Saturday, Pope Francis fell while walking into a Vatican Auditorium for a public appearance. The Pontiff fell after his walking stick broke. The pope has been beset with health problems, including a series of nasty falls and associated injuries. Recently, the 88 year-old Pope has been seen bound to a wheelchair. Francis reportedly has bad knees, which have contributed to his mobility issues
In footage captured by The New York Post, the Pope’s accident can be seen. The Pope has been mired in controversy. We reported on how he made controversial remarks during a three-day visit to Singapore. The Catholic leader claimed that “all religions are a path to God.” Francis made the remarks during an inter-religious meeting with a group at a Catholic junior college.
“If you start to fight, ‘my religion is more important than yours, mine is true, and yours isn’t,’ where will that lead us?” he asked before adding, “There’s only one God, and each of us has a language to arrive at God. Some are Sheik, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, and they are different paths [to God].” Many have asserted that the Pope’s claim is a direct contradiction of scripture, which maintains that Jesus Christ is the only way to God.
Bishop Joseph Strickland called out Pope Francis, urging for Christians to pray for him to see the truth that Jesus Christ is the only path to salvation. “Please pray for Pope Francis to clearly state that Jesus Christ is the only Way. To deny this is to deny Him. If we deny Christ, He will deny us, He cannot deny Himself,” Strickland said. Other commenters were quick to pounce on the Pope.
“Pope Francis is not acknowledging the truth or evangelizing others. Only one path to God the Father is through His Son our Lord Jesus Christ! Otherwise the church been duping us forever. Come Holy Spirit and guide us. Jesus have mercy on us,” another person stated. The Pope has also clashed with Jewish groups over his opinions on the Israel-Hamas War.
The International Jewish Committee for Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC) has written an open letter to Pope Francis. The Group criticized the Pope for his “one-sided perspective” in the Gaza conflict. In the letter, the IJCIC objects to Francis’ troubling and deeply concerning” remarks regarding the conflict in Gaza, which “have been repeated on several occasions.”
They say that he portrays Israel’s war efforts against Hamas simply as “cruelty” and Francis “risks presenting a one-sided perspective that overlooks the broader context and complexities of the current crisis,” the IJCIC states. The letter, which was signed by IJCIC chairman Rabbi Mark Dratch, claims that Israel is engaged in a “defensive war against jihadist terrorism” provoked by “the brutal and unprecedented massacre perpetrated by Hamas on October 7.”
The Hamas attack claimed the lives of 1,400 Israelis “in cold blood.” According to the letter, “101 remain held hostage under unspeakable conditions.” According to this Jewish group, framing the war solely in terms of cruelty without acknowledging the necessary aim of dismantling a terrorist infrastructure is unfair. The IJCIC claims that this fuels “rampant antisemitism.”