Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born of Italian parents in Buenos Aires, Argentina. in 1936. He was elevated to the papacy in March of 2013 at the age of 76.

He was a first in several respects. He was the first Jesuit to become Pope. He was also the first from Latin America. Further, he was the first to be born and raised outside of Europe, since the Syrian Pope Gregory III in the 8th Century.

Pope Francis

Bergoglio was also the first Pope to select the name of Francis. He did so because he so highly respected Saint Francis of Assisi who devoted his life to the poor. As Bergoglio put it, “Saint Francis brought to Christianity an idea of poverty apart from luxury, pride and vanity . . .”

The name fit the new Pope well because he had developed a reputation for being a humble man who had a heart for social justice and who devoted himself to caring for the poor. Accordingly, after he was elected Pope, he refused to live in the luxurious Apostolic Palace. He resided instead in the Vatican guest house. He came to be known as the “No Frills Pope” due to his common touch and his accessability.

Pope Francis’ focus on the poor and social justice grew out of his involvement in Liberation Theology which swept the Catholic Church in Latin America during the 1960s. It proved to be a more radical form of what was called “The Social Gospel” which captivated many of the mainline Protestant denominations in the United States during the 1920s. In both cases, concern for social justice ended up triumphing over evangelism.

Vocal Blunders

It did not take long for Pope Francis to develop a reputation for “shooting from the hip.” This tendency on his part kept the Vatican busy because every time he would make an off-the-wall statement, the Vatican would have to call a press conference to explain that he did not mean what he said!

Many of his bizarre statements were just downright silly, as when, in May 2014, he proclaimed that he would be willing to baptize aliens from Mars. Or, when in July 2016 he said, “I do not believe it is right to identify Islam with violence.”

It was his theological declarations that caused the most concern — among both Catholics and Protestants. Many of these were so weird that Mike Gendron, a former Catholic and now a missionary to Catholics, was prompted to write a scathing essay titled, “Is the Pope Still Catholic?” Mike concluded that essay with this observation: “Pope Francis has become the most influential and dangerous false teacher in the world.” Was that overkill? I don’t think so.

Let’s consider some of the Pope’s statements over the past 12 years:

• In May of 2013, Pope Francis said that atheists could go to Heaven “if they lead good and honorable lives.”
• In July of 2013, when asked if homosexuals could serve as priests, he replied: “If someone is gay and he searches for the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?”
• In October of 2013, he declared that proselytism is “solemn nonsense.”
• In June 2015, he proclaimed pollution to be a sin and called for an international agreement to combat global warming.
• In September 2015, he slammed Capitalism, calling it an “economy of exclusion and inequality.” He also said that Capitalism is the “dung of the devil.”
• In November of 2015, he proclaimed that “Christians and Muslims are brothers and sisters.”
• In June 2016, Pope Francis issued his first video. In it, he expressed his belief that all the major religions are different paths to the same God. Following this shocking revelation, the video featured persons from different world religions expressing confidence in their various gods. The video then closed with the Pope expressing his belief that regardless of religious profession, “we are all children of God.”
• In October 2020, the Pope issued an encyclical in which he called on people to ditch Capitalism, support open borders, and reject the traditional Christian doctrine of “Just War.”
• In May of 2023, he emphasized “doing good” as the principle that unites all humanity. He added, “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the blood of Christ — not just Catholics. Everyone! Even the atheists. Everyone! . . . We must meet one another doing good.”
• In December 2023, he authorized priests to bless same-sex couples.
• In September 2024, he declared that those who “kick out migrants” are against life as much as “the ones that kill babies.”

Still Relying on Good Works

These many statements indicate clearly that Pope Francis is still captivated by the traditional Catholic doctrine of salvation by good works. But he goes even further by applying the principle to all religions! This gross violation of biblical teaching reminds me of a statement I once heard Skip Heitzig make. He is the pastor of Calvary Chapel in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Pastor Heitzig said, “Heaven is not for good people. Heaven is for saved people.”

The apostasy of Pope Francis was reinforced recently when he boldly proclaimed that there are many different roads to God. He made this declaration while speaking in Singapore in September of 2024. Specifically, he said, “There’s only one God, and each of us has a language to arrive at God. Some are Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, and they are different paths [to God].” Actually, this was nothing new for him. It was simply a more precise definition of what he had proclaimed in his infamous video of June 2016.

A Long Apostate Trend

When you combine his belief in people earning salvation through good works with his conviction that all religions lead to the same God (including Atheism) it appears that he is actually a Universalist — that is, a person who believes in the ultimate salvation of all people.

Actually, the Pope’s endorsement of “many roads to God” is not all that much a radical departure from actions by the popes who preceded him. Francis simply made clear what his predecessors had implied for the previous 50 years.

The apostate shift began in October of 1958 when Pope John XXIII took over the papacy. Shortly after his election, he called for the convening of a Vatican Council. His purpose was to revitalize the Catholic Church by adapting its doctrines and liturgical practices to modern times. After three years of preparations, the Council convened in October of 1962. The first session continued until the death of Pope John in June of 1963. The second session resumed immediately after the election of Pope Paul VI in the same month and continued until December of 1965.

In one of the Council’s most important declarations, Luman Gentium, the following proclamation was made: “. . . the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator. In the first place amongst these there are the Muslims, who, professing to hold the faith of Abraham, along with us adore the one and merciful God, who on the last day will judge mankind.“

This statement represented a profound departure from the Scriptures. It granted salvation to members of a religion that denies the divinity of Jesus and also denies that He died on the Cross for the salvation of Mankind. Further, it equates the false god of Allah with the true biblical God of the Bible named Yahweh.

This blasphemous document continued to extend the possibility of salvation to other non-Christians as well: “Those also can attain to salvation who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God and, moved by grace, strive by their deeds to do His will as it is known to them through the dictates of conscience.“

Again, these statements seemed to offer salvation to anyone living a life of good works. Both concepts were actually added to the revised Catholic Catechism of 1992

Section 847 extended salvation to those who were unaffiliated with any religion, based upon “their actions.”

Pope Paul VI died in August of 1978 and was succeeded by Pope John Paul who died 33 days later of a heart attack. He, in turn, was succeeded by John Paul II, who shifted the Catholic Church into high gear regarding ecumenism with other religions.

Pope John Paul II

John Paul II, who was only 58 years old when he became pope, was to have a profound influence on the Catholic Church, not only because he was a progressive, but also because he reigned longer than any pope in modern history — a total of 27 years (1978-2005). During that time, he took his message personally to 129 countries!

In his early years, Pope John Paul II expressed his admiration of Islam on several occasions, stressing that “both of us [Muslims and Christians] believe in one God, the only God.”

He muddied the waters further when he addressed 30,000 pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square in December 2000. He told the multitude that “all who live a just life will be saved, even if they do not believe in Jesus Christ and the Roman Catholic Church.” The Pope added, “The gospel teaches that those who live in accordance with the Beatitudes . . . will enter God’s kingdom.” He concluded by observing that all that is needed for salvation is “a sincere heart.”

Of course, no Scripture references were given to substantiate these completely unscriptural opinions.

The Assisi Conferences

John Paul’s radical commitment to ecumenism shifted into high gear in 1986 when he suddenly issued a call for all the religious leaders of the world to join him in Assisi, Italy, in October to pray for world peace. He emphasized that the participants would be free to pray to their own gods — as if other gods exist besides Yahweh!

A total of 160 religious leaders from all over the world accepted the Pope’s invitation. There were Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox Christians, as well as representatives of Hinduism, Judaism, Islam and Buddhism. The Dalai Lama, whose followers considered him to be a god, showed up, as did an African animist witch doctor. The person who stole the show was a Crow Indian from Montana named Pretty-on-Top. He was dressed in his full native attire and chanted prayers to his sky-god as he danced.

John Paul repeated the bizarre event in January of 2002 — again, in Assisi. That time, over 200 religious leaders were present.

In June of 2011, Pope Benedict XVI decided to renew the “spirit of Assisi” by calling for a celebration of the 25st anniversary of the first gathering. It was held in Assisi in October, and for the first time, agnostics were invited to attend. Explaining this unusual invitation, Pope Benedict said, “Even though they have not received the gift of faith, they are nevertheless on the lookout for truth, searching for God.”

Pope Francis gave the “spirit of Assisi” his endorsement in September of 2016 when he convened a 30th anniversary celebration.

The Climax of Catholic Apostasy

These outreaches to world religions, regardless of the gods they worship, have now come to a climax with Pope Francis’ proclamation that all religions are roads to the same God.

This proclamation makes a mockery of the sacrifice of Jesus. It also makes Jesus a liar when He proclaimed, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but though Me” (John 14:6). Further, it is directly contrary to the Apostle Peter’s declaration that “There is salvation in no one else [except Jesus]; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). It also renders all mission work irrelevant since it maintains that a person can be saved through any religion, whether it be by Buddha or the sky-god of the Crow Indians.

In short, Pope Francis is guilty of blaspheming the blood of Jesus!

The movement of the Catholic Church in the direction it is now going is a fulfillment of Bible prophecy. The Bible teaches that the Church of the end-times will be wallowing in apostasy, proclaiming “doctrines of demons” (1 Timothy 4:11). And the book of Revelation teaches that the Antichrist’s rise to power will be aided by the leader of a false world religion, pictured in Revelation as a harlot (Revelation 17:1).

I have always believed the leader of the one world church will be the Pope, and I am now more convinced than ever before. Revelation reveals that this religious leader will grow in power and influence until the Antichrist decides to rid himself of him. In Revelation 18:16, we are told the Antichrist will destroy this church and replace it with a new one-world religion headed up by his False Prophet.

As is the case with the end-time signs of society, weather, technology, world politics, and Israel, the spiritual signs are coalescing before our very eyes, indicating that we are the terminal generation who will experience the Lord’s return. Maranatha!

Dr. David Reagan founded Lamb And Lion Ministries in 1980, which he led for 41 years; he is a well-known author, writer, and speaker, with his latest work featured on DocReagan.com. He is also a contributor to Harbinger’s Daily, from which this article is reprinted.