All religions are a path to God?

[SunshineBre88]

Hello,

I keep seeing youtube videos in my feed saying that Pope Francis declared that all religions are a path to God. I'm a bit confused by this, given what I've learned of the faith so far, and this doesn't seem to mesh with doctrine. How can we reconcile this with Jesus saying that he is "the truth, the way and the life"?

[anawim]

In the sense that a longing for, and a belief in, God can lead to the fullness of truth, then yes. The Catechism, quoting LG 15, states:

843 The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as "a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life.

But if other beliefs are the end game, then no.

846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers? 335 Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:

Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.

[gherkin]

I only read this pretty quickly, but it seemed pretty solid to me: https://www.catholicworldreport.com/202 ... hs-to-god/

[peregrinator]

Hello,

I keep seeing youtube videos in my feed saying that Pope Francis declared that all religions are a path to God. I'm a bit confused by this, given what I've learned of the faith so far, and this doesn't seem to mesh with doctrine. How can we reconcile this with Jesus saying that he is "the truth, the way and the life"?

We cannot, what Pope Francis said (regardless of what he meant) was wrong.

[Doom]

Given the question of the multiple attempts at translation of what he said, isn’t it the case that a spontaneous translation done in the moment is not likely to be all that accurate and that one done after spending some time considering the issue is probably better?

If a scholar produces a translation of the encyclicals of John Paul II and then 5 years later produces a second translation which makes thousands of changes, is it fair to assume that he produced the second edition to “smooth over” problems with the original text?

In general the assumption that when the translation of a papal address is changed that this is done to try to cover up problems word what was said is a very uncharitable assumption. It just happens to be the case that quickie translations are not inclined to be all that accurate. Translation requires careful consideration and thought. It is not as if Francis is the first Pope in history that has had multiple translation attempts.

[gherkin]

I'm not an Italian speaker, but the appearance is that the intial translation, though not literal, was accurate enough. Then it was modified by the addition of words clearly not found in the Italian. Then it was changed back. This doesn't seem like a case where there are subtle nuances at stake in figuring out what the proper translation is. It seems like a case where there was an adequate and accurate translation, which was then altered to change its apparent meaning, and then was finally altered back to the original adequate and accurate translation.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

Spanish, surely.

[gherkin]

I dunno why I thought it was Italian. Maybe it just looked Italian to me. "Tutte le religioni sono un cammino per arrivare a Dio." But Spanish and Italian probably look pretty similar to people who speak neither. Could be Spanish. Could be Japanese.

[Obi-Wan Kenobi]

That might be Italian. I only know English and Finnish.

[peregrinator]

Spanish, surely.

I'm pretty sure the Pope gave his speech in Italian.

[Bartholomew]

Maybe Pope Francis forgot about John 14:6... lol.

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.'"

[Peetem]

We are obligated to give the most charitable interpretation of what the Pope says and assume he's being misunderstood or taken out of context.

That being said, I'm running out of charity these days.

[peregrinator]

We are obligated to give the most charitable interpretation of what the Pope says and assume he's being misunderstood or taken out of context.

Right, and then we can look at the Pope's actual words and see that he's neither being misunderstood nor taken out of context. (And actually, to assume that his words are being taken out of context is not charitable to those who are reporting those words.)

It was popular when I first came into the Church to say that Catholicism didn't require that one check one's brain at the door, yet this is what the current crop of Popesplainers want us to do.

[Niceclo]

This is exactly the topic I've been looking for!

I like " by Bartholomew » Wed Dec 18, 2024 8:03 am

Maybe Pope Francis forgot about John 14:6... lol.

"Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.'" "

This past year I've been being called to the Lord. Not having been to church in decades. I frequently now attend but am having difficulty contending with the idea that there are SO many different religions, and I see them separate from one another. Doesn't Jesus say we all should become one. An ex roman catholic priest (now doing episcopal sermons) told me that roman catholics think their way is the only way. My confusion comes from, if all the different denominations (baptist, angelican, catholic, lutheran ect..) believe in God, Jesus, doing good, and we inevitably sin; but repent for it. Then how can one be on the track to heaven and the other not, when in both of these "sectors" they are doing what they believe to be their way to live their life and go to heaven according to the bible.

(I'd like to keep it within the above context, currently disregarding people's faith corresponding to their geographical location at birth; there's obviously religions that believe in God(s) entirely separate from above, and those followers are just as devout as any other person and their faith/belief)

Thank you, I am very grateful for a forum community such as this

[Inthepews]

I believe Jesus is the highest priest, not pope Francis or anyone else for that matter.

One of the old school priests at my church told me “not all popes are good popes” and I think that is fine. It is a thing of beauty.

Another thought is that during mass there is always a segment of prayer when we pray for the pope and we pray for the cardinal, bishops and other clergy. I understand the importance of that part of mass. It’s because of the very real fact that evil is part of our faith and the most important people within the church can be most susceptible.

[Niceclo]

You speak beautifully in the house.

[Peetem]

I frequently now attend but am having difficulty contending with the idea that there are SO many different religions, and I see them separate from one another. Doesn't Jesus say we all should become one. An ex roman catholic priest (now doing episcopal sermons) told me that roman catholics think their way is the only way. My confusion comes from, if all the different denominations (baptist, angelican, catholic, lutheran ect..) believe in God, Jesus, doing good, and we inevitably sin; but repent for it. Then how can one be on the track to heaven and the other not, when in both of these "sectors" they are doing what they believe to be their way to live their life and go to heaven according to the bible.

John 17:21: "I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one"

If we look to the OT we see Israel often strayed and didn't remain as one. The Northern Kingdom dissipated and were lost.

So, I'm not surprised there are all these other Christian denominations. Lack of unity is one result (of multitudes) of the fall and original sin. Furthermore, St. Augustine, amongst many Church Fathers and Doctors, teach that few are saved.

All that being said - Scripture teaches we should believe, repent, and be baptized to be saved. The RCC is the best "vehicle" for these three things because unity, authority, and especially the sacraments, are the perfect means to do these three things. Proper "belief" (e.g., acceptance of all dogma's of Christianity, not just belief Christ is the savior; demons believe Christ is the savior) is maintained by humility and that means submission to authority. There's a reason "Honor thy father and mother" follow the first three commandments. The Church is our spiritual parent and submission to that parent's authority assures we "believe" the correct dogma's.

[Highlander]

That might be Italian. I only know English and Finnish.

Ciertamente no es español.