Archbishop Charles J. Chaput: The Pope and Other Religions
The Hour Is More Urgent Than We Realize, by Michael Brown
September 10, 2024
Families Are Moving Out of ‘Blue’ States and Heading for Red and Purple, Researchers Find, by Jonah McKeown
September 18, 2024
Pope Francis greets pilgrims at his general audience on Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024, at the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. | Credit: Vatican Media
By Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., First Things, Sept. 16, 2024
Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., is the archbishop emeritus of Philadelphia.
At the end of his recent trip to Singapore, the pope left his prepared remarks for an interreligious group of young people and offered some general reflections about religion. Since his comments were extemporaneous, they naturally lacked the precision that a prepared text would normally possess, and so hopefully what he said is not quite what he meant.
According to news reports, Pope Francis suggested that, “[Religions] are like different languages in order to arrive at God, but God is God for all. Since God is God for all, then we are all children of God.” He went on to say, “If you start to fight, ‘my religion is more important than yours, mine is true and yours isn’t,’ where will that lead us? 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].” The Holy Father’s positive intent here was obvious. …
Related posts
attends a press conference at the North American College April 5, 2005 in Rome. The College of Cardinals met for a second day of talks Tuesday to prepare for the conclave that will elect a successor to Pope John Paul II, and tens of thousands of mourners streamed past the pontiff's crimson-robed body as it lay in state in St. Peter's Basilica.
January 22, 2026
January 22, 2026
