CHARISMATICS PRAY OVER POPE FRANCIS (Friday Church News Notes, August 8, 2014,www.wayoflife.org,fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - On June 1, more than 50,000 charismatic Catholics attended a rally at Rome’s Olympic Stadium. One highlight of the event was a special prayer for Pope Francis to be “filled with the Spirit.” As he knelt by his papal chair, the crowd murmured charismatic prayers, including gibberish “tongues,” and “sang in the spirit.” Many, including bishops and cardinals, raised their hands toward the pope (“How Pope Francis Reacted,” Charisma, June 11, 2014). In a brazen reminder of the heretical nature of the setting, a life-size statue of Rome’s Mary, the Queen of Heaven, stood at the front of the papal podium. The pope exhorted the charismatic crowd to exercise “spiritual ecumenism” to heal divisions among Christians. He also invited the charismatics to St. Peter’s Square for Pentecost in 2017 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the “charismatic renewal” in the Catholic Church. The “renewal” began when Assemblies of God Pentecostals laid hands on Catholics in 1967. Pope Francis says that he was opposed to the “charismatic renewal” when it first began, but now he is enthusiastic and claims to speak in “tongues” himself (“Pope, at Charismatic Rally,” Catholic News Service, June 2, 2014). Nothing is bringing the end-time, “one-world church” together more effectively than the charismatic movement and its contemporary music.
THE POPE’S TOP TEN SECRETS TO HAPPINESS (Friday Church News Notes, August 8, 2014, www.wayoflife.org, fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) - In an interview published in the Argentine weekly “Viva,” July 27, Pope Francis listed his top ten tips for “bringing greater joy to one’s life.” There was no mention of God or Jesus Christ or salvation. In brief, the tips were (1) Live and let live, (2) Give of yourself to others, (3) Proceed calmly in life, (4) Have a healthy sense of leisure, (5) Sundays should be holidays “because “Sunday is for family,” (6) Find innovative ways to create dignified jobs for young people, (7) Respect and take care of nature, (8) Stop being negative, (9) Don’t proselytize; respect others’ beliefs, (10) Work for peace. The focus on unity, non-proselytizing, world peace, respect of all beliefs, and environmentalism identify Francis as a New Age pope who is a major figure in the creation of the apostate one-world “church” of Revelation 17. VIDEOS:
