Pope John Paul II – Blessed or Otherwise?
On the first day of May, and with theatrical splendour, the late Pope John Paul II, was brought, we are told, to the verge of sainthood by being ecclesiastically pronounced “blessed” by his successor. He is thus officially made the object of worship by the faithful of Rome. We shall not deal with the details of this blasphemous event (already noted in the March issue) but rather look at the saintliness attributed to the man.
A saint, we remind ourselves, is simply a person who has been regenerated, believes in Christ alone for salvation and is holy in heart and life. This definition holds true for every genuine Christian, and means that he or she is truly blessed in the sight of God. Is the late Pope blessed in God’s sight? This is the question asked (and answered) in an excellent internet article, John Paul II: Blessed in the Sight of God? (see www.bereanbeacon.org) by ex-priest Richard Bennett. The answer, of course, is definitely in the negative.
The objective measure of sanctity is Holy Scripture, he rightly says. The godly person has Scripture as the sole rule of faith and practice, trembles at it (Is 66:2), keeps it (Jn 14:23), and is sanctified by it (Jn 17:17). The late Pope taught that his Church, “to whom the transmission and interpretation of revelation is entrusted, does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone” (Catechism of the Catholic Church). He is therefore to be reckoned a false teacher.
Also, Mr Bennett points out, “his claim to ‘infallible teaching authority’, a divine attribute, proves absolutely that he falls under the category of false teacher. It also implies he saw himself as divinely inspired. In addition to this dreadful arrogance, he also proclaimed in his Catechism1, ‘The Pope enjoys, by divine institution, supreme, full, immediate and universal power in the care of souls’. In that assertion, he has arrogated to himself the power given to the Lord Jesus Christ alone. . . . Therefore, his own claims show that he did not possess any sanctity before the All Holy God.”
The beatification of the Pope is an act which encourages the ancient sin of necromancy, Mr Bennett goes on. John Paul II himself taught on the subject of “communion with the dead”: “Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective. . . . We can and should ask them to intercede for us and for the whole world.” Gross error indeed! He also taught, Mr Bennett tells us, that there is an interchange of holiness in the expiation of sin, shared even with the dead in purgatory – “a straight denial of the gospel of Christ”. In his Catechism, the Pope stated that the faithful in heaven and pilgrims on earth have a “link of charity” with “those who are expiating their sins in purgatory. . . . The holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others.” “Again, John Paul II has revealed that he was not blessed; rather, he officially taught damnable heresy.”
Mr Bennett gives many more enlightening facts which conclusively show that the late Pope was in fact under the curse of God because, among many other reasons, he preached “another gospel” (Gal 1:9). But it is not in a vindictive spirit that Mr Bennett writes, but with a compassionate desire for the salvation of deceived Roman Catholics. “With the deepest concern, therefore,” he says, “we reach out with the true gospel to those who live their lives under the damnable teaching that this man had propagated. . . . Let the gospel trumpet sound! On the authority of Scripture, let it be known that sinners are justified by grace only, through faith only, in Christ Jesus only! And to God only be the glory!” NMR
Politicians Promoting Romanism
The Roman Catholic system of false religion seems indestructible. Despite damaging publicity surrounding the sexual-abuse scandal in its midst, Romanism is promoted by agents in the media and friends in high places.
For example, in Scotland, at the recent Kirkring of the new Scottish Parliament in St Giles’ Church in Edinburgh, the keynote address was given by Roman Catholic Archbishop Conti of Glasgow. In the past, that duty was assigned, as one would expect, to the Moderator of the Church of Scotland. Conti cleverly took the opportunity to thank the Parliament for its support of the Pope’s visit last year, and gave prominence to his Church by saying that Churches which have, over recent decades, learned the lesson of ecumenism are well placed to welcome into the community those of other faiths and cultures.
In the United States, Patrick Conroy, a Jesuit priest, has been chosen by Speaker John Boehner to be the next chaplain of the House of Representatives. It is reported that “if formally elected, Conroy would become the second Roman Catholic priest to tend to the House flock”. His selection has been supported by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who, like Mr Boehner, is a prominent Roman Catholic.
But Papal Rome is not indestructible. True religion, revealed in Scripture alone and handed on to us by the Reformation, will yet flourish (Is 11:9). This flourishing of true religion will initiate the predicted demise of Popery (2 Th 2:8), and the liberation of many from its delusive power (Rev 18:4). NMR
Bowing Very Low, Aiming Very High
The image was very striking. The bishops who wished to pervert from the Church of England to the Roman Catholic Church were dressed in white robes and lay their length on the steps of St Peter’s, with the Pope seated above them. Their posture suggested abject subjection to the Roman Church, and in particular to the Pope. The whiteness of their robes spoke of the completeness of that subjection. Thomas Manton quotes Ambrose (an early Church Father): “None stoop so low as those who have a mind to rise”. And he adds: “Men of proud insulting spirits bow low for their own ends, as Absalom courted the people to jostle his father out of the throne (2 Sam 15:2-5)” (Works, vol 5, p 319).
All priests, just like those bishops, go through the same rite of public self-abnegation and submission. To what do they aspire who bow so abjectly? (1.) Power over souls to proclaim sins forgiven (Catechism of the Catholic Church, para 983). (2.) Power over the dead to deliver from the flames of purgatory (Catechism, para 1032). (3.) Power over Christ Himself in heaven to bring Him down – His very body and blood, at their behest – onto a Roman altar (Catechism, para 1353). (4.) Increased power over our realm if once our Monarch was a Roman Catholic (The Protestant Dictionary, art “Temporal Power”, p 699.).
“Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him” (1 Jn 2:15). JRT
Sometimes a forgotten duty will be just like a decayed bone in the system, or a sin – perhaps a sin not known to be a sin – will be like a thorn in the foot which had not been perceived until it lamed the traveller. None of us know how much we may lose every day through neglecting to do the Lord’s will in some point which we have considered to be non-essential. Every Christian duty is essential, not to salvation, but to consolation, and the omission of any known – aye, and I will say, unknown – duty may involve great loss to us.
C H Spurgeon