With the surprise election in Rome of the new pope very little will change, it is being suggested. On the other hand, the new man (Francis and not Peter II) could be a closet liberal, with reforming plans for his church, rather like John XXIII did in the 1960s.

Today instead of the mysterious so-called “black pope” we now see the arrival of the “white pope,” and a member of the Jesuit order for the first time, so two for the price of one. Was Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio’s victory a gesture from the conclave towards the 40% Argentineans still claiming to be Roman Catholic. Yet the Bible-based evangelical faith is catching up and quickly it seems, much to the annoyance of the Catholic bishops of that country and the Vatican as well.

The new man does, however, bring some Argentine baggage with him, not least his health and age 76-years-old, and apparently running on one lung, this could be viewed as a handicap, especially if he is to bring out his papal broom and sweep the curia stable clean, as many in his church hope for, easier said than done, you might think.

Yet none of his published good works i.e., taking public transport, living in a one-room apartment flat, doing his own shopping will save him or others from the waiting fires of eternal Hell. He has to repent now and become born again. By all means, visit the Aids clinics and prisons but preach the good news of the Bible and not the Catholic Catechism.

Added controversy over his alleged actions and collusion in the so-called “dirty war” of the 1973-1983 military dictatorship, that allowed murder, promoted baby kidnapping and the disappearance of so many (remember the protesting mothers in the square) is still remembered today with equal bitterness, could still surface in the future as well as his popular pro-government views of the ongoing Falklands/Argentina dispute, that could sour relations with the British Government in the future.

His conservative approach on moral issues in his church today may be quietly watered down in the future if indeed he is allowed to pursue them.

One also wonders if he will actually dismiss those cardinals and the other corrupt Curia members, that will watch and scrutinize his every move, as happened with John Paul I. Will there be an open audit of the Vatican money accounts that circle the globe like an octopus; will there be transparency in the Vatican’s secretive corridors or just traditional moves to passive secrecy; and the shame in the sexual scandals of the worldwide child abuse cases, still sadly being brought to light.

This must be all very daunting to any man half his age and it may well be that within six months Jorge Bergoglio might just wish he was again on the number 178 bus in Buenos Aires, using his old bus pass and gazing back to those happy days in the old country, when he was just a simple cardinal, if there is such a thing, performing his good works, yet still remaining unsaved in performing religious rituals that cannot save or offer eternal salvation.

As Romans 6.23 reminds us: “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Never by religion or its replicas.

Update: May 2013

It didn’t take long for the new pope to not only start regurgitating the old heresy, of ‘only those in the Catholic ecumenical one-world order religion can be saved,’ but over the past few days, he has started using the blasphemous ‘broken cross,’ a satanic symbol, dating back to the sixth century. Some commentators even suggest it represents the mark of the beast. But either way, images of the Godhead are prohibited in Scripture.

And then as is typical in the Catholic system, he completely contradicted himself, when he stated how ‘even atheists can be saved.’ He went on to say, “Even them, everyone…we all have the duty to do good…just do good and we’ll find a meeting point.”

Such double-talk is not only dangerous and deceptive but it is also blasphemous because the Bible makes it very clear that only sinners that are born again, will be saved.

 

GPB

14/3/13

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