VATICAN CITY (RNS) — Speaking on Saturday (March 6) before the
monumental remains of Ur, the once-great city where Muslims, Jews and
Christians believe their common spiritual forefather Abraham first heard
the voice of God, Pope Francis condemned religious hatred and mapped a
path to peaceful coexistence among different faiths.
“Hostility, extremism and violence are not born of a religious heart;
they are betrayals of religion,” the pope told a crowd of roughly 100
leaders of the three faiths gathered near the historic site on his
second day in Iraq. “We believers cannot be silent when terrorism abuses
religion; indeed, we are called unambiguously to dispel all
misunderstandings.
“Let us not allow the light of heaven to be overshadowed by the clouds of hatred!” he added.
The pope’s visit to Ur has been a much anticipated moment in his
three-day apostolic visit to Iraq, the first by any pope. The day marked
other papal firsts, including the first-ever encounter between a Roman
pontiff and a Shiite religious leader and the first Chaldean Mass
celebrated by a Roman Catholic pope.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown how the Earth can recover “if we allow it to rest” and must spur people to adopt simpler lifestyles to help a planet “groaning” under the constant demand for economic growth, Pope Francis said Tuesday.
In his latest urgent appeal to help a fragile environment, Francis also renewed his call for the cancellation of the debts of the most vulnerable countries. Such action would be just, he said, since rich countries have exploited poorer nations’ natural resources.
“In some ways, the current pandemic has led us to rediscover simpler and sustainable lifestyles,” Francis said in a written message.
“Already we can see how the Earth can recover if we allow it to rest: the air becomes cleaner, the waters clearer, and animals have returned to many places from where they had previously disappeared,” he wrote.
“The pandemic has brought us to a crossroads.” The pontiff urged people to seize the opportunity to reflect on their habits of energy usage, consumption, transportation and diet.
Until now, “constant demand for growth and an endless cycle of production and consumption are exhausting the natural world,” the pope said, adding, “Creation is groaning.”
People must be aware of their rightful place in nature, never thinking themselves masters of what Francis described as the “interconnected web of life.”
Disintegrating biodiversity, climate disasters and the “unjust impact of the current pandemic on the poor and the vulnerable” amount to a “wakeup call in the face of our rampant greed and consumption,” the pope wrote.
The Vatican is
marking the 5th anniversary of Pope Francis’ environmental encyclical by
calling for the world to map out a sustainable post-coronavirus future
that considers the plight of the hungry and poor.
To
kick off the week, 42 faith organizations from 14 countries announced
they were divesting from fossil fuels. Among them are a handful of
Catholic dioceses and religious orders in Britain, Ireland and the
developing world, as well as some individual Methodist, Baptist and
Quaker churches.
Francis
has made protecting the planet one of the hallmarks of his papacy, and
in 2015 issued a landmark encyclical, “Praised Be,” to lay out his
appeal in the most authoritative teaching document a pope can pen. In
it, Francis denounced the “perverse” economic model that had allowed the
wealthy to exploit the poor and turn the Earth into an “immense pile of
filth.”
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.”
World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr
Olav Fykse Tveit invites all member churches for a joint prayer, saying
the Lord’s Prayer together on Wednesday 25 March at noon.
Pope Francis has extended an invitation to all
Christian leaders, including the World Council of Churches (WCC), to
join in praying the Lord’s Prayer simultaneously on 25 March at noon
Rome time, or noon local time at any location across the world.
In a letter of invitation, Cardinal Kurt Koch expressed
his hope that all will join “this initiative in which all Christians
invoking together the graces from heaven, will ask for the end of this
pandemic, trusting in the power of God.”
WCC general secretary Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit welcomed
the invitation and the opportunity for so many people to participate in
a united prayer for all of humanity as the world faces the pandemic of
COVID-19.
“As people across the globe are in their scattered
working places at home, we will have the opportunity to unite our voices
in praying to God with the words that our Lord Jesus Christ taught us”
said Tveit. “At this challenging time, prayerful activities that unite
us are a reminder that we are one human family.”
VP Mike Pence arrived at the Vatican for what was billed as a 'meet and
greet', then stunned everyone by turning into a high-level, closed-door
meeting on something so sensitive that neither party was willing to
discuss it. And within mere hours of that bombshell, President Trump
announced he was finally ready to reveal his 'Deal Of The Century'
Middle East Peace Plan, and asked Benjamin Netanyahu to fly to
Washington this coming Tuesday, for a meeting on that very subject. Do
you see where all this is heading? Trump has the relationship with
Israel, Pope Francis has the relationship with the Muslims, put the two
together and....peace in the Middle East?
Suddenly, everything begins to makes sense. From one
side, I have been watching Donald Trump over the past three and a half
years, the man that God placed in power of the world’s strongest and
most-prosperous nation, doing amazing things for the nation of Israel. The thing he wants most to do in Israel is his ‘Deal Of The Century‘ Middle East Peace Plan, headed up by his Jewish son in law, Jared Kushner.
“Wherefore hear the word of the LORD, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is
in Jerusalem. Because ye have said, We have made a covenant with death,
and with hell are we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall
pass through, it shall not come unto us: for we have made lies our
refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves: Therefore thus saith
the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried
stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.”Isaiah 28:14-16 (KJB)
On the other side, I have been watching Pope Francis over the past 7 years, weaving and scheming to build the One World Religion of Chrislam. In 2019, things came to a head as Chrislam, otherwise known as the Abrahamic Faiths Initiative, was finally formalized. The peace covenant document known as ‘Human Fraternity For World Peace‘ was signed by Pope Francis and Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, and sealed by kissing each other on the mouth. Chrislam.
For quite awhile,
I viewed both these paradigms as something happening separately from
each other, until today. The thing that always nagged at me in the back
of my mind was how to combine the two and keep all parties happy at the
same time. It was seemingly impossible. Then last week, U.S. Ambassador
to the Holy See, Callista Gingrich, held a meeting at her office at the Vatican
and declared to Pope Francis that the United States is “fully committed
to working with you to advance our shared goals of mutual respect,
religious freedom, and peaceful coexistence” in regards to the Abrahamic
Faiths Initiative, otherwise known as Chrislam.
Do you see where all this is heading? Trump has the
relationship with Israel, Pope Francis has the relationship with the
Muslims, put the two together and….peace in the Middle East? Sure seems
like it to me. The missing ingredient that no other political leader has
had in the past 70 years is Chrislam. Rick Warren started it, handed the baton with full evangelical support
to Pope Francis, the pope then signed a covenant with Islam, and the
Trump administration has thrown in their full support in the same week
as announcing they are finally ready with the Peace Plan. Across the
board you have complete and total harmony, everyone gets something,
everyone is happy.
VATICAN CITY — U.S. Vice President Mike Pence met with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Friday, discussing the anti-abortion march in Washington and telling the pontiff, "You made me a hero" back home by granting him a private audience.
The
pope and the vice president had a private hour-long conversation. Pence
was beaming after the meeting, which appeared to be particularly
cordial.
The hero description apparently referred to Pence's Roman Catholic family upbringing. He later became an evangelical Christian.
Trump had a private audience with Francis at the Vatican in 2017, and
on Friday in Washington, the U.S. president was attending an
anti-abortion rally in Washington. Trump is the first sitting U.S.
president to do so in the history of the annual March for Life’s
history.
Pence's office said the march in the U.S. capital was
among the topics discussed with the pontiff. Catholic church teaching
forbids abortion, and Pence himself has been staunchly anti-abortion.
In Friday's interview, Pence also praised Francis for his “passion for the sanctity of life.”
Francis smiled warmly throughout the traditional exchange of gifts at
the end of the audience. Pence presented the pope with a large, plain
wooden cross made from a tree on the grounds of his official residence
in Washington.
Francis gave Pence five bound books of his writings
as pope. The pontiff then pointed to a large white envelope,
explaining, “this is a message of peace.” Francis was referring to an
annual message to promote peace issued by the Vatican.
We showed you how Pope Francis travelled to Abu Dhabi earlier this year and entered into a covenant with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the ruling leader in Sunni Islam. That peace covenant led to the formation of a Chrislam interfaith council, which then led to the stunning announcement that a Chrislam headquarters would be open in Abu Dhabi
by 2022. Now Pope Francis has travelled to Thailand where he met with
the ruling Buddhist leader there, and as in Abu Dhabi, presented him
with a copy of his Declaration On Human Fraternity’, the Vatican
manifesto of the One World Religion.
FROM THE CATHOLIC HERALD UK: After giving prepared
speeches, Pope Francis and the Supreme Patriarch had a brief informal
conversation, in which they spoke about the value of fraternity between
the two religions for promoting peace.
“If we are brothers, we can
help world peace,” the poor, and the suffering, Pope Francis said,
“because to help the poor is always a path of blessing.” They also spoke
about education and the role of missionaries in the country. Before
leaving, the two exchanged blessings. READ MORE
Pope Francis is building his One World Religion called Chrislam, but it will not be limited to simply an alliance between the Catholics and the Muslims. No, it will include all the major faiths with one notable exception. It will not contain biblical Christianity, but rather the Laodicean Christian church that is so disgustingly lukewarm.
Vatican City — Interreligious
dialogue is an important way to counter fundamentalist groups as well
as the unjust accusation that religions sow division, Pope Francis said.
Meeting with members of the Argentine Institute for Interreligious
Dialogue Nov. 18, the pope said that in "today's precarious world,
dialogue among religions is not a weakness. It finds its reason for
being in the dialogue of God with humanity."
Recalling a scene from the 11th-century poem, "The Song of Roland,"
in which Christians threatened Muslims "to choose between baptism or
death," the pope denounced the fundamentalist mentality which "we cannot
accept nor understand and cannot function anymore."
"We must beware of fundamentalist groups; each (religion) has their
own. In Argentina, there are some fundamentalist corners there," he
said. "Fundamentalism is a plague and all religions have some
fundamentalist first cousin," he said.
According to its website, the Institute for Interreligious Dialogue
was founded in Buenos Aires in 2002 and was inspired by then-Cardinal
Jorge Mario Bergoglio as a way "to promote understanding among men and
women of different religious traditions in our city and the world."
For Archbishop Viganó this is consistent with Francis' aberrant Abu
Dhabi declaration that alleges that "God wills all religions." Viganó
observes that Francis personally practiced the Pachamama cult in the
Vatican gardens, in St Peter’s Basilica and during the Synod closing
Mass by placing an idolatrous plant on the altar. He calls this
Pachamama show “an initiatory rite of the new religion” in order to
align the Church with anti-human and anti-Christian strategies that
dominate the globalist scene and are supported by those in power.
Pope Francis is working frantically to usher in the One World Religion, and is experiencing success on a level not seen by any pope since Constantine. In just 2019 alone, Pope Francis has created the official Chrislam logo, signed a covenant of ‘human fraternity and world peace‘, and then commissioned a committee
called the Catholic-Muslim Interfaith Council to make it all a reality.
Within mere months, that committee announced the opening in 2022 of the
Abrahamic Family House, on the Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi. Wow, but
after all that, Pope Francis now shows us he was just getting warmed up.
Last month, he lead a worship service at the Vatican where be blessed
the goddess Pachamama, the ‘mother of all the earth’.
“And
the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet color, and decked with
gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand
full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her
forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF
HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”Revelation 17:4, 5 (KJV)
Pope Francis enraged Catholics worldwide by holding this pagan ceremony at the Vatican, under the thinly-veiled guise of it being part of the Synod of Bishops on the Amazon.
It wasn’t, it was a trial balloon to see how much he could get away
with. Astoundingly, when some irate Catholics got angry and threw the
pagan statues into the river, Pope Francis ordered that the stature be
fished out and return to its display area at the Vatican.
Pope
Francis has been rated as the world's best leader. This is according to
Gallup International’s Annual Global Survey conducted in 55 countries.
Pope
Francis has gained 56 percent, snatching first place from Emmanuel
Macron and German Chancellor, Angela Merkel. They have been moved to
second and third place respectively.
The
countries where the pope is best rated are Colombia, Croatia, Italy,
Spain and Mexico. He is negatively rated in only four countries:
Pakistan, Serbia, Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Pope Francis has launched a new way of living leadership. The Rome Reports documentary “Leadership and Pope Francis”
interviews international celebrities such as Andrea Bocelli, Garri
Kasparov, Mike Piazza or Lilian Tintori to unravel the keys to this
leadership.
The
apostle Paul, in his second letter to the Thessalonians, foretold the
great apostasy which would result in the establishment of the papal
power. He declared that the day of Christ should not come, “except there
come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of
perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called
God, or that is worshiped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of
God, showing himself that he is God.” [2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4, 7.] And furthermore, the apostle warns his brethren that “the mystery of iniquity doth already work.” [2 Thessalonians 2:3, 4, 7.]
Even at that early date he saw, creeping into the church, errors that
would prepare the way for the development of the papacy.
Little
by little, at first in stealth and silence, and then more openly as it
increased in strength and gained control of the minds of men, the
mystery of iniquity carried forward its deceptive and blasphemous work.
Almost imperceptibly the customs of heathenism found their way into the
Christian church. The spirit of compromise and conformity was restrained
for a time by the fierce persecutions which the church endured under
paganism. But as persecution ceased, and Christianity entered the courts
and palaces of kings, she laid aside the humble simplicity of Christ
and his apostles for the pomp and pride of pagan priests and rulers; and
in place of the requirements of God, she substituted human theories and
traditions. The nominal conversion of Constantine, in the early part of
the fourth century, caused great rejoicing; and the world, cloaked with
a form of righteousness, walked into the church. Now the work of
corruption rapidly progressed. Paganism, while appearing to be
vanquished, became the conqueror. Her spirit controlled the church. Her
doctrines, ceremonies, and superstitions were incorporated into the
faith and worship of the professed followers of Christ.
This
compromise between paganism and Christianity resulted in the
development of the “man of sin” foretold in prophecy as opposing and
exalting himself above God. That gigantic system of false religion is a
masterpiece of Satan's power,—a monument of his efforts to seat himself
upon the throne to rule the earth according to his will.
Satan
once endeavored to form a compromise with Christ. He came to the Son of
God in the wilderness of temptation, and, showing him all the kingdoms
of the world and the glory of them, offered to give all into his hands
if he would but acknowledge the supremacy of the prince of darkness.
Christ rebuked the presumptuous tempter, and forced him to depart. But
Satan meets with greater success in presenting the same temptations to
man. To secure worldly gains and honors, the church was led to seek the
favor and support of the great men of earth, and having thus rejected
Christ, she was induced to yield allegiance to the representative of
Satan,—the bishop of Rome.
It
is one of the leading doctrines of Romanism that the pope is the
visible head of the universal church of Christ, invested with supreme
authority over bishops and pastors in all parts of the world. More than
this, the pope has arrogated the very titles of Deity. He styles himself
“Lord God the Pope,” assumes infallibility, and demands that all men
pay him homage. Thus the same claim urged by Satan in the wilderness of
temptation is still urged by him through the Church of Rome, and vast
numbers are ready to yield him homage.
But
those who fear and reverence God meet this Heaven-daring assumption as
Christ met the solicitations of the wily foe: “Thou shalt worship the
Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.” [Luke 4:8.]
God has never given a hint in his Word that he has appointed any man to
be the head of the church. The doctrine of papal supremacy is directly
opposed to the teachings of the Scriptures. The pope can have no power
over Christ's church except by usurpation.
Romanists
have persisted in bringing against Protestants the charge of heresy,
and willful separation from the true church. But these accusations apply
rather to themselves. They are the ones who laid down the banner of
Christ, and departed from “the faith which was once delivered unto the
saints.” [Jude 3.] GC88 50,51.
APNews November 5, 2018
VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is urging efforts to ensure that anti-Semitism is “banned from the human community.”
Francis lamented current anti-Semitic attitudes as he
greeted visiting rabbis from the World Congress of Mountain Jews from
the Caucasus at the Vatican Monday. He didn’t mention last month’s
massacre at a synagogue in Pittsburgh. But he referred to the upcoming
80th anniversary of Kristallnacht, when German Nazis attacked Jews and
their property, and the recent 75th anniversary of the roundup and
deportation of Jews in Rome, when the city was under Nazi occupation.
Francis said: “Sadly, anti-Semitic attitudes are also
present in our own times. As I have often repeated, a Christian cannot
be an anti-Semite; we share the same roots.”
He added: “We are called to commit ourselves to ensure anti-Semitism is banned from the human community.”
The President told the Daily Caller: 'The Pope is handling it, I guess, the best anyone can handle it'
Donald Trump has defended Pope Francis’s handling of the abuse
crisis, saying that the Pontiff is handling the situation “the best
anyone can handle it”.
A lot of attention has been focused on St. Francis of Assisi after
Cardinal Bergoglio took the name of Francis upon his election as Pope.
As well we should, because St Francis taught his followers to share the
Gospel more by what they do than what they say.
But this week, on
April 8, we mark the life of another Francis who, it is believed, is
also a role model for the new Pope. On that date in 1541, Francis Xavier
began his extraordinary missionary journey to the East. Over the next
10 years, he traveled through 50 kingdoms and baptized over 1,000,000
people. He founded churches from India to Japan, earning the title
"Apostle to the Indies."
Beyond his importance as an Asian
missionary, Francis Xavier pioneered a return of Christian missions to
its gospel roots. The medieval model of missions called for conquest and
forced conversion, as exemplified by the Spanish conquests and failed
conversations in the New World. Francis Xavier showed that heartfelt
conversion won by the love of God was not only more scriptural, it was
more effective. In that sense he is the father of all modern Christian
missions.
Francis Xavier lived in an age of upheaval, when
Europeans had begun challenging the pagan kingdoms of the East for
commerce and, later, military supremacy. The European traders were
interested in gold, not God, but they undermined the power of the pagan
kings and the pagan gods they claimed to represent. The traders also
curtailed the power of the Islamic merchants and stopped the Islamic
expansion into the Far East. As a result, societies which had been
closed to Christianity became more open, and Christian missionaries were
able to present the Gospel. For Francis Xavier, a million baptisms
followed.
These European powers eventually spread their empires
throughout the world, replacing pagan kingdoms in the Americas, Africa
and Asia. While these nations were seldom, if ever, interested in
spreading Christianity, many missionaries followed in the footsteps of
Francis Xavier and brought God's love to the colonized peoples. Today
there are thriving Christian communities in the Americas, Africa and
Asia because of these missionary efforts.
Also, today, we find that it is Europe which has abandoned its
Christian roots and fallen into darkness. So it seems somehow to be
fitting that the new pope taking the name Francis would come from a
place which was Christianized by missionaries like Francis Xavier and
would now return to Europe to preach a new evangelism to the lost
Europeans.
We pray for Pope Francis, a man of the Spirit and a
uniter of Christians, that he will help lead the whole church to
challenge the European societies and open them to the gospel as the
Europeans did to the pagan world 500 years ago.
We pray also for
the unity of the church and a spiritual awakening of the church to
enable it to be faithful in our generation as Francis Xavier was in his
1And I
stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea,
having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and
upon his heads the name of blasphemy.
2 And
the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the
feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon
gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.
3 And
I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death; and his deadly
wound was healed: and all the world wondered after the beast.
4 And
they worshipped the dragon which gave power unto the beast: and they
worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to
make war with him?
5 And
there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies;
and power was given unto him to continueforty and two months.
6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.
7 And
it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome
them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and
nations.
8 And
all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not
written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the
world.
9 If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10 He
that leadeth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth
with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience and
the faith of the saints.
On Thursday, the Rome-based Sovereign Order of Malta, which reports
directly to the Holy See, suspended historian Henry Sire after he was
revealed to be the author of the bestselling bookThe Dictator Pope: The Inside Story of the Francis Papacy, a critical examination of the pontificate of Pope Francis.
Meanwhile the Vatican has hired the international law firm of Baker McKenzie to force a small Spanish website
called InfoVaticana.com to close its doors, allegedly for its sometimes
critical tone toward aspects of the Francis papacy. The firm recently
threatened a lawsuit if Infovaticana isn’t shut down and “its internet
domain transferred to the Vatican.”
The Order of Malta announced its decision Wednesday to suspend the
British historian Henry Sire, a member of the order, calling his book a
“vile attack” on Pope Francis.
“Following the press articles reporting the name of the author of the
book ‘The Dictator Pope’ the Grand Magistry of the Order of Malta has
taken the decision to suspend Henry Sire, author of the book and member
of the Order of Malta. The provisional suspension from membership has
immediate effect and an investigation is being launched,” it said in a statement.
In January, 2017, the Vatican took control
of the Knights of Malta after ousting its Grand Master Matthew Festing
for his “defiance of papal authority.” The pope asked Festing to resign following a dispute over sovereignty with the Vatican, replacing him with papal delegate Archbishop Angelo Becciu as interim leader of the order.
Under the pen name Marcantonio Colonna, Sire published The Dictator Pope
electronically in November of 2017, first in Italian and then in
English, after spending a four-year residence with the Knights of Malta
in Rome from 2013 to 2017, during which time he conducted his research
for the book. Only on Monday did Sire acknowledge that he was the author
of the book.
In it, Sire portrayed Francis as an authoritarian leader who does not
brook opposition or criticism. Contrary to his public persona as a
jovial man of the people, Sire wrote that Francis has turned out to be
“a papal tyrant the like of whom has not been seen for many centuries”
and under his administration, “the Vatican is systematically silencing,
eliminating and replacing critics of the Pope’s views.”
“When the publicity cameras are off him, Pope Francis turns into a
different figure: arrogant, dismissive of people, prodigal of bad
language and notorious for furious outbursts of temper which are known
to everyone from the cardinals to the chauffeurs,” he declared.
Unfortunately for the Vatican, the immediate suspension of Sire from
the Order of Malta will play as a confirmation of the author’s
allegations that under Francis the Holy See deals swiftly and ruthlessly
to eliminate those it views as enemies.
In Pope Francis’ encyclical, “Laudato Si’, mi’ Signore” (“Praise be to you, my Lord”): On The Common Care Of Our Home,[1]the
Pope identifies himself as “the Holy Father,” and as a Christian.
Nevertheless, Francis teaches the following in this encyclical,
“In
the words of this beautiful canticle, Saint Francis of Assisi reminds
us that our common home is like a sister with whom we share our life and
a beautiful mother who opens her arms to embrace us. ‘Praise be to
you, my Lord, through our Sister, Mother Earth, who sustains and governs
us, and who produces various fruit with colored flowers and herbs.’”
Is
Francis endorsing the idea that the earth “governs us” rather than the
Lord? Nowhere in the Bible is the earth called “Mother” or “sister.”
This is demonic theology rooted in the “mystery religion” of Babylon.
Anthropomorphizing the earth, especially as female, has always been a
mark of pagan and Satanic worship. As Alexander Hislop points out,
“It
has been known all along that Popery was baptized Paganism; but God is
now making it manifest, that the Paganism which Rome has baptized is, in
all its essential elements, the very Paganism which prevailed in the
ancient literal Babylon...”[2]
Pope
Francis is first and foremost a Jesuit. As a Jesuit, he is known to be
cunning as a fox. In the third paragraph of the encyclical, he clearly
specifies a crisis and targets his intended audience. “Now, faced as
we are with global environmental deterioration, I wish to address every
person living on this planet…about our common home.”[3]
It remains to be seen, then, why Pope Francis has so early in his reign
come forth with a statement of gross paganism as part of his supposedly
Christian world view.
Biblical Truth
The truth is that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. As the Bible states, “And
the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of
the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”[4]
These foundational words aside, Francis has chosen instead to quote
twelfth century Catholic St. Francis’s pagan understanding of the
issue. Therefore, it cannot be by accident that Pope Francis has chosen
to cover his papacy in the supposedly benign robes of Francis of
Assisi.
Basic Untruth
A major fact to be
considered is that Pope Francis believes in his absolute authority. As
his own Roman Church teaching proclaims that the Supreme Pontiff, in
virtue of his office possesses infallible teaching authority.[5] However, the reality is that Jesus Christ alone possesses all power and teaching authority, as Christ Himself proclaimed, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.”[6]
Thus does Jesuit Francis, having first covered himself in the pagan
mantel of Francis of Assisi, attempt to usurp divine authority in a
claim that is totally counterfeit. Another example of this Roman
Catholic counterfeited authority by Pope Francis is seen in the
following. Francis professes to impart Christ by Masses and the Holy
Spirit by Sacraments, including his current idea that “As Christians, we
are also called ‘to accept the world as a sacrament of communion, as a
way of sharing with God and our neighbors on a global scale.’”[7]
Where is there any evidence of scriptural truth and the Gospel in this
spiritually blind papal teaching? The Scripture commands each man to
repent and believe the Gospel, but no man can do this without the
conviction of the Holy Spirit. Yet these elementary facts are silently
set aside as the Pope expands his argument by stating that the Papacy’s
worldview is relevant for today. However, his teaching ends up in
totalitarianism.
Francis starts with our supposed sin against “sister earth,” as the encyclical states, and moves in an entirely unbiblical direction,
“‘This
sister’ (the earth) ‘now cries out to us because of the harm we have
inflicted on her by our irresponsible use and abuse of the goods with
which God has endowed her. We have come to see ourselves as her lords
and masters, entitled to plunder her at will. The violence present in
our hearts, wounded by sin, is also reflected in the symptoms of
sickness evident in the soil, in the water, in the air and in all forms
of life.”
Francis’s stated view is utterly pantheistic. The Bible states,
“God,
who at sundry times and in divers manners spoke in time past unto the
fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken unto us by his
Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the
worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of
his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he
had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the
Majesty on high.”[8]
The
Bible states the facts. Contrarily, Francis teaches that the heaven
and earth are parts of the Lord God. This is utter pagan philosophy.
Pope Francis’s Cunning Conjectures
What
must be understood is that Francis’ encyclical, with its elevated and
inspiring tone in pursuit of ethical excellence, is heavily laden with
all the classical assumptions of the Papacy. Principally, what is being
presented in the encyclical is an idealized plan for the world. It is
based on the Vatican’s view of both what the world presently is, and
what it could be, as if the Pope were the temporal “lord-director” of
all things spiritual, political, and economic. The whole argument of
the encyclical hangs upon the veracity of its alleged self-evident
axioms. However, the assumptions are false. If Pope Francis wants to
be a prophetic voice in the modern world, allegedly speaking on Christ’s
behalf, then his assumptions must be evaluated according to the measure
given in the Word of God, namely, “To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.”[9] The Lord Jesus Christ was emphatic that Scripture is absolute truth, that it cannot be refuted. As Scripture states, “Jesus came and spoke unto them, saying; ‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.’” Thus, from the outset, it becomes clear that Pope Francis is an impostor with an objective.
What Francis does not make explicit in this encyclical is that since
the Council of Trent in the mid-sixteenth century, the Roman Church has
held that there is no salvation outside the Roman Catholic Church, and
formally denied the Gospel. Rome formally went apostate at the Council
of Trent. It has never revoked the Council of Trent. Thus rather than
the Gospel to make one right before Holy God, Rome has only sacraments
to offer. These do not deliver salvation, for it is only “the gospel of Christ: it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth….”[10]
Therefore the Papacy must take in hand another tool, it must find
another route by which to snare people into the folds of Modern
Babylon. Dialogue on environmental issues is the current mode. Near
the end of the encyclical, there is much religious talk about God and
the duty of Christians. But this is in fact only a post-script to the
encyclical. The real thrust of the encyclical is promotion of a
political agenda couched in pagan terms. It cannot be otherwise because
in its conception, objective and method, it stands contrary to
Scripture.
In face of this the Lord Jesus Christ’s message to those who are His own is totally different. He proclaims,
“All
power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto
the end of the world.”[11]
Following
on this message is the assurance that those who by grace alone believe
on Christ alone through faith alone, i.e., the true spiritual family of
people across the globe, are the real family of God. “But as many
as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of
the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”[12]
As presented in the Gospel, those who by God’s grace alone through
faith alone believe on the Lord Jesus Christ alone, have been declared
“sons of God” through the Lord Jesus Christ’s perfect life and
sacrifice. As the Apostle Paul proclaimed, “…you have received the
Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself
bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”[13]
Pope Francis’s Agenda
Throughout
the encyclical Francis’s environmental theme cannot be ignored. With
over one hundred seventy references to global warming, climate change,
environment and environmental issues, it is clear this is the means to
his end. While we are rightly concerned with what Francis is saying, it is also imperative to grasp why he
is saying it. Francis’s encyclical is not in any sense a labor of
original thought. Both his analytical style and argumentative form are
firmly grounded in the Vatican’s preeminent sense of its own
self-importance and presumed lordship over every aspect of human life.
Francis exhaustively demonstrates that his views truly represent the
historical essence of Rome’s religious and social teaching. However,
that teaching is not the teaching of the Bible. Thus, Francis shows
himself again to be a cunning fox. His objective is to firmly ground
his institution’s own welfare and future in terms of an “integral human
development” that acknowledges his primacy as the sole arbiter of ethics
and moral order. It is quite clear that Francis is writing his
encyclical to assert once again the Papacy’s autocratic claims. The aim
of Francis in this encyclical is to propound and promote a type of
world government.
Specifically, he envisions a
renewed and rejuvenated “globalized society” over which the Roman Church
rules as the principal ethical entity. And what better way to gain
moral authority but by weaving together environmental activism based
upon global warming and climate change synthesized by modern “science falsely so called.”[14] Truly
it is a cunning plan to solidify a political base with the
non-religious left, thereby creating a harmonious Church and Global
State. The ecumenical activity since the early days of Vatican II has
been extremely successful in unifying the religious right under Papal
dominance. If this continues, it is just a matter of time before all
are ushered in to another chapter of the Dark Ages.
The term “globalize” is used forty-six times in this document. In the
terms of the argument, it is meant to reinforce not merely the concept
of an inevitable necessary global synthesis but to generate in his words
a “just and sustainable economic order.” Part of Francis’s agenda is
the development of an increasingly globalized society by the nations
seeking for “the common good” of all. But because “there is none righteous, no not one…there is none that doeth good, no not one”[15] and “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,”[16]
there is no such thing as “the common good” on a collective basis such
as the Pope is promoting. Rather in the Bible, the ultimate end of man
is to glorify God through the appreciation and adoration of His Son
Jesus Christ to the complete satisfaction of our souls. In the Bible,
it is on an individual basis that through the commitment to the whole
counsel of God we glory and find our good. Therefore His revealed will
in His Word is the only standard of good for rational creatures. “There is none holy as the Lord: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.”[17]
The emphasis on economics is such that Pope Francis mentions the
concept one hundred thirty-three times. This is the same Francis and
his Vatican system which teach that private property is not personal as
such, but belongs to all people.[18]
A Vatican Council II document upholds the same principle of the
“universal ownership of all goods” and emphatically teaches, “If one is
in extreme necessity, he has the right to procure for himself what he
needs out of the riches of others.”[19]
Pope Francis’s philosophy is simply a justification for theft, whether
on an individual level or a governmental level. The Bible states, “Thou shall not steal…. Thou shall not covet… any thing that is thy neighbor’s.”[20]
Instead, people should be looking to the Father in heaven and His Word
to learn biblical stewardship of their money and property. Catholics,
and now nations across the world, are being exhorted to look to Pope
Francis and his encyclical as a sure path for resuscitation of the
international economy. Biblical principles of divine justice,
creaturely property rights, and equivalent value exchange economics
needed for stability and well being of nations, are negated by Francis’s
economic policies.
Real Legal Power to Implement the Pope’s Agenda
Francis’s
predecessor, Benedict XVI, called for “a reform of the United Nations
Organization, and likewise of economic institutions and international
finance, so that the concept of the family of nations can acquire real
teeth.”[21]
Social and religious dominance, upheld and maintained by means of civil
law throughout the European nations, is what the Catholic Church
enjoyed and thrived on throughout the Dark Ages and Middle Ages. It is
to that same end which Francis now moves. Listing global warming,
pollution, poverty, global inequality, over-consumption by first world
nations and like issues, he states,
“These
situations have caused sister earth, along with all the abandoned of
our world, to cry out, pleading that we take another course. Never have
we so hurt and mistreated our common home as we have in the last two
hundred years. Yet we are called to be instruments of God our Father,
so that our planet might be what he desired when he created it and
correspond with his plan for peace, beauty and fullness. The problem is
that we still lack the culture needed to confront this crisis.”
After
personifying the earth, Francis moves smoothly to state, “[To commit]
crime against the natural world is a sin against ourselves and a sin
against God.”[22]
He then calls for “[t]he establishment of a legal framework[,] which
can set clear boundaries and ensure the protection of ecosystems[,] has
become indispensable….”[23]
His solution of changing the culture by his enforced legal
prescriptions rather than evangelizing the world with the true Gospel of
grace is absolutely unbiblical̶ but it fits seamlessly into the
ongoing papal agenda.
Moreover, the Roman Catholic
Church has much influence in the formulation and implementation of
national and international laws, particularly in the nations in which
she has papal nuncios as ambassadors. At present, she maintains
diplomatic relations with one hundred seventy-four countries at embassy
level. Expediency, deceit, and cunning have always been defining
elements of the Roman Church’s geo-political pronouncements. Pope
Francis and his Vatican desire to maintain official diplomatic
relationships. Their understanding is that political civil power is
subordinate to the spiritual control of apostate Rome. Pope Francis,
the present necessary and willing instrument, is seeking to fulfill
these aspirations and objectives.
Conclusion
That
Francis and his encyclical are intent on ruling religious, political
and economic activities worldwide should not be surprising. Papal
arrogance tallies well with Scripture’s prediction for such claims, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”[24]
There can be but one Vicar of Christ who is infinite, supreme,
omnipotent, and all sufficient; namely, the Holy Spirit. The Papacy is a
demonically energized apostate system that will be judged and utterly
condemned by the Lord.[25] Biblical insight apprehends that “the whole world lies in wickedness”[26] and, “the wicked shall do wickedly: and none of the wicked shall understand.”[27] The Papal program is wicked and willful, and its genius in means and method, satanic.[28] From the beginning, the Lord God purposed to glorify Himself “in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without endAmen.”[29]
He created the world and formed man for this purpose. His all-wise
design was not defeated when Adam and mankind fell, for Jesus Christ the
Lord was the Lamb “slain from the foundation of the world.”[30]
Almighty God’s will is from eternity, and reigns supreme in time. He
sovereignly orders, directs and controls all events. He it is “who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.”[31] Satan and his present neo-Babylonian empire cannot resist Him. It is written, “The Lord reigns; let the people tremble.”[32]
Please join us in prayer that many people will understand this, and
that they also would be drawn by God’s Spirit to seek His grace. Grace
is unmerited, divine favor. By mercy alone, He saves hell-deserving
sinners, demonstrating that all the glory of redeeming power is His
alone. Since God works all things after the counsel of His own
will, Papal Rome’s modern manipulation of civil power, false ecumenism,
and unbiblical economic policies are merely instruments that God for
His sovereign purposes has allowed.
We can be
sincerely thankful that Almighty God in His supreme wisdom has set
limits to the intrigues of Rome. Pope Francis and the Roman Church will
be punished for their willful rejection of the Lordship of Christ. The
Lord’s people will not be deceived by the powerful delusion that has
descended on the world.[33] Rather they “should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”[34]
True believers are those who adhere only to God and His written Word:
these know that they are saved by grace alone through faith alone in
Christ alone, and that to God solely is due all glory and praise. ♦
[1]
http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/encyclicals/documents/papa-francesco_20150524_enciclicalaudato-
si.htmlPara. 1. 4/20/17See also Para. 87 where an hymn of Francis of
Assisi is quoted mentioning Sir Brother Sun, Brother Wind, Sister Moon,
Sister Water, etc.
[2] Alexander Hislop, The Two Babylons (Delmarva Publications, 2013 First Printing, Introduction)
[5]
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104 Can. 749 §1. By virtue of his
office, the Supreme Pontiff possesses infallibility in teaching when as
the supreme pastor and teacher of all the Christian faithful, who
strengthens his brothers and sisters in the faith, he proclaims by
definitive act that a doctrine of faith or morals is to be held.
[18]
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the [Roman Catholic] Church, Sect.
176 - 178
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/pontifical_councils/justpeace/documents/rc_pc_justpeace_doc_20060526_compendio-dott-soc_en.html#The
universal destination of goods and private property05/20/2017.
[19]
Vatican Council II No. 64,“Gaudium et Spes” Austin Flannery, General
Ed. (Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Doocuments,
Para. 69.) Text also here: http://www.osjspm.org/cst/gs_cos2.htm
[25] Revelation 18:8 “Therefore
shall her plagues come in one day, death, and mourning, and famine; and
she shall be utterly burned with fire: for strong is the Lord God who
judges her.”
[33] IIThessalonians 2:8-12, cp. Mark 13:22: For
false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall show signs and
wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect. In context, “If it were possible,” means that it is not possible because they have received a love of the truth, which the world has not received.
