ONE WORLD RELIGION WATCH: Guru, Rabbi, Mufti, “Pope”: Francis joins Campaign for Pan-Religious Friendship

ONE WORLD RELIGION WATCH: Guru, Rabbi, Mufti, “Pope”: Francis joins Campaign for Pan-Religious Friendship

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The so-called Elijah Interfaith Institute has launched a campaign to bring people of different religions together in order to overcome “negativity and divisions in society”. The effort has received the official endorsement and encouragement of prominent leaders of numerous religions, and of course this includes “Pope” Francis.

“The World’s Most Prominent Religious Leaders Call On Everyone To Make Friends Across Religions” is the headline currently displayed on the Institute‘s web site, followed by a summary of its interreligious friendship campaign:

On June 14, 2017 many of the world’s most prominent religious leaders made a joint statement encouraging people everywhere to make friends across religions. Friendship and getting to know one another are the antidotes to negativity and divisions in society, enhancing understanding and unity. We invite you to download our toolkits for friendship and study. We pray that the message and example of unity, shown by these leaders, will contribute to bridging divisions by inspiring you and your friends to start new conversations with people of different faiths. Follow the example, spread the message.

(Home page of Elijah Interfaith Institute, as displayed on June 16, 2017)

The Institute‘s campaign has the explicit support of 22 religious leaders, each of whom speaks in a separate video about interreligious friendship. The only exception is Francis, who made a joint video together with his long-time buddy, the blasphemous anti-Christian Rabbi Abraham Skorka. The 21 individual videos with all the testimonies can be accessed here. The various people who appear in these videos represent the Anglican, Lutheran, Orthodox, and Novus Ordo (pseudo-Catholic) sects; they represent apostate Judaism as well as Shiite and Sunni Islam; and they represent Hinduism, Sikhism, and Buddhism. In short: Every one of the major false religions is represented.

The Elijah Interfaith Institute has also released a video montage of some highlights from the individual clips. You can view it here:

Francis’ own video, in which he gives his full friendship message together with Rabbi Skorka, can be viewed here:

Here is a full list of all the religious leaders who appear in the videos, together with the titles they claim for themselves:

• Grand Mufti Shawki Allam
• Mata Amritanandamayi (Amma)
• Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I
• Ven. Chân Không
• Swami Chidananda
• H.H. the Dalai Lama
• Pope Francis
• Dharma Master Hsin Tao
• Archbishop Antje Jackelén
• Ven. Khandro Rinpoche
• Chief Rabbi David Lau
• Ayatollah Sayyid Fadhel Al-Milani
• Imam Dr. Adamou Ndam Njoya
• Ayatollah Sayyid Hassan Al-Qazwini
• Swami Ramdev
• Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
• Sri Sri Ravi Shankar
• Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh
• Rabbi Abraham Skorka
• Swami Suhitananda
• Archbishop Justin Welby
• Shaykh Hamza Yusuf

Not surprisingly, the institute was founded by a Talmudic Jewish rabbi, Alon Goshen-Gottstein, and is headquartered in Jerusalem, Israel. That it should have the name of the prophet Elijah (Elias) in it, however, is both blasphemous and ironic, since Elias was not exactly an indifferentist or ecumenist, as is evident from the Bible (see 3 Kings 18:19-39).

Of course, what we see here is anti-Catholic to the highest degree, because in effect it makes all religions equal and reduces the only true religion revealed by God to the level of heretical sects and even to Jewish, Muslim, and Pagan infidelity. This is precisely what Pope Pius XI condemned in his great encyclical letter on true and false notions of religious unity:

Never perhaps in the past have we seen, as we see in these our own times, the minds of men so occupied by the desire both of strengthening and of extending to the common welfare of human society that fraternal relationship which binds and unites us together, and which is a consequence of our common origin and nature. For since the nations do not yet fully enjoy the fruits of peace — indeed rather do old and new disagreements in various places break forth into sedition and civic strife — and since on the other hand many disputes which concern the tranquillity and prosperity of nations cannot be settled without the active concurrence and help of those who rule the States and promote their interests, it is easily understood, and the more so because none now dispute the unity of the human race, why many desire that the various nations, inspired by this universal kinship, should daily be more closely united one to another.
A similar object is aimed at by some, in those matters which concern the New Law promulgated by Christ our Lord. For since they hold it for certain that men destitute of all religious sense are very rarely to be found, they seem to have founded on that belief a hope that the nations, although they differ among themselves in certain religious matters, will without much difficulty come to agree as brethren in professing certain doctrines, which form as it were a common basis of the spiritual life. For which reason conventions, meetings and addresses are frequently arranged by these persons, at which a large number of listeners are present, and at which all without distinction are invited to join in the discussion, both infidels of every kind, and Christians, even those who have unhappily fallen away from Christ or who with obstinacy and pertinacity deny His divine nature and mission. 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.
…
Controversies therefore, [the ecumenists] say, and longstanding differences of opinion which keep asunder till the present day the members of the Christian family, must be entirely put aside, and from the remaining doctrines a common form of faith drawn up and proposed for belief, and in the profession of which all may not only know but feel that they are brothers. The manifold churches or communities, if united in some kind of universal federation, would then be in a position to oppose strongly and with success the progress of irreligion. This, Venerable Brethren, is what is commonly said…. [Some] even go so far as to wish the Pontiff himself to preside over their motley, so to say, assemblies. But, all the same, although many non-Catholics may be found who loudly preach fraternal communion in Christ Jesus, yet you will find none at all to whom it ever occurs to submit to and obey the Vicar of Jesus Christ either in His capacity as a teacher or as a governor. Meanwhile they affirm that they would willingly treat with the Church of Rome, but on equal terms, that is as equals with an equal: but even if they could so act, it does not seem open to doubt that any pact into which they might enter would not compel them to turn from those opinions which are still the reason why they err and stray from the one fold of Christ.
This being so, it is clear that the Apostolic See cannot on any terms take part in their assemblies, nor is it anyway lawful for Catholics either to support or to work for such enterprises; for if they do so they will be giving countenance to a false Christianity, quite alien to the one Church of Christ. Shall We suffer, what would indeed be iniquitous, the truth, and a truth divinely revealed, to be made a subject for compromise? For here there is question of defending revealed truth…
(Pope Pius XI, Encyclical Mortalium Animos, nn. 1-2, 7-8)

What “Pope” Francis is promoting and participating in here is clearly entirely opposed to the teaching of the true Roman Catholic Church, of which he is most certainly not the head.

These interreligious efforts are also clearly condemned in Sacred Scripture:

Bear not the yoke with unbelievers. For what participation hath justice with injustice? Or what fellowship hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God; as God saith: I will dwell in them, and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore, Go out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing: And I will receive you; and I will be a Father to you; and you shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

(2 Corinthians 6:14-18)

The true Catholic position, then, is not one of inclusion but of exclusion when it comes to these matters.

This does not mean, of course, that we should be belligerent, hateful, nasty, or unkind to those in our lives who are not Catholic (cf. Heb 12:14). However, it does mean that we are not to needlessly cultivate friendships with those who are not of the true Faith, unless we use that friendship to try to convert them. Let us remember the words of Pope Pius IX:

But God forbid that the sons of the Catholic Church ever in any way be hostile to those who are not joined with us in the same bonds of faith and love; but rather they should always be zealous to seek them out and aid them, whether poor, or sick, or afflicted with any other burdens, with all the offices of Christian charity; and they should especially endeavor to snatch them from the darkness of error in which they unhappily lie, and lead them back to Catholic truth and to the most loving Mother the Church, who never ceases to stretch out her maternal hands lovingly to them, and to call them back to her bosom so that, established and firm in faith, hope, and charity, and “being fruitful in every good work” [Col 1:10], they may attain eternal salvation.
(Pope Pius IX, Encyclical Quanto Conficiamur Moerore, n. 9)

The moral question of associating with those who are not of the true Faith is, of course, somewhat complex. It requires a number of distinctions and admits of various nuances. A full treatment of the essential concepts pertinent to this issue can be found in Frs. McHugh and Callan’s Moral Theology, vol. 1, nn. 882-886 (an electronic version may be available for free at this link).

However, for the purposes of what Francis is trying to do here, one can state as a general principle that maintaining a friendship with those who are not of the true Faith while not actively seeking their conversion, will typically constitute an unnecessary occasion of sin. We would be foolish to think that we would not be influenced by their errors, regardless of how well-intentioned they might be: “For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils…” (Ps 95:5); “Be not seduced: Evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Cor 15:33).

Thus, for Francis and the other “religious leaders” in these videos to recommend that we become friends with those of other religions so that we may be enriched by them, become tolerant and respectful towards other religions, to find commonalities, etc., is precisely what not to do, because this would present a great danger to our Faith, exposing it to being weakened and relativized; it would allow our thinking to become colored and tainted by false religions, and we would be led, consciously or not, to indifferentism and naturalism, to this idea that it doesn’t really matter what you believe as long as you mean well and are a “good person”. Whoever believes that has completely abandoned the Gospel.

In his 1903 inaugural encyclical outlining the program of his pontificate, Pope Saint Pius X asked: “…who can fail to see that society is at the present time, more than in any past age, suffering from a terrible and deep-rooted malady which, developing every day and eating into its inmost being, is dragging it to destruction?” As a real Catholic Pope, Pius X had no trouble coming up with the correct diagnosis of the condition and also with the appropriate remedy:

You understand, Venerable Brethren, what this disease is — apostasy from God, than which in truth nothing is more allied with ruin, according to the word of the Prophet: “For behold they that go far from Thee shall perish” [Ps 72:27]. We saw therefore that, in virtue of the ministry of the Pontificate, which was to be entrusted to Us, We must hasten to find a remedy for this great evil, considering as addressed to Us that Divine command: “Lo, I have set thee this day over the nations and over kingdoms, to root up, and to pull down, and to waste, and to destroy, and to build, and to plant” [Jer 1:10]….

But, Venerable Brethren, we shall never, however much we exert ourselves, succeed in calling men back to the majesty and empire of God, except by means of Jesus Christ. “No one,” the Apostle admonishes us, “can lay other foundation than that which has been laid, which is Jesus Christ.” [1 Cor 3:2] It is Christ alone “whom the Father sanctified and sent into this world” [Is 10:36], “the splendor of the Father and the image of His substance” [Heb 1:3], true God and true man: without whom nobody can know God with the knowledge for salvation, “neither doth anyone know the Father but the Son, and he to whom it shall please the Son to reveal Him.” [Matt 11:27] Hence it follows that to restore all things in Christ and to lead men back to submission to God is one and the same aim. To this, then, it behoves Us to devote Our care — to lead back mankind under the dominion of Christ; this done, We shall have brought it back to God. When We say to God We do not mean to that inert being heedless of all things human which the dream of materialists has imagined, but to the true and living God, one in nature, triple in person, Creator of the world, most wise Ordainer of all things, Lawgiver most just, who punishes the wicked and has reward in store for virtue.
Now the way to reach Christ is not hard to find: it is the Church. Rightly does Chrysostom inculcate: “The Church is thy hope, the Church is thy salvation, the Church is thy refuge.” (“Hom. de capto Euthropio,” n. 6.) It was for this that Christ founded it, gaining it at the price of His blood, and made it the depositary of His doctrine and His laws, bestowing upon it at the same time an inexhaustible treasury of graces for the sanctification and salvation of men.

(Pope Pius X, Encyclical E Supremi, nn. 2, 8-9)

This is the Catholic position. This is what the true Catholic Church exists for, and this is the mission in which she can never fail:

For this is the Church founded on Peter, “Rock,” not merely in name but in truth. Against this “the gates of hell will not prevail” [Mt 16:18] “for it is founded on a rock” [Mt 7:25; Lk 6:48]. There has never been an enemy of the Christian religion who was not simultaneously at wicked war with the See of Peter, since while this See remained strong the survival of the Christian religion was assured. As St. Irenaeus proclaims openly to all, “by the order and succession of the Roman pontiffs the tradition from the Apostles in the Church and the proclamation of the truth has come down to us. And this is the fullest demonstration that it is the one and the same life-giving faith which has been preserved in the Church until now since the time of the Apostles and has been handed on in truth” [Adversus haereses, bk. 3, chap. 3].
(Pope Pius VII, Encyclical Diu Satis, n. 6)

This is one of the many ways in which we can see that “Pope” Francis is a charlatan and not a true Pope. His is a message not of restoring all things in Christ through the Church, but of restoring all things in man, regardless of religion. His buzzwords are all horizontal: man, encounter, dialogue, service, accompaniment, respect, walking together, etc. Francis’ religion has no place for Jesus Christ and the true Gospel.

The truth is that Francis, who has sillily feigned a devotion to St. Pius X, is fulfilling the very things warned against by that holy Pontiff:

…[T]here is good reason to fear lest this great perversity may be as it were a foretaste, and perhaps the beginning of those evils which are reserved for the last days; and that there may be already in the world the “Son of Perdition” of whom the Apostle speaks [2 Thess 2:3]. Such, in truth, is the audacity and the wrath employed everywhere in persecuting [the Catholic] religion, in combating the dogmas of the faith, in brazen effort to uproot and destroy all relations between man and the Divinity! While, on the other hand, and this according to the same apostle is the distinguishing mark of Antichrist, man has with infinite temerity put himself in the place of God, raising himself above all that is called God; in such wise that although he cannot utterly extinguish in himself all knowledge of God, he has contemned God’s majesty and, as it were, made of the universe a temple wherein he himself is to be adored. “He sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself as if he were God” [2 Thess 2:2].

(Pope St. Pius X, Encyclical E Supremi, n.5

 

This, ladies and gentlemen, is the False Gospel of the Antichrist.

In the following snapshot taken from the Francis-Skorka video, the papal pretender proves our point:

“And he said to them: 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” (Mk 16:15-16).