By Richard Bennet
The Faith and Practice of John Paul II
“Through baptism men and women are freed from sin, are reborn as children of God, and, configured to Christ by an indelible character, are incorporated in the [Catholic] Church.”
Then, by the physical sacrament of Confirmation, he claimed a spiritual outpouring like that of Pentecost itself. His words are the following,
“The effect of Confirmation is a special outpouring of the Holy Spirit like that of Pentecost. This outpouring impresses on the soul an indelible character and produces a growth in the grace of Baptism.”
He then claimed that people have their sins forgiven when a Catholic priest utters the words over them, “I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” These words were, in his estimation, so important that he insisted that to obtain reconciliation with God one must confess all serious sins to a priest. The exact assertion that the Pope authorized was the following,
“One who desires to obtain reconciliation with God and with the Church, must confess to a priest all the unconfessed grave sins he remembers after having carefully examined his conscience.”
Pope John Paul II believed that by the words of consecration at a Catholic mass, the bread and wine are literally changed into the body of Christ together with His soul and divinity. His official teaching reads as follows,
“By the consecration the transubstantiation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is brought about. Under the consecrated species of bread and wine Christ himself, living and glorious, is present in a true, real, and substantial manner: his Body and his Blood, with his soul and his divinity.”
This official teaching of John Paul II led the Catholic priest, John O’Brien, to express his thoughts on how the consecration of bread and wine by the priest at Mass works. O’Brien wrote,
“While the Blessed Virgin was the human agency by which Christ became incarnate a single time, the priest brings Christ down from heaven, and renders Him present on our altar as the eternal Victim for the sins of man—not once, but a thousand times! The priest speaks and lo! Christ, the eternal and omnipotent God, bows his head in humble obedience to the priest’s command.”
Such heretical teaching denies the very nature of the Incarnation. Christ Jesus became incarnate a single time, and forever, and it is never to be repeated. If what John Paul II and John O’Brien believed were true, then in the same Mass “Christ” would be de-incarnated, once the communi-cant had physically absorbed the elements and they no longer contained “Christ.” What a horrific insult this teaching is, for it both assails the Lord and deceives people.
John Paul II even claimed that power effectively flowed from the Communion element itself. Thus, his official teaching was the following, “By the same charity that it enkindles in us, the Eucharist preserves us from future mortal sins.” Consequently, John Paul II taught his people to look to “it,” a physical thing, as a means of conveying God’s grace, teaching a person to look to a physical thing as if it had supernatural power. Such a teaching comes under the eternal curse of perverting the Gospel of Christ. To propose an oral ingesting of Christ’s flesh is bad enough; however, what John Paul II taught is much worse. He declared that it “preserves us from future mortal sins.” These enticing words of human philosophy teach the age-old practice of looking to a physical substance in order to procure life.
What makes the doctrine all the more repulsive is that this very teaching, which speaks of preserving from serious sin, is itself a blasphemous sin. John Paul II’s beliefs and practices were in fact spiritually lethal hazards. He presented physical things as if they were powers themselves and necessary for salvation. Thus, it was that John Paul II proposed his church’s physical sacra-ments as the inherent means of obtaining the grace of the Holy Spirit. Consequently, his official teaching declared,
“The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation. ‘Sacramental grace’ is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament.”
Inculcating dependence on these physical sacraments instead of direct faith on the Lord Christ Jesus was the scheme of John Paul II. It deflected faith from the person of Christ to rituals that are claimed to be powers. He explicitly called them “powers” as he stated, “Sacraments are ‘powers that come forth’ from the Body of Christ, which is ever-living and life-giving.”
True Christians see God’s power proclaimed in “the gospel of Christ… the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth,” each one “being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” Thus, John Paul II’s faith and practice were not those of a person that is blessed in the sight of God, indeed, quite the opposite.
The Character of John Paul II
The character of John Paul II was presented as resplendent in humility and compassion, earnestly going about to bring peace and unity to the world. Underneath the façade, however, was an iron fisted hold on people in terms of law. Like Pope Gregory VII in the eleventh century, John Paul II determined to build an empire by meticulous laws. He was adamant in his efforts to update the laws of the Catholic Church. Since the days of Gregory VII, Popes have seen the necessity of making inflexible church laws before attempting to control their subjects and others by compulsion, if necessary. Thus, it was in 1983 that John Paul II revised the 1917 Code of Canon Law. He added laws to those already existing, such as the following,
“The Church has an innate and proper right to coerce offending members of the Christian faithful by means of penal sanctions.”
Examination of his extra laws shows them to be even more totalitarian than those of the past. For example, in clearer terms than any cult, John Paul II decreed the necessity of suppressing one’s God-given faculties of the mind and will. His law stated,
“A religious respect of intellect and will, even if not the assent of faith, is to be paid to the teaching which the Supreme Pontiff...”
The consequences of not submitting were spelled out in his laws, “The following are to be pun-ished with a just penalty: 1. a person who…teaches a doctrine condemned by the Roman Pon-tiff….” Specific penalties are also decreed by John Paul II, “The law can establish other expiatory penalties which deprive a believer of some spiritual or temporal good and are consistent with the supernatural end of the Church.”
Imposes Greater Control over Catholic Church
John Paul II knew right well how to enforce his will in law. In few other activities was his genius more conspicuous than in this. There were no checks and balances to his absolute power and authority. In the official commentary on his Canon Law is the following,
“The Church’s governmental system is vastly different from the notion of a balance of powers. In fact, the three functions are situated in the same office.... Unlike the American system, ecclesiastical law does not arise from the will of the governed, nor does the Church’s juridical structure rely on a system of checks and balances to maintain its effectiveness...The Code promotes this system through a hierarchical structure that is more vertical than horizontal. Ultimately, the highest judge, the pope, is also the highest legislator and administrator....”
The imposition of John Paul II will was clearly seen in an article in the Catholic World Report called, “Rome Has SpokenAgain.” The article stated the following,
“‘The Pope Moves to Stamp Out Liberal Debate on Heated Issues,’ headlined the New York Times in a front-page story, warning darkly of possible ‘just punishment’ for dissenters…In another front-page story, the Washington Post introduced its coverage with a headline reading, ‘Papal Letter is Divisive, Critics Say’, nor did the Post fail to add the obligatory subheadline about how ‘Dissent on Dogma Risks Punishment....’”
Then in order to push forward John Paul II’s ecumenical agenda to snare Evangelicals, Lutherans and Anglicans into accepting Catholicism as a valid form of Christianity, the Vatican announced that an apology was to be made for the Inquisition. However, during a Mass on March 12, 2000 in which this was to be done, John Paul II merely asked pardon for wrongs committed in the past by members of the Church. The fact is, as he right well knew, that individual members of the Catholic Church did not order the systematic murder of believers and confiscation of their private property during the 605 years of the Inquisition. Rather, as Lord Acton, who was himself a Catholic, observed, it was “the Popes in particular that caused and instigated the sufferings and persecutions, involving themselves in detail even in the minute ways that believers were to be tortured.” Thus, while John Paul II appeared to be eminently pious, when one studies his laws, decrees, verdicts and deeds; he was a despot with dictatorial power.
Solemn warnings are given in Scripture concerning such veneer that conceals devious people, “… false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” As a consequence from just what is documented here, it becomes clear that the character of John Paul II was not that of a person exalted in God’s sight, and not one who knew Him. Rather, he is one to be exposed that others might not fall into the deceptions and traps which he perpetrated on the Catholic world, the Evangelical world and any who would pay attention to him.
Accursed before the Lord God
It is quite evident that John Paul II was not and is not blessed in the sight of God. What then was he? In his own estimation, he saw himself as the absolutely supreme authority. Accordingly on October 8th 2000, under his assumed title of Vicar of Christ, he consecrated the world and the new millennium to “Mary Most Holy.” By such a blasphemous act, he made mockery of the First Commandment. By these and other blasphemous official acts, John Paul II demonstrated who indeed he was. Overtly and unequivocally, he fulfilled the Thessalonians text definition of “the man of sin.” The same John Paul, who assumed to himself the titles of “Holy Father” and “Vicar of Christ,” fulfilled in an unqualified sense the definition of the Antichrist given by the Apostle John, “who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.” John Paul II in taking these designations denied both the Father and the Son and again showed who he was. Even in his Catechism he took to himself Christ’s office of supreme and universal power over the whole Church. Thus he decreed,
“For the Roman Pontiff, by reason of his office as Vicar of Christ, namely, and as pastor of the entire Church, has full, supreme and universal power over the whole Church, a power which he can always exercise unhindered.”
John Paul was the worst enemy of Christ who, under the pretense of service to Him, presumed to undermine His unique offices by blatantly attempting to usurp His position and power. Most se-rious of all is the fact that John Paul stated unequivocally that there is “an abundant exchange of all good things,” in so-called “communion with the dead.” In the same paragraph he elabo-rates, “In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others.” This in fact is a straight denial of the Gospel of Christ. There is no known record of John Paul II’s recantation of any of this. Yet the Lord’s written word, which John Paul had in his possession as part of his authority base, proclaims. “If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.” This must be the utterly grave and somber conclusion of the matter: before the tribunal of God’s absolute Word, John Paul II has shown himself to be accursed by his own words. With the deepest con-cern, therefore, we reach out with the true Gospel to those who live their lives under the damna-ble teaching that this man had propagated.
Bible Believers’ Response
We carefully analyze John Paul’s beliefs and practices because the Lord commands us “to contend for the faith once given to the saints.” Our stand for the true biblical faith is to be with “compassion, making a difference.” As the Lord told us, “in the world you will have tribula-tion; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” In Him we are commanded that “hav-ing done all, to stand… stand therefore.” We, therefore, have total assurance that the Lord God is with us. The certainty of the final triumph should animate our effort and encourage us in our struggle. With great confidence we do look for fruit from the work done in His name as He in-structs us, “this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.” In the midst of spectacu-lar pageantry to surround the beatification of John Paul II, the Lord will save just as He did in the midst of the splendor of the Pope’s visit to the UK in September 2010.
Let the Gospel trumpet sound! On the authority of Scripture, let it be known that sinners are justified by grace only, through faith only, in Christ Jesus only! And to God only be the glory! The clear resounding cry is the command of the Lord Himself, “This is the work of God that you believe on him whom He has sent.” “Repent and believe the gospel.” Where there is true faith and love of the Lord, there is in the midst of all afflictions a joy unspeakable and full of glory. God is the only Holy Father, the All Holy One. His holiness is the distinguishing factor in all His essential characteristics. This is the reason why we need to be in right standing before the one and only All Holy God on the terms He prescribes. Turn to God in faith alone, in Christ alone, for the salvation that He alone gives by the conviction of the Holy Spirit, based on Christ’s death and resurrection for His own. Believe on Him alone, “to the praise of the glory of his grace.” ♦
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