It is hardly a secret that pope Francis and his recent predecessors have made unification with all other mainstream “Christian” denominations a top priority. He recently concluded a visit to Turkey, and met with President Erdogan as well as the head prelate of the Eastern Orthodox church, Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop of Constantinople. The pope shared a podium with Erdogan to condemn the murderous exploits of ISIS. Erdogan, for his part, said the biggest problem in the region is Western “Islamophobia.”
But the pope and Eastern Orthodox Bartholomew reaffirmed their commitment to cooperation saying that they’re willing to operate in unity. Despite 900 some years of divorcement, the two organizations have in recent years referred to one another as “two lungs in the same body.”
While condemning the brutality of ISIS and terrorism in Turkey, Francis called on Europe to welcome rising numbers of refugees and immigrants from the Middle East, most of whom are Muslims.
In addition to overtures extended to Archbishop Bartholomew, Pope Francis has also headed a campaign reaching out to the “schismatic Old Catholic Church.” These include break-away protestant churches all over Europe that are allied with the Anglican Church.
Pope Francis reached out to Pentecostals through an intermediary sent to Dallas, Texas. He sent a “heartwarming” video encouraging “Christian unity” to a “gathering of Pentecostals” including Kenneth Copeland and Bishop Anthony Palmer, described as a “leading member” of the EuroChurch, a “confederation of Protestant Evangelical leaders working in Europe.” The message from the meeting seems to have been that “doctrinal differences” don’t matter and they can all be “sorted out in heaven.” (Palmer, recently deceased, reportedly died in a motorbike accident.)
Under the headline Francis, Ecumenism, and the Common Witness to Christ, The Catholic World Report published the following paragraph. “The Catholic Church being the mammoth institution that it is—with an estimated 1.2 billion out of the approximately two billion Christians in the world, under one highly visible leader in Rome—ecumenism comes more naturally to it than to smaller groups, which can be understandably afraid of being swallowed whole in the process of reconciliation. But today we see a growing cooperation among the recognized leaders from Christian communities of both the East and the West. The most active among these is Bartholomew I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople, who began tearing down the walls of separation with John Paul II, worked closely with Benedict XVI, and has been present for Francis from the very outset of his papacy. Also conspicuous are the actions of Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury, who recently surprised everybody by inviting a Catholic ecumenical community, Chemin Neuf (“A New Walk”), to live in his historic residence, Lambeth Palace, in order to “pray and work for unity.”
The article goes on to detail how Francis went on a “private visit” to a Pentecostal church in Caserta, Italy to promote unity, and concluded his remarks by apologizing for whatever role the Catholic church may have played in the persecution of protestants during the 1930s. According to the report, that is when the world media woke up to what was going on. But it was just the start of what became a parade by invitation to the Vatican for lengthy consultations with the pope, as the article goes on to reveal.
“But Caserta was only the latest of many events coming within the compass of the Holy Father’s efforts to reach out to evangelicals and Pentecostals.” Then we’re told that the Green family, owners of Hobby Lobby, a delegation including Joel Olsteen, Senator Mike Lee (Mormon), Gayle D. Beebe (president of interdenominational Westmont College in Santa Barbara) and Pastor Tim Timmons (founder of California based South Coast Community Church) have all been to the Vatican to consult with the pope.
“Then, on June 24th, there was an unprecedentedly long, informal meeting and lunch at Domus Sanctae Martae with famed televangelist James Robison and his wife; the two top officers of the World Evangelical Alliance, Global Ambassador Brian Stiller and Secretary General Geoff Tunnicliffe; Kenneth Copeland, whose ministry belongs to the Word of Faith Movement; John and Carol Arnott, co-presidents of Catch the Fire Ministries in Toronto; and Evangelical Episcopalian Bishop Anthony Palmer.”
The Pope appeals to all the disparate “leaders of Christianity” with “a yearning for a return to lost unity, a desire to achieve a missing fullness, a disarming invitation to simply come together to witness to the beauty of the love of Christ.” Believe it or not, this kind of fluff is working!
“In introducing the Pope’s message, Palmer provided scriptural context (“a spirit of reconciliation”) as well as up-to-date information on the Lutheran position of sola fide, calling the audience’s attention to the 1999 Joint Declaration of the Doctrine of Justification, signed by the Roman Catholic Church and the world-wide Lutheran Federation (and by the Methodist Church in 2006). Although the Lutherans, together with all the other historical Reformed churches, are now a minority among the world’s Protestants, with this agreement the Catholic Church had already made an acknowledgment of considerable historical weight: “We Roman Catholics and Protestants of the Lutheran Church believe and confess that by grace alone, in faith in Christ’s saving works and not because of any merit on our part, we are accepted by God and receive the Holy Spirit, who renews our hearts while equipping and calling us to good works.
“This brought an end to the protest of Luther,” Palmer told his audience. “We preach the same gospel now!” Looking around, after a pause, he added: “Luther’s protest is over. Is yours?”
Has anybody, save the Church of God, been left out? Bible prophecy indicates that there will be a One World religious, governmental and economic authority in the end times. Is the gathering of nearly all the world’s “Christian” organizations documented in this article leading to such a conclusion? The current pope, Francis, has won trust and respect everywhere by his disarming manner, his rejection of some of the customary papal perks and his constant advocacy for emmigrants all over the world. Most recently, we’ve seen him come out in the annual papal “Christmas address” before the assembled cardinals at the Vatican with statements indicting members of the Roman Curia for “spiritual diseases,” including greed for power and hypocrisy. According to first-hand accounts it wasn’t well received by the cardinals, but may further boost the pope’s stock in public opinion.
But the current pope hasn’t been shy about injecting his views into matters that have political impact. He’s gone so far as to attack the “idolatry of money,” as if money is intrinsically idolatrous, he has complained about “income inequality” and been critical of capitalism. He said he’s not a Marxist, but he’s known a lot of Marxists that were very nice people. He’s made conciliatory statements toward homosexuals (“Who am I to judge?”) and atheists, and hinted that traditional church doctrines may be temporary. In USA Today, an editorial arguing in defense of Francis and his many departures from traditional catholic positions, says it’s not political, but prophetic (Pope Prophetic, Not Political). In fact, it is both.
