Earth to WYD: God Permits, Not Desires, Many Religions, by Dr. Jeff Mirus

By Dr. Jeff Mirus, Catholic Culture,  Jul 13, 2023

Anyone who has read and believed the history of the Jews in the Old Testament knows that God abhors false religions. Anyone who has read and believed the words of Christ in the New Testament knows that he who rejects Christ’s messengers rejects Christ, and that Christ has commissioned the Church to preach the Gospel to the whole world. One wonders, then, how the head of World Youth Day in 2023—Lisbon’s Auxiliary Bishop and Cardinal-designate Américo Alves Aguiar—can announce proudly that the purpose of WYD is not to convert young people. Rather, its purpose is to get young people of all faiths and no faith to feel comfortable with each other.

And then, of course, he referred to Pope Francis’ 2020 encyclical on Social Friendship (Fratelli tutti). But what Cardinal-designate Aguiar calls even more to mind is the famous joint statement Pope Francis signed with the Grand Imam of Al-Azhar in 2019, Human Fraternity for World Peace and Living Together, which states: “The pluralism and the diversity of religions, color, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings.” …