Refuting Mike Gendron's “The Controversial Pope Francis”
(I wrote this in letter format so you can see exactly how Mike Gendron will see it. My responses are in blue.)
Mr. Gendron, in regards to your latest newsletter, I am
genuinely interested in hearing your explanation of why you chose to only report
tiny bits of fact and then mix it with generous amounts of speculation,
unsupported assertion, and logical fallacies.
For example, the very first claim is that Pope Francis suppreses the Truth of God's Word. But doesn't this beg the question (even if not in the formal sense)...who is interpreting the Truth of God's Word, and under what Authority. Doesn't one need to establish that he or she has some authority to interpret God's Word before accusing someone else of suppressing It?
Secondly, please cite, in its full context from an actual Catholic source, ANY Catholic Doctrine which the Pope has opposed or contradicted...and provide the full context of the alleged contradiction/opposition. I believe you will find that this assertion is completely false and unfounded.
For example, the very first claim is that Pope Francis suppreses the Truth of God's Word. But doesn't this beg the question (even if not in the formal sense)...who is interpreting the Truth of God's Word, and under what Authority. Doesn't one need to establish that he or she has some authority to interpret God's Word before accusing someone else of suppressing It?
Secondly, please cite, in its full context from an actual Catholic source, ANY Catholic Doctrine which the Pope has opposed or contradicted...and provide the full context of the alleged contradiction/opposition. I believe you will find that this assertion is completely false and unfounded.
"Pope
Francis is turning out to be one of the most controversial popes in
modern history since his election to the papacy on March 13. During
the four months he has been on the papal throne, he has made numerous
statements that not only suppress the truth of God's Word, but also
oppose the doctrines of the Catholic Church. "
I
believe people can find controversy wherever they want. So far I
have yet to see anything more controversial from this Pope than any
other Pope in modern history. I disagree, wholeheartedly with the
assertions here, but still...let's see what you offer as evidence to
support your assertions, Mr. Gendron.
How
does that suppress the Word of God or oppose Catholic teaching?
Doesn't the Word of God says that we ARE to pray for one another
(Rom15:30, Eph 6:18-19) and show several times where Christians are
praying for, and requesting prayer from, one another (2Thess 1:11,
2Thess 3:1)? Does Scripture say that when we pass on from this life
that we are dead, or that we are alive...that our God is God of the
living (Mk 9:4, Mk 12:26-27)? Does going to be with God make us
ineligible to pray for our brethren on earth? (Chapter and verse
please, Mr. Gendron.)
"Later
he appeared to contradict himself by saying, "He who doesn't
pray to the Lord, prays to the devil." Is the pope saying that
Catholics who pray to Mary and the saints are praying to the devil? "
First
of all, how is it a contradiction to ask Mary for intercession, and
also to pray to God? Are we not allowed to ask for intercessions?
(Chapter and verse please.) Second, I'm not sure if you're “begging
the question”, or committing a fallacy of a “non sequitur”, but
no, the Pope is not saying Catholics pray to the devil when we pray
to the Saints in Heaven. Praying to the Saints in Heaven does not
preclude praying to God, does it? It sure doesn't seem to be an
issue to the Angels and Saints in Heaven who are offering our prayers
to God in Revelation 5:8. Are those Angels cooperating in sin, Mike?
It also didn't seem to be an issue when Mary communicated with the
Angel, instead of talking directly to God, in Lk chapter 1. And it
didn't seem to be an issue when David spoke to Nathan instead of
going straight to God in 2 Sammuel. And it didn't seem to be an issue
for the Israelites to go through the prophets...ad nauseum... Mr.
Gendron, what is the hang-up about asking the Saints in Heaven to
pray for us? Is there some Scriptural prohibition against it that
you can show us?
"In
May, the pope said everyone, even atheists, are redeemed with the
Blood of Christ. The pope followed this heresy with another placating
statement, saying, "If someone is gay and he searches for the
Lord and has good will, who am I to judge?" "
Mr.
Gendron, who did Christ die for? Did He die for the sins of just a
few? Or did He die so that ALL could be saved? And are you saying
that it is a heresy to believe what Christ Himself told the Pharisees
about coming to heal the sick? Did Christ die for ALL those who need
Him, or only for those who are already saved? (Chapter and verse
please.)
Mr.
Gendron, can athiests never come to believe? If not, then what's the
point of spreading the Gospel? Why did Christ command the spreading
of the Gospel to the unbelievers, the Gentiles, the Pagans, all
nations, if they will never believe and if Christ did not die for
them? Did Christ send His Apostles out only to the believers? But
if they can come to believe and be saved, then how is it wrong to say
they have been redeemed? Maybe you have a different definition of
“redeemed”?
And
what is the problem with not judging a person who is gay...who has a
same-sex attraction? Did Christ not tell us not to judge a person?
You seem to be implying that the Pope is okay with the ACT of
homosexual sex. But that's not true, is it Mr. Gendron? In fact,
didn't the Pope, in that very same conversation that you snipped
from, clarify that his whole point is to love the sinner, but hate
the sin? That's the exact message I got from the Pope's comments,
and it's been the consistent teaching of the Church for 2,000 years
now, and is the message in the Gospels. The Pope neither suppressed
the Word of God, nor did he oppose Catholic doctrine.
"Possibly
his most controversial decision was to make the reporting of sex
crimes against children illegal."
WHAT?!
Mr. Gendron, instead of inventing blatant misrepresentations of
half-truths, if there is even that in your claim, how about you
simply provide the facts for your readers. The facts are, that no
other institution in the world, religious or otherwise, has done more
to protect children from abuse and make it easier for clergy, the
laity, and children and parents to recognize signs of abuse. The
facts are that the Church has established a zero-tolerance policy
when it comes to abuse, handing over to authorities any Priest who is
legitimately accused of such behavior, and has even gone so far as to
change its Canon Law to make it easier to punish accused
Priests...even if there is not enough evidence for a civil
prosecution. The facts are that the Church has taken aggressive
proactive steps to ensure that it is the safest place for children.
Mr. Gendron, what has your church done to be proactive in this area?
Has your church volunteered itself to be put under the scrutiny of
outside investigative studies, such as the John Jay Report? Has your
church instructed millions of children and adults in how to recognize
abuse? Has your church installed Victim Assistance Coordinators to
ensure that every victim is heard? Has your church educated its
members to know that the majority of abuse of this nature takes place
at home, by married men, and that children are 100 times more likely
to be abused at their public schools than by a Catholic Priest? Mr.
Gendron, why hasn't EVERY institution, religious or otherwise, taken
such aggressive and proactive measures to protect our children?
(Source: http://www.themediareport.com/fast-facts/
)
"The
Vatican also jumped on the heretical bandwagon last month by offering
indulgences, to reduce time in purgatory, to those who follow Pope
Francis on Twitter during World Youth Day. As foolish as this sounds
to intelligent people, we must wonder if Catholics will ever wake up
and realize their religion teaches a false and fatal gospel that
leads them on the broad road to destruction? How many more blatantly
false teachings must come out of the Vatican before Catholics realize
they have been deceived about life's most critical issue, the
salvation of their soul?
Catholics,
who believe a purifying fire will purge away their sins, are deluded
victims of a fatal fabrication. The diabolical invention of a place
for the purification of sins called Purgatory is not only a flagrant
denial of the sufficiency of Jesus Christ, but also a blasphemous
rejection of His precious blood as the only purification for sin (1
John 1:7)."
Wait,
so teaching something [Purgatory] that is not only in the Scriptures,
but also rooted deeply in ancient Christianity, and in fact mentioned
as in passing...as though it were just common knowledge, and has
never been challenged up until the 16th century is
heretical? Scripture, the Word of God, completely fabricated a
place where a man, after he has died, and is saved, can suffer loss
as through fire (1Cor 3:13-15)? God was just fabricating facts when
He inspired the authors to explain how David was punished for his
sin, AFTER he had been forgiven (2Sam 12:13-18)? The Apostle John
simply fabricated the fact that nothing unclean shall enter into
Heaven, and Jesus was just making things up when He said to be
“perfect” (Rev 21:27)? Was Paul just kidding around, making up
heretical ideas, when he said there is a place or a process whereby
the SPIRITS of just men are made perfect (Heb 12:22-23)?
Mr.
Gendron, you are misrepresenting the facts again. It almost seems
like you do this in purpose, as though you want to make the Church
look bad, even if you have to twist Truth into untruth to do so. Is
that what you are doing Mr. Gendron, or did you honestly just not
take the time to carefully read and check your sources? I know that
you have been provided the correct explanation of Purgatory, which
you misrepresented some time ago, by a Mr. John Martignoni. Did you
not read his letters? He clearly spelled out the Scriptural and
historical basis, and the actual Catholic Doctrine on
Purgatory...which you still misrepresent to this day. Can you
please, for the sake of your readers, provide them the ENTIRE quotes
from the Catholic Encyclopedia or Catechism so that tey can see it in
proper context, with their own eyes, and read it for themselves. Why
do you only want to show them the cherry-picked word or two that you
snatched out of half a sentence and then twisted around to say
something that it doesn't really say in context...and then apply your
own personal interpretation onto that misrepresentation? Do you not
trust your readers with the Truth?
"The
concept of Purgatory became a Catholic doctrine around 600 A.D. due
to the fanaticism of Pope Gregory the Great. He developed the
doctrine through visions of a purifying fire. According to the
Catholic Encyclopedia, Pope Gregory said Catholics "will expiate
their faults by purgatorial flames," and "the pain is more
intolerable than any one can suffer in this life." Centuries
later, at the Council of Florence in 1431, Purgatory was pronounced
an infallible dogma."
Actually,
Mike, the concept of Purgatory dates back to the Jews, is found in
Scripture, and can be found as early as the 2nd
century mentioned casually, as in passing. I'll spare you my own
long-winded response, and just provide you 2 of several links. The
contents should sound familiar because Mr. Martignoni and other
well-meaning Catholics have provided you with the same information in
the past...which you obviously ignored.
http://forums.catholic.com/showthread.php?t=813417
(See especially post #4)
"Over
the centuries, billions of dollars have been paid to Roman Catholic
priests to obtain relief from sufferings in Purgatory's fire. The
Catholic clergy has taught that purchasing indulgences, novenas and
Mass
cards
can
shorten the period of suffering in Purgatory. When a Catholic dies,
money is extracted from mourning loved ones to shorten the deceased's
punishment in Purgatory. We have heard of Catholics who have willed
their entire estates to their religion so that perpetual masses could
be offered for them after they die. It is no wonder that the Catholic
religion has become the richest institution in the world. The buying
and selling of God's forgiveness has been a very lucrative business
for the Vatican.
Another
motivation for Rome to fabricate the heretical doctrine of Purgatory
is its powerful effect on controlling people. Ultimately, the
enslavement and subjugation of people is the goal of every false
religion, and Purgatory does exactly that. The concept of a
terrifying prison with a purging fire, governed by religious leaders,
is a most brilliant invention. It holds people captive, not only in
this life but also in the next life. Catholic clergy will not say how
many years people have to suffer for their sins or how many Masses
must be purchased before they can be released from the flames. This
dreadful fear and uncertainty is the most ruthless form of religious
bondage and deception! Only the truth of God's Word will set
Catholics free from the bondage of deception. May all Christians
lovingly confront them with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Click
here
to see our latest broadcast on the pope's statements."
Again,
Mr. Gendron, both of these paragraphs were addressed directly and
thoroughly by Mr. Martignoni here:
http://www.biblechristiansociety.com/newsletter/detail/195
so there's no reason for you to have to listen to me explain it
again.
You
make a lot of spurious claims with no source to back it up, and try
to make the Church look sinister for doing exactly what the
Scriptures model for us. Tell me Mr. Gendron, do you accept money
for your services? Or do you work for free? Would you or your
pastor reject a stipend from family members who want to give you
something for performing a funeral service? And can you do your
readers a favor and trace all these “billions of dollars” that
have gone to Roman Catholic Priests and show us, with actual source
data, how much money we are really talking about per
Priest, per year, and
how that money is spent (such as, helping the poor and infirm, paying
the electricity bills for the building used during the ceremony,
etc...)? Then offer a comparison to every non-Catholic preacher and
do the same tracking.
Mr.
Gendron, whether you are doing it intentionally or not, you are
misrepresenting the Catholic Church...bearing false witness against
Catholics. In other words, you are helping, whether intentionally or
not, to propagate lies. You are not doing anyone any favors by doing
that, except the “father of lies”. Please be more careful that
you correctly represent Catholic Doctrine, and allow your readers to
make well informed decisions, based on actual Catholic Doctrine from
actual Catholic sources in their full context.
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