POPE FRANCIS CALLS MUSLIMS “DEAR BROTHERS”

MORE UNITY AS POPE FRANCIS CALLS MUSLIMS “DEAR BROTHERS”

By now you are probably aware that on Monday Pope Francis was in Jerusalem visiting “holy sites.” One of those was the al-Aqsa mosque, reputed to be the third holiest site in Islam. While there in the “mosque compound, the Pope urged people of all religions to ‘work together for justice and peace.’”

You should also know that:

Known to Muslims as the Haram al-Sharif (Noble Sanctuary) and Jews as the Temple Mount, the status of the site is one of the most contentious issues in the Israel-Palestinian conflict .

Pope Francis took off his shoes to enter the Dome of the Rock, from where Islamic tradition says the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. The Pope then walked to the nearby al-Aqsa Mosque. (source)

In addition, according to Nicole Winfield and Aron Heller of the Associated Press:

Pope Francis on Monday urged his “brother” Muslims to never abuse God’s name through violence as he opened the third and final day of his Mideast pilgrimage with a visit to the Dome of the Rock, the iconic shrine located at the third-holiest spot in Islam…

Speaking to the grand mufti of Jerusalem and other Muslim authorities, Francis deviated from his prepared remarks to refer not just to his “dear friends” but “dear brothers.” (source)

Some might be taken by surprise as Pope Francis called devout Muslims his “dear brothers.” However, I already showed you in the 2009 Apprising Ministries piece that Roman Catholic Church And Islam Really Do Worship The Same God. The following I took directly from the official Vatican website just moments ago.

It’s from the document Nostra Aerate, “the Declaration on the Relation of the [Roman Catholic] Church to Non-Christian Religions, which was Proclaimed by His Holiness Pope Paul VI – October 28, 1965.” The Church of Rome proudly tells us that:

3. The [Roman Catholic] Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all- powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth,(5) who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting.

Since in the course of centuries not a few quarrels and hostilities have arisen between Christians and Moslems, this sacred synod urges all to forget the past and to work sincerely for mutual understanding and to preserve as well as to promote together for the benefit of all mankind social justice and moral welfare, as well as peace and freedom.

4. As the sacred synod searches into the mystery of the Church, it remembers the bond that spiritually ties the people of the New Covenant to Abraham’s stock.

Thus the Church of Christ acknowledges that, according to God’s saving design, the beginnings of her faith and her election are found already among the Patriarchs, Moses and the prophets. She professes that all who believe in Christ-Abraham’s sons according to faith (6)-are included in the same Patriarch’s call, and likewise that the salvation of the [Roman Catholic]Church is mysteriously foreshadowed by the chosen people’s exodus from the land of bondage. The Church, therefore, cannot forget that she received the revelation of the Old Testament through the people with whom God in His inexpressible mercy concluded the Ancient Covenant. Nor can she forget that she draws sustenance from the root of that well-cultivated olive tree onto which have been grafted the wild shoots, the Gentiles.(7) Indeed, the [Roman Catholic] Church believes that by His cross Christ, Our Peace, reconciled Jews and Gentiles. making both one in Himself.(8) (source, emphasis mine).

Now we must ask, does this even remotely sound like the true Gospel? Or is it in reality a capitulation in order to be careful not to upset anyone? Is this man-pleasing and timorous tripe issued from a so-called Vicar of Christ a bold stand like that of Christ Jesus; one willing to be found among those which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake (cf. Matthew 5:10), or is it actually trying to live in “peace” with another religon at the expense of the Truth?

The time has come where we really need to help people see that words like these could never have been uttered by a true Vicar of Christ; of course, there’s only one Vicar of Christ right now anyway—God the Holy Spirit.1 With this all in mind then, there’s little doubt that Pope Francis was not referring to the Muslim Mufti as merely a brother in Adam; but rather, he meant it in the sense of fellow believer in the God of Abraham.2

Read the rest at Apprising Ministries.

Editor's note:  Why is Rome turning a blind eye to the following?:

Pregnant Woman Stoned to Death

1,000 women die in ‘honor killings’ annually.

Islamic preacher's 'disgusting' sermon praising kidnap of Nigerian schoolgirls