The Errors of “Pope” Francis:
The Teachings of Jorge Bergoglio Compared with Past Church Teachings

Address of Francis to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, October 27, 2014:

“When we read about Creation in Genesis, we run the risk of imagining God was a magician, with a magic wand able to do everything. But that is not so.”

Scripture and Past Church Teachings

“And Jesus beholding, said to them: With men this is impossible: but with God all things are possible.” — Matt. 19:26

“Behold I am the Lord the God of all flesh: shall any thing be hard for me?” — Jer. 32:27

“Q: How can Jesus Christ be present in all the consecrated hosts in the world?

"A: Jesus Christ is present in all the consecrated hosts in the world by the Omnipotence of God, to whom nothing is impossible.” — Catechism of St. Pius X, “The Blessed Eucharist”

Interview of Francis with the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, September 24, 2013:

“I believe in God, not in a Catholic God, there is no Catholic God, there is God and I believe in Jesus Christ, his incarnation. Jesus is my teacher and my pastor, but God, the Father, Abba, is the light and the Creator. This is my Being.”

Past Church Teachings

[Comment: Our “Catholic God” is the Trinity, which is different from the God professed by non-Catholics:]

“...the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God, and yet there are not three Gods but one God.” — Athanasian Creed

“Q. 1400. Name some of the more essential religious truths we must know and believe. 2.(2) That in God there are three Divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and these Divine Persons are called the Blessed Trinity.” — Baltimore Catechism

On Heaven and Earth,* pp. 12-13:

“I do not approach the relationship in order to proselytize, or convert the atheist; I respect him… nor would I say that his life is condemned, because I am convinced that I do not have the right to make a judgment about the honesty of that person… every man is the image of God, whether he is a believer or not.”

*On Heaven and Earth is a book by Francis containing conversations he had with Rabbi Abraham Skorka when he was Cardinal Bergoglio. Full title: On Heaven and Earth: Pope Francis on Faith, Family, and the Church in the Twenty-First Century. (2010) English translation. New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2013.

Past Church Teachings

“If any one deny the one true God, Creator and Lord of all things visible and invisible, let him be anathema.” — Conc. Vatican., Sess. III, “De fide”, can. i

“If anyone shall have said that the one true God, our Creator and our Lord, cannot be known with certitude by those things which have been made, by the natural light of human reason: let him be anathema” — First Vatican Council, Sess III, can. 2/1: Denz. 1806; cf. D. 1785

“And to you who are troubled, rest with us when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with the angels of his power, in a flame of fire, giving vengeance to them who know not God, and who obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall suffer eternal punishment in destruction, from the face of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.” — II Thessalonians I: 7-9
 

Francis’ response to open letter,* published Sept. 2013:

“First of all, you ask if the God of the Christians forgives those who do not believe and do not seek faith. Given that — and this is fundamental — God’s mercy has no limits if he who asks for mercy does so in contrition and with a sincere heart, the issue for those who do not believe in God is in obeying their own conscience. In fact, listening and obeying it, means deciding about what is perceived to be good or to be evil. The goodness or the wickedness of our behavior depends on this decision.”

*In mid-2013, newspaper editor and atheist Eugenio Scalfari wrote two open letters to Francis, both of which were published in the Italian daily La Repubblica. Francis replied with a 3-page response which was published in the same paper September 11, 2013. The article may also be viewed at this link on the Vatican website.

Past Church Teachings

“...faith is the beginning of human salvation, the foundation, and the root of all Justification; without which it is impossible to please God...” — Council of Trent, Chapter VIII

Conversations with Jorge Bergoglio,* p. 208: “Not long ago I was in a synagogue taking part in a ceremony. I prayed a lot and, while praying, I heard a phrase from one of the books of wisdom that had slipped my mind: ‘Lord, may I bear mockery in silence.’ It gave me much peace and joy.”

*Conversations with Jorge Bergoglio. Rubin, Sergio, & Ambrogetti, Francesca. (2010) New York, New York: Penguin Group

Past Church Teachings

“If any ecclesiastic or layman shall go into the synagogue of the Jews or to the meeting-houses of the heretics to join in prayer with them, let them be deposed and deprived of communion. If any bishops or priest or deacon shall join in prayer with heretics, let him be suspended from Communion.” — 3rd Council of Constantinople

“It is not permitted at all for the faithful to assist in any active manner at or to have any part in the worship of non-Catholics.” — 1917 Code of Canon Law, Canon 1258

“The Code declares the following persons as suspect of heresy: 1. The propagators of heresy and those who participate with non-Catholics in divinis (Can. 2316).” — Commentary on Canon Law (Augustine, 1918)

“So, Venerable Brethren, it is clear why this Apostolic See has never allowed its subjects to take part in the assemblies of non-Catholics: for the union of Christians can only be promoted by promoting the return to the one true Church of Christ of those who are separated from it.” — Encyclical Mortalium Animos, On Religious Unity, by Pope Pius XI, Jan. 6, 1928

“Speaking generally, the faithful are forbidden to take part in any religious rites, considered as such, of pagans, Mohammedans, or Jews, and all the more to practice them through a kind of survival of their primitive superstitions. If this prohibition is inspired not so much by a fear of the danger of perversion as by the law forbidding the faithful to communicate in sacris with non-Catholics, aversion to false religions and especially from idol worship justifies the rigor of the law.” ­— Catholic Encyclopedia, “Infidels”

Francis, Address in St. Peter’s Square, May 18, 2013:

“… promote religious freedom for everyone, everyone! Every man and every woman must be free in his or her profession of religion, whatever it may be.” — L’Osservatore Romano, May 22, 2013, p. 11

General Audience with representatives of the world’s various religions, Oct 28, 2015:

“the Church regards with esteem the believers of all religions, appreciating their spiritual and moral commitment… Now, to conclude this Audience, I invite everyone, each one on his or her own, to pray in silence. May each one do so according to his or her own religious tradition.” — L’Osservatore Romano, Oct. 30, 2015, pp. 3-4

Past Church Teachings

“The Catholic Church is alone in keeping the true worship. This is the fount of truth, this the house of Faith, this the temple of God: if any man enter not here, or if any man go forth from it, he is a stranger to the hope of life and salvation.” — Mortalium Animos

“Certainly such attempts can nowise be approved by Catholics, founded as they are on that false opinion which considers all religions to be more or less good and praiseworthy, since they all in different ways manifest and signify that sense which is inborn in us all, and by which we are led to God and to the obedient acknowledgment of His rule. Not only are those who hold this opinion in error and deceived, but also in distorting the idea of true religion they reject it, and little by little turn aside to naturalism and atheism, as it is called; from which it clearly follows that one who supports those who hold these theories and attempt to realize them, is altogether abandoning the divinely revealed religion.” — Mortalium Animos

In 2012, Cardinal Bergoglio held an interreligious prayer meeting in the Cathedral of Buenos Aires with the leaders of false religions including Judaism and Protestant sects. In this prayer meeting he allowed the members of these false religions to pray aloud in the Cathedral. Bergoglio has been known to organize other similar meetings (similar to his two predecessors) that are well documented and photographed in the news.

Past Church Teachings

“Q: What else does the First Commandment forbid?
“A: The First Commandment also forbids all dealings with the devil, and all association with anti-Christian sects.” — Catechism of St. Pius X, “The First Commandment”

“When it is said: Thou shalt not have strange gods before me, it is equivalent to saying: Thou shalt worship me the true God; thou shalt not worship strange gods.” — The Catechism of the Council of Trent, “The First Commandment”

“As the true God can tolerate no strange gods, the true Church of Christ can tolerate no strange Churches beside herself, or, what amounts to the same, she can recognize none as theoretically justified.” — Catholic Encyclopedia, “Religious Toleration”

Evangelii Gaudium, “Apostolic Exhortation” given by Francis to all the clergy and faithful of the world on November 24, 2013:

“Non-Christians, by God’s gracious initiative, when they are faithful to their own consciences, can live ‘justified by the grace of God’, and thus be ‘associated to the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ.”

Past Church Teachings

“Now We consider another abundant source of the evils with which the Church is afflicted at present: indifferentism. This perverse opinion is spread on all sides by the fraud of the wicked who claim that it is possible to obtain the eternal salvation of the soul by the profession of any kind of religion, as long as morality is maintained. Surely, in so clear a matter, you will drive this deadly error far from the people committed to your care. With the admonition of the apostle that ‘there is one God, one faith, one baptism.’” — Mirari Vos, On Liberalism and Religious Indifferentism, Pope Gregory XVI, 1832

Condemned: “Every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the light of reason, he shall consider true.” — The Syllabus of Errors, 1864, Pope Pius IX

Condemned: “Man may, in the observance of any religion whatever, find the way of eternal salvation, and arrive at eternal salvation.” — The Syllabus of Errors

Vatican Radio message, May 24, 2015:

“I feel like saying something that may sound controversial, or even heretical, perhaps. But there is someone who “knows” that, despite our differences, we are one. It is he who is persecuting us. It is he who is persecuting Christians today, he who is anointing us with (the blood of) martyrdom. He knows that Christians are disciples of Christ: that they are one, that they are brothers! He doesn’t care if they are Evangelicals, or Orthodox, Lutherans, Catholics or Apostolic...he doesn’t care! They are Christians.”

Past Church Teachings

". . .because the preceding errors and many others are contained in the books or writings of Martin Luther, we likewise condemn, reprobate, and reject completely the books and all the writings and sermons of the said Martin, whether in Latin or any other language, containing the said errors or any one of them; and we wish them to be regarded as utterly condemned, reprobated, and rejected. We forbid each and every one of the faithful of either sex, in virtue of holy obedience and under the above penalties to be incurred automatically, to read, assert, preach, praise, print, publish, or defend them. They will incur these penalties if they presume to uphold them in any way, personally or through another or others, directly or indirectly, tacitly or explicitly, publicly or occultly, either in their own homes or in other public or private places.” — Exsurge Domine, Condemning the Errors of Martin Luther, Pope Leo X, June 15, 1520

Evangelii Gaudium, November, 2013:

“We must never forget that they [the Moslems] ‘profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, who will judge humanity on the last day’.”

Address to the President of Religious Affairs in Turkey and Muslim and Christian political and religious leaders, November 28, 2014:

“We, Muslims and Christians, are the bearers of spiritual treasures of inestimable worth. Among these we recognize some shared elements, though lived according to the traditions of each, such as the adoration of the All-Merciful God, reference to the Patriarch Abraham, prayer, almsgiving, fasting… elements which, when lived sincerely, can transform life and provide a sure foundation for dignity and fraternity.”

Scripture and Past Church Teachings

[Comment: Catholics and Muslims do not adore the same God; Catholics adore the Blessed Trinity:]

“But he that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven.” — Matt. 10:33

“For he that shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him the Son of man shall be ashamed, when he shall come in his majesty, and that of his Father, and of the holy angels.” — Luke 9:26

“Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father.” ­— 1 John 2:23

“Q. 1400. Name some of the more essential religious truths we must know and believe... 2. (2) That in God there are three Divine Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and these Divine Persons are called the Blessed Trinity.” — Baltimore Catechism

“The doctrines of Islam concerning God — His unity and Divine attributes — are essentially those of the Bible; but to the doctrines of the Trinity and of the Divine Sonship of Christ, Mohammed had the strongest antipathy.” — Catholic Encyclopedia, “Mohammed and Mohammedanism”

On Heaven and Earth,* p. 188:

“The Jewish People can no longer be accused of having killed God, as they were for a long time. When one reads the account of the Passion, it is clear.”

Full title: *On Heaven and Earth: Pope Francis on Faith, Family, and the Church in the Twenty-First Century. (2010) English translation. New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2013.

“Therefore let all the house of Israel know most certainly, that God hath made both Lord and Christ, this same Jesus, whom you have crucified.” — Acts 2:36

“And Pilate seeing that he prevailed nothing, but that rather a tumult was made; taking water washed his hands before the people (the Jews), saying: I am innocent of the blood of this just man; look you to it. And the whole people answering, said: His blood be upon us and our children.” — Matt. 27:24-25

Response of Francis to open letter* published Sept. 2013:

“What I can say, with the Apostle Paul, is that God has never stopped believing in the alliance made with Israel and that, through the terrible trials of these past centuries, the Jews have kept their faith in God.”

*In mid-2013, newspaper editor and atheist Eugenio Scalfari wrote two open letters to Francis, both of which were published in the Italian daily La Repubblica. Francis replied with a 3-page response which was published in the same paper September 11, 2013. The article may also be viewed at this link on the Vatican website.

“Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved: but he that believeth not shall be condemned.” — Matt. 16:15

“Jesus saith to him: I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father, but by me.” ­— John 14:6
 
 
 
 
 
 

Evangelii Gaudium, n. 247:

“We hold the Jewish people in special regard because their covenant with God has never been revoked.”

Past Church Teaching

“By these salutary instructions it desires to provide measures whereby Jews and other infidels may be converted to the orthodox faith and converts may remain steadfastly in it.” — Council of Basil, 1431-1435

Address of "Pope" Francis to the Diocese of Rome’s Pastoral Congress, Q & A Session, June 16, 2016:

“....the great majority of our sacramental marriages are null. Because they say ‘yes, for the rest of my life!’ but they don’t know what they are saying. Because they have a different culture. They say it, they have good will, but they don’t know.”

Past Church Teachings

“Marriage enjoys the favor of the law; therefore, in case of doubt, its validity ought to be maintained until the contrary be proved...” — 1917 Code of Canon Law, Canon Law 1014

Conversations with Jorge Bergoglio,* p. 111:

“The Church is not opposed to sex education. Personally, I believe that it ought to be available throughout children’s upbringing, adapted to different age groups. In truth, the Church always provided sex education, although I acknowledge that it hasn’t always been adequate.”

*Conversations with Jorge Bergoglio. Rubin, Sergio, & Ambrogetti, Francesca. (2010) New York, New York: Penguin Group

Past Church Teachings

“Another very grave danger is that naturalism which nowadays invades the field of education in that most delicate matter of purity of morals. Far too common is the error of those who with dangerous assurance and under an ugly term propagate a so-called sex-education, falsely imagining they can forearm youths against the dangers of sensuality by means purely natural, such as a foolhardy initiation and precautionary instruction for all indiscriminately, even in public; and, worse still, by exposing them at an early age to the occasions, in order to accustom them, so it is argued, and as it were to harden them against such dangers.” — Pope Pius XI, Divini Illius Magistri, On the Christian Education of Youth, Dec. 31, 1929

In-flight interview from Mexico, February 17, 2016:

“The great Paul VI, in a difficult situation in Africa, permitted nuns to use a form of artificial contraceptives in cases of rape... On the other hand, avoiding pregnancy is not an absolute evil. In certain cases, as in this one (the Zika virus outbreak), or in the one I mentioned of Blessed Paul VI, it was clear.”

Past Church Teachings

“But no reason, however grave, may be put forward by which anything intrinsically against nature may become conformable to nature and morally good. Since, therefore, the conjugal act is destined primarily by nature for the begetting of children, those who in exercising it deliberately frustrate its natural power and purpose sin against nature and commit a deed which is shameful and intrinsically vicious.

“...any use whatsoever of matrimony exercised in such a way that the act is deliberately frustrated in its natural power to generate life is an offense against the law of God and of nature, and those who indulge in such are branded with the guilt of a grave sin.

“...No difficulty can arise that justifies the putting aside of the law of God which forbids all acts intrinsically evil.” — Pope Pius XI, Encyclical, Casti Connubii, On Christian Marriage, Dec 31, 1930

“A negative precept of natural law which prohibits a thing intrinsically evil can never be lawfully transgressed not even under the influence of the fear of death, (Lib. I, tr. ii, c. iv, dub. 2, n. 1) so that it is not lawful to do a thing which is wrong in itself, even to escape death.” ­— Catholic Encyclopedia, “Hermann Busembaum”

Address of "Pope" Francis to the Diocese of Rome’s Pastoral Congress, Q & A Session, June 16, 2016:

“They prefer to cohabitate, and this is a challenge, a task. Not to ask ‘why don’t you marry?’ No, to accompany, to wait, and to help them to mature, help fidelity to mature.”... “I’ve seen a lot of fidelity in these cohabitations, and I am sure that this is a real marriage, they have the grace of a real marriage because of their fidelity.”

Past Church Teachings

“It is a grievous sin for unmarried men to have concubines ...Wherefore, the holy Synod, that it may by suitable remedies provide against this exceeding evil, ordains that these concubinaries, whether unmarried or married, of whatsoever state, dignity, and condition they may be, if, after having been three times admonished on this subject by the Ordinary, even ex officio, they shall not have put away their concubines, and have separated themselves from all connection with them, they shall be smitten with excommunication; from which they shall not be absolved until they have really obeyed the admonition given them.” — Council of Trent, Sess. XXIV, Ch. 8

“13. But in all these affairs, one of your aims should be to instill in the faithful a greater aversion for sins which scandalize others; your priests should share this aim. You are aware of the increase in the number of those who sin in a scandalous manner: those who blaspheme the heavenly saints and the holy name of God as well; those who live in concubinage..... So, make the faithful consider the seriousness of sins of this kind and the heavy penalties for them, both for the guilt of the sin itself and for the spiritual danger in which they place their brothers by the infection of their bad example. For it is written: “Woe to the world because of scandals... Woe to that man by whom the scandal comes!” — Pope Pius IX, Encyclical Nostis et Nobiscum, On the Church in the Pontifical States, Dec. 8, 1849

“The scandal of concubinage is removed by marriage, which should be made known to those who were scandalized, either by the pastor or by the parties themselves.” — 1917 Code of Canon Law, Canon 1043

“Hence if both parties intended and expressed the intention in some way or other to enter upon a mere concubinage, there would be no marriage.” — 1917 Code of Canon Law, Canon 1082

“If a marriage is found invalid, as, for instance, among the Gallas, where slaves contract a contubernium or legalized concubinage, the parties must be separated until they are lawfully married.” — 1917 Code of Canon Law, Canon 1084

“Therefore concubinage must be given up because incompatible with Christian morals.” — 1917 Code of Canon Law, Canon 1124

Press conference on flight from Brazil, July 28, 2013:

“If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”

Scripture and Past Church Teachings

“Know you not that the unjust shall not possess the kingdom of God? Do not err: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor the effeminate, nor liers with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor railers, nor extortioners, shall possess the kingdom of God.” — 1 Cor. 6:9-10

“Neither fornicators nor adulterers, nor the effeminate nor sodomites shall possess the kingdom of God.” — Catechism of the Council of Trent, “The Sixth Commandment, Other Sins Against Chastity Are Forbidden”

On Heaven and Earth, p. 114: Concerning same-sex marriage:

“Religion has the right to give an opinion as long as it is in service to the people.”

“The religious minister does not have the right to force anything on anyone’s private life. If God, in creation, ran the risk of making us free, who am I to get involved? We condemn spiritual harassment that takes place when a minister imposes directives, conduct, and demands in such a way that it takes away the freedom of the other person. God left the freedom to sin in our hands.”

He later adds: “I insist that our opinion about the marriage between two people of the same sex is not based on religion, but rather on anthropology.”

Full title: *On Heaven and Earth: Pope Francis on Faith, Family, and the Church in the Twenty-First Century. (2010) English translation. New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2013.

Scripture and Past Church Teachings

“Q: Which are the sins that are said to cry to God for vengeance?
“A: The sins that are said to cry to God for vengeance are these four: (1) Willful murder; (2) The sin of sodomy; (3) Oppression of the poor; (4) Defrauding laborers of their wages.” — The Catechism of St. Pius X, “The Vices and Other Very Grievous Sins”

“As Sodom and Gomorrha, and the neighboring cities, in like manner, having given themselves to fornication, and going after other flesh, were made an example, suffering the punishment of eternal fire.” — Jude 1:7

Vatican Radio, June 15, 2013:

“True reconciliation means that God in Christ took on our sins and He became the sinner for us. When we go to confession, for example, it isn’t that we say our sin and God forgives us. No, not that! We look for Jesus Christ and say: ‘This is your sin, and I will sin again.’ And Jesus likes that, because it was his mission: to become the sinner for us, to liberate us.”

Past Church Teachings

“In the Sacrament of Penance the repentant Christian confesses his sins to a duly authorized priest, who, standing in the place of God, pronounces the absolution by means of which they are forgiven.” — The Catechism Explained (Spirago-Clarke, 1899), “The Sacrament of Penance”

“Q: How many conditions are necessary to make a good confession?
“A: To make a good confession five things are necessary: (1) Examination of conscience; (2) Sorrow for having offended God; (3) A resolution of sinning no more; (4) Confession of our sins; (5) Satisfaction or penance.” — Catechism of St. Pius X, “The Sacrament of Penance”

On Heaven and Earth:

“There was a time when they did not perform funerals for those that committed suicide because they had not continued on towards the goal; they ended the path when they wanted to. But I still respect the one who commits suicide; he is a person who could not overcome the contradictions in his life. I do not reject him.”

*Full title: On Heaven and Earth: Pope Francis on Faith, Family, and the Church in the Twenty-First Century. (2010) English translation. New York: Crown Publishing Group, 2013.

Past Church Teachings

“Q: Why does God, in the Fifth Commandment, forbid the taking of one’s own life or suicide?

“A: In the Fifth Commandment God forbids suicide, because man is not the master of his own life any more than of the life of another. Hence the Church punishes suicide by deprivation of Christian burial.” — Catechism of St. Pius X, “The Fifth Commandment”

Letter to the President of the International Commission against the death penalty, March 20, 2015:

“Today capital punishment is unacceptable, however serious the condemned’s crime may have been. It is an offense to the inviolability of life and to the dignity of the human person which contradicts God’s plan for man and for society and his merciful justice, and it fails to conform to any just purpose of punishment... All Christians and men of good will are thus called today to fight not only for the abolition of the death penalty, whether legal or illegal, and in all its forms, but also in order to improve prison conditions, with respect for the human dignity of the people deprived of their freedom.”

Past Church Teachings

“The same divine authority that forbids the killing of a human being establishes certain exceptions, as when God authorizes killing by a general law or when He gives an explicit commission to an individual for a limited time. The agent who executes the killing does not commit homicide; he is an instrument as is the sword with which he cuts. Therefore, it is in no way contrary to the commandment, ‘Thou shalt not kill’ to wage war at God’s bidding, or for the representatives of public authority to put criminals to death, according to the law, that is, the will of the most just reason” — St. Augustine, The City of God, Book 1, chapter 21

“Therefore if a man be dangerous and infectious to the community, on account of some sin, it is praiseworthy and healthful that he be killed in order to safeguard the common good, since ‘a little leaven corrupteth the whole lump’ (1 Cor. 5:6).” — St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, II, II, q. 64, art. 2

“Even in the case of the death penalty the State does not dispose of the individual’s right to life. Rather public authority limits itself to depriving the offender of the good of life in expiation for his guilt, after he, through his crime, deprived himself of his own right to life.” — Pope Pius XII, Address to the First International Congress of Histopathology of the Nervous System, Sept. 14, 1952, XIV, 328