This series of articles deals with the great apostasy in the church during the end of the last days as described by Christ in Matthew 24. Perhaps there is no man alive that has accelerated the church’s descent into apostasy more than Pope Francis. He is aggressively pursuing a progressive, liberal agenda in an attempt to fundamentally change the face of the Catholic Church and its doctrines and teachings, and two recent initiatives reflect his agenda. The first was dealt with in Part III and concerned heretical views of Islam and its relationship with Christianity. This article deals with the actions of the Pope which have dramatically accelerated the ascendancy of the homosexual agenda in both the culture and the church.
Homosexuality
On July 28, 2013, Pope Francis was on a return flight on the papal plane following the XXVII World Youth Day held in Rio de Janeiro. Accompanying the pope were members of the press who were allowed to ask questions during a lengthy press conference during the flight. The final question asked by one of the participants concerned the worldwide news coverage of Monsignor Batista Ricci who had been recently picked to head the troubled Vatican bank. Ricci had been widely accused of homosexual activity during his management of the Pope’s diplomatic office in Uruguay during 1999-2001.[1]
Ricci purportedly had been sexually involved with a man whom Ricci demanded be given a job and room at the Uruguayan papal diplomatic mission. Ricci’s alleged homosexual activities had been widely reported in both Uruguayan and Italian newspapers. The accusations appear to have been well supported by many credible sources (Uruguayan bishops, priests, and laymen) and exhaustive documentation which was made available to Vatican authorities.[2]
The Pope stated that a preliminary investigation had found no wrongdoing by Father Ricci.[3] The Pope attempted to downplay the importance and power of the gay lobby within the Vatican when he said, “There’s a lot of talk about the gay lobby, but I’ve never seen it on the Vatican ID card!”[4] However, the Pope took the opportunity to expand his comments to include his view of homosexuality.
When I meet a gay person, I have to distinguish between their being gay and being part of a lobby. If they accept the Lord and have goodwill, who am I to judge them? They shouldn’t be marginalized. The tendency (to homosexuality) is not the problem … they’re our brothers.[5] [emphasis added]
The Pope’s now famous (for many, “infamous”) statement that he will not judge gays and lesbians including gay priests in the church appears to challenge the Catholic Church’s foundational doctrines and orthodoxy and stands in stark opposition to a document signed by Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 that said men with deep-rooted homosexual tendencies should not be priests.[6] Pope Francis’ position is also in opposition to the teachings of the Catholic Catechism which is a document of Catholic religious instruction that explains the beliefs of the church.
2357 Homosexuality refers to relations between men or between women who experience an exclusive or predominant sexual attraction toward persons of the same sex. It has taken a great variety of forms through the centuries and in different cultures. Its psychological genesis remains largely unexplained. Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.” They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.
2359 Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.[7]
The Pope and the gay lobby within the Vatican conveniently fail to separate the sin of from the person. They also attempt to blur the lines between the tendency toward homosexuality and the sin of homosexual practices. Some Christians have a tendency toward homosexuality but valiantly fight that tendency and adhere to biblical standards of morality regarding sexual activity. The sin of practicing homosexuals separates them from God, and therefore they cannot be brothers or sisters in Christ except through repentance (not merely goodwill) and abstinence.
The meaning of “Judge not, that ye be not judged”
A thoughtful reading of Sermon on the Mount reveals that Jesus condemns the habit of criticizing others while ignoring one’s own faults and brings clarity to the meaning of His words, “judge not, that ye be not judged.”
Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye. [Matthew 7:1-5. RSV]
Jesus is not saying that we are to ignore the sins of others as Pope Francis’ laconic “Who am I to judge?” suggests. In rendering judgement, we must first make a distinction between judging fellow believers and sinners.
Bringing correction to fellow Christians
A Christian is not prohibited from influencing the behavior of other Christians who are in error or sin (v.3: the speck in our brother’s eye). However, the Christian must first submit himself to God’s righteous standard (v. 3: consider the log that is in our own eye). Also, such hoped-for influence must always be done with the goal of seeing the offender return to God and His righteous pathways. However, the great majority of people (both in and out of the church) fail to see that these verses do not prohibit judgement and correction which is a matter of church discipline and necessary to protect God’s reputation, maintain moral purity, insure doctrinal integrity, and to make possible the restoration of the wayward Christian’s soul and Christlikeness.[8]
Christians and the judgment of sinners
When a Christian attempts to influence the behavior of sinners, the gospel must be lovingly and graciously presented. The Christian’s judgment of the sinner’s condition is not based on the Christian’s opinion or theories but on what the Bible says about man’s sinful condition. Christians are called upon to judge between right and wrong based on morality and truth as revealed in God’s word, but again such judgement must be done in a spirit of love, kindness, and concern for the sinner, not in a spirit of condemnation.
Much of the world and the church have adopted the humanistic definitions of love and tolerance in which God’s love is so vast that he will overlook sin if one will only acknowledge Him. God’s nonjudgmental love is presumed to be so great that sin will be tolerated. In other words, love and doing good is all that matters to a tolerant nonjudgmental God. But this is a false message that is causing millions to miss an eternity in heaven with Jesus and will result in an eternity in hell.
Pope Francis’ “Who am I to Judge?” effectively implies that the unrepentant, practicing homosexual can have communion and on-going fellowship as a member of the Catholic Church if they “accept the Lord and have goodwill.” But the Bible says that a person will receive forgiveness if they repent and accept Jesus as their Savior and Lord. This means that goodwill is not a substitute for turning from sin because anyone who perseveres in his sin receives judgment. Therefore, the church cannot teach that a penitent may find Jesus as their Savior but not the Lord of their lives. The presence of sin is ruinous of man’s relationship with God, and the only alternative requires repentance and turning from sin.
It is without a doubt that the Pope knew his comments on homosexuality would generate an avalanche of worldwide media attention and change the landscape with regard to the biblical understanding of homosexuality in both the church and culture at large. A recent example is Democratic vice presidential nominee Tim Kaine’s use of Pope Francis’ “Who am I to judge?” to support his view that practicing homosexuals were not in sinful relationships. He went on to say that the first chapter of Genesis supported his view of homosexuality.
I think it’s [the Catholic Church] going to change because my church also teaches me about a creator who, in the first chapter of Genesis, surveyed the entire world, including mankind and said, “It is very good.” Who am I to challenge God for the beautiful diversity of the human family? I think we’re supposed to celebrate it, not challenge it.[9]
The Pope’s “Who am I to judge?” was just another humanistic, progressivist brick tossed through the windows of the church to weaken the authority of the Bible in matters of truth, doctrine, and morality in order to make the church more inclusive and accommodating to the spirit of the world.
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In Parts II, III, and IV we have shown the specifics of Pope Francis’ apostasy: promotion of socialistic-Marxist systems of economy and governance centered on humanism and branded as “a new humanity”; advancement of universalism in which all roads lead to heaven if paved with good works; promotion of heretical concepts of salvation devoid of repentance and acceptance of Jesus as one’s Lord and Savior; calls for merging Christianity with false religions in the name of peace and unity; and the acceptance and toleration of sin within the church such as legitimization of the sin of homosexuality.
Larry G. Johnson
Sources:
[1] “The Pope says he will not judge priest for being gay,” The Guardian, July 29, 2013.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/jul/29/pope-francis-gay-priests (accessed September 10, 2016).
[2] Matthew Hoffman, “Uruguayan newspaper confirms accusations of homosexual conduct by Vatican bank appointee,” LifeSiteNews.com, July 23, 2013. https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/uruguayan-newspaper-confirms-accusations-of-homosexual-conduct-by-vatican-b (accessed September 15, 2016).
[3] “The Pope says he will not judge priest for being gay,” The Guardian, July 29, 2013.
[4] John L. Allen, Jr. and Hada Messia, “Pope Francis on gays: ‘Who am I to Judge?’” CNN, July 29, 2013. http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/07/29/pope-francis-on-gays-who-am-i-to-judge/ (accessed September 20, 2016).
[5] Ibid.
[6] Steve Jalsevac, “Evidence of a trail of wreckage from Pope Francis’ “Who am I to judge?’” LifeSiteNews.com, June 23, 2016. https://www.lifesitenews.com/blogs/evidence-of-a-trail-of-wreckage-from-pope-francis-who-am-i-to-judge (accessed September 10, 2016).
[7] “Chastity and Homosexuality,” The Catechism of the Catholic Church. http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/_INDEX.HTM (accessed September 15, 2016).
[8] Donald C. Stamps, Study Notes and Articles, The Full Life Study Bible – New Testament, King James Version, gen. ed. Donald C. Stamps, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Bible Publishers, 1990), pp. 16, 43.
[9] Michael Brown, “Why Tim Kaine Is Wrong About Genesis Endorsing Homosexual Acts,” The Christian Post, September 12, 2016. http://www.christianpost.com/news/why-tim-kaine-is-wrong-about-genesis-endorsing-homosexual-acts-169462/ (accessed September 23, 2016).
