatio post disceptationem, 2014 Church of Rome Synod on the Family (emphasis supplied). 

II. The Pontifical Commission of Pope Francis teaches the abominable heresy that Jews are saved by genetic descent and need not believe in Jesus Christ: “...it does not in any way follow that the Jews are excluded from God’s salvation because they do not believe in Jesus Christ as the Messiah of Israel and the Son of God.” — Pontifical Commission for Religious Relations with the Jews, December 10, 2015. Cardinal Kurt Koch, President (emphasis supplied).

The Pope of Rome’s intervention in the process of the American people choosing the next President of the United States is an outrageous act of foreign subversion. Francis reigns in an Italy with one of the lowest birthrates on earth. He is on record mocking Catholics who “breed like rabbits.”  He preaches social justice and compassion for the poor while benefiting from the usury proceeds of his shylock Vatican Bank. This “Holy Father" is a mentally and spiritually sick individual. 

As Christians we support the building of a just society in places like the failed state of Mexico. This begins with sealing the border so that the best and brightest in that nation will remain in their land, and with the help of the people of the United States, extirpate from their government and society the plague of systematic bribery, corruption, kidnapping, rape and mass murder. Turning the USA into Mexico serves no one but the devil.

The truth is, Pope Francis refuses to judge the mortal sins that he regards as virtually harmless. He only issues judgments against those acts which were long ago deemed civic virtues when sanity still prevailed in Christendom. 

One need not favor the invasion of one’s nation to qualify as a follower of Christ. The call for open borders is a revolutionary plank of the Babylonian Beast System, with Antichrist at its head.  

__________________________

Michael Hoffman is the author of Usury in Christendom: The Mortal Sin that Was and Now is Not; and the editor of Revisionist History newsletter, published six times a year.                 Michael Hoffman

Jews are saved even without believing in Christ, Vatican claims

By Stoyan Zaimov , Christian Post Reporter

December 11, 2015|8:24 am 

The Vatican's Commission for Religious Relations with Jews has released a major new document claiming that Jews are saved even without believing in Jesus Christ.

The theological document, titled "The Gifts and Calling of God are irrevocable," was presented by a group of Catholic and Jewish leaders during a press conference at the Vatican on Thursday.
"That the Jews are participants in God's salvation is theologically unquestionable, but how that can be possible without confessing Christ explicitly, is and remains an unfathomable divine mystery," the document argues, in part.

 The theologians, including Cardinal Kurt Koch and Fr. Norbert Hofmann of the Vatican Commission, reflect on that "mystery," but note that Catholic doctrine rejects that there can be more than one path to God.

"Since God has never revoked his covenant with his people Israel, there cannot be different paths or approaches to God's salvation," they add.

"The theory that there may be two different paths to salvation, the Jewish path without Christ and the path with the Christ, whom Christians believe is Jesus of Nazareth, would in fact endanger the foundations of Christian faith."

The document further talks of a "highly complex theological question" in how "Christian belief in the universal salvific significance of Jesus Christ can be combined in a coherent way with the equally clear statement of faith in the never-revoked covenant of God with Israel."

The Vatican also says that conversion outreach efforts by Christians toward Jewish people are a "very delicate and sensitive matter."

It says that it "neither conducts nor supports any specific institutional mission work directed toward Jews," but at the same time notes that Christians are "called to bear witness to their faith in Jesus Christ also to Jews."

The text concludes by stating that Jews and Christians come together through "humanitarian aid for justice and peace in the world" in which they "bear witness to the loving care of God."

"No longer in confrontational opposition but cooperating side by side, Jews and Christians should seek to strive for a better world," it states, adding the words of Pope John Paul II from November 1980, when the pontiff said that Jews and Christians must commit themselves together for peace for all people, "with the fullness and depth that God Himself intended us to have, and with the readiness for sacrifices that this goal may demand."

Israeli news site Arutz Sheva said that Catholic-Jewish relations have been improved under Pope Francis, who once jointly published a book on ethics, morality and faith with his long-standing friend and Argentinian Rabbi Abraham Skorka.

Francis is also to become the third pope in history to visit Rome's main synagogue on Jan. 17, 2016.

Back in September, Francis greeted the Jewish community around the world on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement on the Hebrew calendar.

"I would like to send my greetings to the Hebrew community, to our Jewish brothers, for whom today is a sacred day, Yom Kippur," Francis said during a visit to Washington D.C. "I hope the Lord brings down his blessing of peace and will keep in life and holiness, according to the Word of the Lord we have heard today: Be Holy, for I am Holy," he added.   CP

Note:  Praise God for the Reformation!!!  Luis