Leo XIV
THE “WORLD’S POPE”
So the world’s got a new “Pope”.
Because Roman Catholicism is the largest Christian denomination in the United States – and perhaps the world – and because Roman Catholics live in almost every nation, and certainly in every continent, the world can claim “Robert Francis Prevost”, now “Pope Leo the XIV”, as the “World’s Pope”, as the news has already reported.
Robert Prevost was born in Chicago, Illinois, but eventually lived and worked in the Vatican. He was considered the “Least American” of the “U.S. Cardinals”. He worked for a decade in “Trujillo, Peru”, and was later appointed bishop of “Chiclayo”, another Peruvian city, where he served from 2014 to 2023. He speaks fluent Spanish and Italian – both of which he displayed during his first address to the public in St Peter’s Square.
Even though he was on nobody’s “Radar”, as the next coming “Pope” the late the late Pope Francis respected him and thought of him very highly, according to CNN’s Vatican correspondent, Christopher Lamb said that “Clearly Pope Francis saw something in him”. I believe He saw himself in the then Cardinal Robert Prevost.
And that is a frightening thing. Why? Because both men seem to advocate for a kind of “Revolutionary Theology”. For instance, Pope Francis said fairly lately in his life: “If I see the Gospel in a societal way only, yes, I am a communist, and so too is Jesus”. I would guess that there’s only a relatively small percentage of adult Roman Catholics who think of Jesus as a “Communist”! There are only three other nations that have more Roman Catholics in the nation, than the United States: Brazil, Mexico, and the Philippines, and none of them are inclined towards communism, and I would guess that only a small percentage of the Roman Catholics in these three nations see Jesus as a “Communist”. But what does this mean? What would it mean to America and the world if Jesus was a communist?
STALIN DEFINED WHAT IT MEANT TO BE A COMMUNIST
Stalin was the ultimate in Soviet communist dictators, the person even more responsible than Marx, Engels, or Lenin, for defining what it meant to be a “Communist”. Among other things, Stalin, who, early in life, attended a seminary but was a devout atheist, as well as someone who welcomed the opportunity to suppress Christianity, when it suited him.
However, He also blatantly used the “Russian Orthodox Church” – especially during World War II, when the Nazis looked like they were winning. He knew that most Russians were secretly Christians, so he restored the priesthood to help him hold the country together.
NO HISTORIAN BELIEVES THAT HITLER KILLED MORE PEOPLE THAN STALIN
Setting aside the faith – or lack of in the Soviet Union, Stalin was a monster. As the communist dictator of the USSR, from the 1920s to the early 1950s, it meant that Stalin, the communist, was at least twice as effective in killing tens of millions of people as was Hitler, the Nazi. It is believed that Stalin killed between 20 million and 60 million people, most of them citizens of the Soviet Union. Part of the variance of the number of people killed by Stalin is due to Stalin’s horrific purges, both pre-war and post-war World War II. In the early 1930s, Stalin imposed a famine on the Ukrainians, nearly a decade before Hitler attacked Soviet Russia. And in just two years, Stalin manufactured famine, killing 7.5 million Ukrainians.
Another big addition to Stalin’s death toll were the millions of Soviet soldiers, who had been Nazi – held prisoners of war. As soon as the war was over, Stalin apparently feared that millions of prisoners who had survived Hitler’s death camps may have been corrupted by “Western Values”. These men, instead of being liberated, had to be “Purged” (Killed). Also, 6 million Jews, 5.7 million Soviet citizens, 2.9 million Soviet prisoners of war, 1.8 million non-Jewish Poles, 375,000 gypsies (Roma), 312,000 Serb citizens, 250,000 physically or mentally disabled persons – mostly German, 70,000 repeat criminal defenders,1,900 Jehovah’s Witnesses (Because of their conscientious objectors status to war).
* BUT OF ALL THE SOCIETAL/ THEOLOGICAL VIEWS OF THE PAST “POPES”, WHAT I DISAGREE MOST VIGOROUSLY, IS THE TITLE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC POPES HAVE CARRIED, FROM THE 1300S TO TODAY, AND THAT IS THE TITLE – “THE VICAR OF CHRIST”!
THE TITLE OF THE POPE – AS “THE VICAR OF CHRIST”
MATTHEW 24:4 – “And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you”.
* MATTHEW 24:5 – “For many shall come in my NAME (THE PROPER NAME OR THE AUTHORITY OF), saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many”.
* WHO HAS CAME IN CHRIST JESUS’ “NAME” – CLAIMING TO BE CHRIST JESUS? DID YOU KNOW THAT THE POPES OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH, THROUGHOUT THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH, CLAIM TO BE “CHRIST ON THE EARTH”?
JOHN 5:43 – “I am come in my Father’s NAME (AUTHORITY), and ye received me not: if ANOTHER shall come in his own name, him ye will receive”.
JOHN 5:44 – “How can ye believe, which receive honor one of another, and seek not the honor that cometh from God only”?
IS THE POPE THE “VICAR OF CHRIST”?
The term “VICAR” comes from the Latin word “VICARIUS”, which means “INSTEAD OF”. In the Roman Catholic Church, the “VICAR” IS “A REPRESENTATIVE OF A HIGHER RANKING OFFICIAL, WITH THE LOWER RANKING REPRESENTATIVE, HAVING ALL THE SAME AUTHORITY AND POWER OF THE HIGHER RANKING OFFICIAL”. Calling the/any “Pope” the “VICAR OF CHRIST” implies that he has the same POWER AND AUTHORITY THAT CHRIST JESUS HAS HAD FOR ALMOST 2,000 YEARS!
THE TITLE “VICAR OF CHRIST” IS DERIVED FROM JESUS’ WORDS IN JOHN 21:15-17:
JOHN 21:15 – “So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He says unto him, Yea Lord; thou knowest that I love thee, He saith unto him, FEED MY LAMBS”.
JOHN 21:16 – “He (Christ Jesus) saith unto him (Simon Peter) again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, FEED MY SHEEP”.
JOHN 21:17 – “He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto Him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said it to Him, LORD, THOU KNOWEST ALL THING; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, FEED MY SHEEP”.
Jesus says to Peter, “Feed my lambs… Feed my sheep”. This, according to the Roman Catholic Church’s reasoning, defines Peter as the “Prince of the Apostles”, the first “Pope” (Even though there’s no evidence that Simon Peter was ever in Rome, in his life)., and fulfills the words of Jesus in MATTHEW 16:18-19, calling Peter “The Rock upon which Jesus will build His church and giving him the keys to the kingdom of Heaven”.
The better understanding, whether or not this is Biblical, is to consider THAT A MERE MAN IS THE “VICAR OF CHRIST” ( WITH THE SAME POWER AND AUTHORITY); we turn the past pages of Scripture to find out what it says about Jesus’s role in our lives when he walked the earth and what he continues to do right now.
In the letter to the Hebrews, it draws the comparison between Jesus and the high priest Melchizedek (GENESIS 14) and contrasts this with the old “Levitical priesthood”. The question posed is, “If perfection could be obtained by following the Law, why was another priest to come” (HEBREWS 7:11)?
The writer says, “For it is clear that our Lord descended from the tribe of Judah (Not from the tribe of Levi), and regarding that tribe of Judah, Moses said nothing about priests, for the tribe of Judah. And what the Scriptures say is even clearer if another priest like “Melchizedek” would appear – one who has become a “Priest”, not on the basis of a regulation, or as of his ancestry, but on the basis of the “POWER OF AN INDESTRUCTABLE LIFE (HAVING ETERNAL LIFE). For it is declared, “Ye are a high priest forever in the order of Melchizedek”. The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless, and the Law made nothing perfect. We now have a better “Hope”, which is introduced by which we can draw near to God (HEBREWS 7:14-19).
What makes Jesus superior to the “Priests” and, more importantly, the “High Priest”? The key text is this: “Now there have been many of these priests, but since death prevented them from continuing in office and because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore, He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them (HEBREWS 7:23-25)!
This means that Jesus is our “High Priest” forever. Since He is Holy, blameless, pure, set apart for sinners, and exalted above the heavens” (HEBREWS 7:26). He is unlike other priests, in that He does not need to offer sacrifices, day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. Christ Jesus He sacrificed His life, for OUR SINS – ONCE AND FOR ALL TIME, when He offered Himself (HEBREWS 7:27). Men are appointed by the law, and men are weak. But the “SON OF GOD” was appointed by the “New Covenant”, and He has been made perfect forever (HEBREWS 7:28). The ministry of Christ Jesus is superior to the old, and it is founded on better promises (HEBREWS 8:6).
The Bible says of Jesus, that there is “No other name by which men can be saved” (ACTS 4:12). There is only ONE “MEDIATOR” BETWEEN GOD AND MANKIND – AND THAT IS CHRIST JESUS (1 TIMOTHY 2:5). We can now see, that there is no Biblical foundation, for claiming to be a “Representative of Christ on Earth”. No man could do what Christ Jesus has done, or what Christ Jesus is now doing, on behalf of mankind. But the title of “VICAR” also carries with it another implication: That the bearer has the same judicial power as the official he represents. In Matthew 16:18, Christ Jesus says He will build His church; he never delegates His power. By claiming the title of “VICAR OF CHRIST”, the reigning pope is, in fact, promising to do what Christ Jesus promised.
CHRIST JESUS DOES PREDICT A “VICAR” FOR CHRIST JESUS, INSTEAD OF HIS PHYSICAL PRESENCE HERE ON EARTH!
Christ Jesus does indeed predict a “VICAR”, in the sense of a replacement for His physical presence here on earth. However, this “VICAR OF CHRIST” is not a priest, a High Priest, a Bishop, a Cardinal, or the “Pope”. The only Biblical “VICAR OF CHRIST” IS THE HOLY SPIRIT!
THE ONLY “VICAR OF CHRIST” IS THE HOLY GHOST
JOHN 14:16 – “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever”:
JOHN 14:17 – “Even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because He it sees Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; FOR HE DWELLS WITH YOU, AND SHALL BE IN YOU”.
JOHN 14:18 – “I will not leave you comfortless: I WILL COME TO YOU”.
JOHN 14:26 – “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my NAME, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you”.
The Holy Spirit is Christ Jesus’ “REPLACEMENT”, here on the earth. The Holy Spirit is our “Counselor” and “Teacher” (JOHN 14:26) and “GUIDE TO ALL TRUTH” (JOHN 16:13).
And claiming that the “Pope” is the “VICAR OF CHRIST”, the Roman Catholic Church, rejects the sufficiency and the supremacy of Christ Jesus’ ETERNAL PRIESTHOOD, and grants to the “Pope” roles that Christ Jesus Himself declared would belong only to the Holy Spirit. It is therefore blasphemy to describe the “Pope” as the “VICAR OF CHRIST”!
