Pope Francis has been a controversial figure to say the least over the past few years as many conservative Catholics argue that he is drawing the Catholic Church further away from their roots and into a more liberal theology. This concern was highlighted when he drew scorn and accusations of heresy on social media for maintaining during his “60 Minutes” interview that the human heart is “fundamentally good.”
Responding to interviewer Norah O’Donnell’s question regarding what gives him hope when he looks at the world, the pontiff said “everything,” and then went on to list examples of people doing good things as evidence of humanity’s essential goodness. “You see tragedies, but you also see so many beautiful things,” he said. “You see heroic mothers, heroic men, men who have hopes and dreams, women who look to the future. That gives me a lot of hope. People want to live. People forge ahead. And people are fundamentally good. We are all fundamentally good. Yes, there are some rogues and sinners, but the heart itself is good.”
Many commentators on X criticized Francis for his remarks, with some accusing him of failing to grasp the basic teaching of the Gospel. Others quoted portions of Scripture that teach God alone is good and that humanity has a sinful nature.
“This is contrary to basic Christian theology,” radio host Erick Erickson wrote. “We are all sinners. There aren’t just ‘some sinners.’”
“If this is true, we don’t need a Savior to die on the Cross. So this pope is a heretic,” wrote author Eric Metaxas.
“Welp, this is a Satanic lie…” wrote Babylon Bee editor Joel Berry.
“This raises a question: Is the Pope Catholic? Apparently not! The minute he saw an American journalist nodding at him, he should have known he had gone astray,” Daily Wire host Andrew Klavan wrote.
Some X users noted that Francis’ comment appeared to be an example of Pelagianism, a fifth century heresy that denied original sin and taught the essential goodness of humanity. Pelagianism was named after a monk named Pelagius who was ultimately excommunicated from the Catholic church in 418, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. Multiple councils condemned his worldview, which was also famously repudiated by Augustine of Hippo in his “Confessions.”
Francis also raised eyebrows for other comments he made during his interview, such as accusing conservative U.S. bishops of exhibiting “a suicidal attitude” by opposing his “efforts to revisit teachings and traditions.”
The pontiff also responded to the furor around the Vatican’s recent “Fiducia Supplicans” guidance, claiming it does not permit the blessing of a homosexual union itself, but rather the two individual homosexuals engaging in the union. “What I allowed was not to bless the union; that cannot be done, because that is not the sacrament,” he said. “I cannot. The Lord made it that way. But to bless each person? Yes. The blessing is for everyone.”
Biblical Connections: In Luke 18:19, Jesus stated, “So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.” Paul in Romans 3:23 stated, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” In Isaiah 64:6, the prophet writes, “But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags.” While humanity was created fundamentally good, the fall of man in Genesis 3 has led to a sinful condition throughout all of humanity. To argue that humanity as a whole is fundamentally good and that there are only a few bad apples that mess things up simply is not consistent with the pages of Scripture.
PRAY: Pray the drift to more liberal leaning movements of various groups within Christianity will stop and people will return to the foundation of the Bible.