I was inspired to write this during the Sunday Evening Mass at Cathedral of the Good Shepherd (Mother Church of the Archdiocese of Singapore) earlier today as I was serving at the Sanctuary:

I felt the tug in my heart to share these thoughts and reflections regarding the recent controversy and disagreements surrounding what Pope Francis had said during the Interreligious Dialogue with Youth at Catholic Junior College (in Singapore).

I am not going to repeat what had been endlessly discussed here but I would like to invite all of us to reflect upon these points and particularly the Gospel passage from Mark 8 : 27-35 today (Sunday, 15 September 2024 – Twenty-Fourth Sunday of Ordinary Time),

Satan is always hard at work in trying to undermine the good works of the Lord through His Church. It is precisely this very moment when the Pope concluded his trip to Singapore focusing on the theme of ‘Unity and Hope’ that he is making his move on us all trying to break this unity and dampen the hope that we have kindled.

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Unity: 

I am deeply saddened by those who called out the Pope for being supposedly unfaithful to the teachings of the Church, and even the more extreme ones saying that he has committed heresy. 

First of all, the Pope stated that there is only one God, and this is true. He also stated that religions are like languages, paths to reach God. He did not say that it is not true that in Jesus Christ is the Way, the Truth and the Life. 

What he intended to say, if we understand the whole conversation is that, we all seek salvation in God, and he invites all the youths of different religions to continue to do good as what their beliefs state, and indirectly welcoming them to get to know more about Jesus.

If they one day may be touched by what they learnt about Him and through the encounter with the Pope who has opened the gates of their hearts and minds, then it is up to them to choose to embrace Christ fully and wholeheartedly.

We must understand the whole context of this event and why this was mentioned this way. Indeed, the Pope is also human and he is not perfect in using words to explain or elaborate his intentions – but it is clear that from the earlier parts before this, Pope Francis stated that if everyone is focusing on ‘my religion is true, and yours is not’ and starts attacking on each others’ supposed shortcomings, then indeed, ‘destruction’ and loss of unity is what will happen. We will no longer be united on our purpose and journey towards the Lord, but we’ll hating and attacking each other instead.

We can already see this at work with the attacks against the Pope’s remarks and comments, coming from within no other than the Church and her members. At Holy Communion today, as the Choir sang ‘Anima Christi’, and as I ponder upon all these, I literally teared up thinking about the tears in unity of the Body of Christ, the Church brought about by this.

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Hope:

On the matter of Hope, and with regards to this conversation – we are reminded that God’s salvation is offered for everyone, and that as Nostra Aetate mentioned clearly that there is good and truth in all religions and beliefs. And while in Jesus Christ and the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, the fullness of truth and assurance of salvation are found, but this does not mean that others are excluded from this hope of salvation in God.

Let me bring forth the example of Christ Himself, the Good Shepherd, Who used the parable of the lost sheep to highlight this as an analogy:

Imagine that you are a sheep that is lost and separated from the flock and the shepherd comes towards you, chiding and scolding you for not listening to him (and running away), won’t you flee even further away from the shepherd? The Lord as the Good Shepherd is patient, in stepping out of His comfort zone, going to the distant places in looking out for us, calling us and reassuring us of His love. This was precisely what Pope Francis had done. As the Vicar of Christ, the Good Shepherd, he went to the peripheries, to places where there are still many who misunderstood God’s teachings and words, to show what our Christian faith is all about.

Just as mentioned earlier, using this opportunity of Interreligious Dialogue to mention the superiority of the Christian faith to other religions or to ask for people to convert to the faith is not just tone-deaf but also inappropriate. Pope Francis as the Pontifex Maximus, the ‘bridge-builder’, he established the ‘bridges’ and the opportunities so that more people from other faith and beliefs may come to find out more and know the Lord, and if they so choose, then they may come to embrace Him in the future.

I saw how some of the naysayers and the media that fanned out the controversy even said that this visit and trip should not have even been done in the first place. Then let me put it this way, it would have been a big missed opportunity for this dialogue and opportunity for true evangelisation of the Good News of Christ.

Hope in God’s salvation is what we offer to all the people, and the manner how we present it, is very important.

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Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is a perspective that I am offering on this matter to those of you who are affected in mind and heart by this issue, and also to those who are not aware of this.

Feel free to disagree with what I have said earlier, and it is alright for people to have differing perspectives and opinions. But I felt the Lord calling on me earlier today to share this, and I did what He asked me to do.

May the Lord continue to strengthen the Unity in our Church, united as one Body of Christ under His Vicar, Pope Francis, and encourage us always with the Hope in His Resurrection and eternal life, which He offers to all of us, calling us all to come to Him, not by force, but by our own free will.

Amen.