THE FALSE TEACHINGS OF POPE FRANCIS

LifeSiteNews.com is a conservative Catholic online publication. Nevertheless, they have taken a strong stance against many of the positions and the proclamations of the Pope:

·       Pope Francis has emphasized in his teachings on “mercy” and “accompaniment” that people can live Christian lives that are pleasing to God while not following the laws of God or the perennial teachings of the Church regarding marriage and sexuality.

Francis’ position is simply unbiblical. Sin is never excused without confession and a sincere commitment to repent. Instead, sin is always condemned:

·       There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he [Jesus] answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”(Luke 13:1-5 (ESV)

How then can the Pope oppose the teachings of Jesus? Jesus never commanded His disciples to go into the world and to forgive unconfessed sins. Instead, He taught:

·       “Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him.” (Luke 17:3)

Of course, we should forgive in our heart those who have sinned against us and pray for them. However, if they refuse to repent, they should be excommunicated until they do repent (Matthew 18:15-20). This is the most loving thing that we can do for the Church and for the unrepentant. Paul taught that the unrepentant should be cast out of the church:

·       among [the unrepentant] are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. (1 Timothy 1:20)

Church discipline is meant to be healing for all parties involved. If sin is allowed to go unchecked in the church, it will corrupt the entire church. Paul reasoned, “that a little leaven [sin] leavens the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6).

LifeSiteNews.com also notes that the Pope will also allow adultery in some cases:

·       In his 2016 Apostolic Exhortation Amoris Laetitia, the Pope indicated that God actively wills people, in certain situations — such as in the case of an “irregular” couple where an already married man lives with a woman to whom he is not married — to commit acts contrary to the “demands of the Gospel.”

Once again, the Pope has placed Himself above the Word of God, which never permits adultery, even in our thought-life, as Jesus had taught:

·       But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. (Matthew 5:28-29)

If there was just a single verse which gave permission to adultery, Francis might begin to make a case. However, he has often shown a complete disregard for the Scriptures.

LifeSiteNews.com claims that the teachings of the Bible do not apply to everyone:

·       Conscience can recognize, stated Pope Francis, “with sincerity and honesty what for now is the most generous response which can be given to God, and come to see with a certain moral security that it is what God himself is asking amid the concrete complexity of one’s limits, while yet not fully the objective ideal” (303).

Without confession of sin and a commitment to turn away from it, there can be no forgiveness and restoration of the sinner to the church. If this sinner is truly sincere and honest, he would grieve over his sin and confess it and repent, which are necessary for restoration. This is something that we all are capable of doing, even a little child. When Jesus sent His Apostles out at His Great Commission, He instructed to teach “everything that I have commanded you” (Matthew 28:20).

Jesus never gave the impression that confession and repentance only pertained to some. Instead, He taught that repentance was even necessary for salvation:

·       “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” (Luke 24:46-47)

To make exceptions for this doctrine is not love or even compassion. It is giving the sinner a false hope that he will receive the mercy of God without repentance.

In contrast, the Bible is far more compassionate than we are. Peter had asked Jesus how many times must he forgive his brother when he sins against him – seven times?

·       Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. Matthew 18:22 (ESV)

Mercy only requires a sincere confession of sins, when accompanied by the commitment to turn from them. However, even with failure, there is mercy once we again confess.

Jesus had accused the religious leadership:

·       “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves. (Matthew 23:13, 15)

Does Francis shutter at such a denunciation?