Originally published at crisis magazine
Last week, I had a serious disagreement with a fellow teacher who also happens to be a good friend. Later that evening, I saw where I went wrong: I had not presented my side clearly. I saw my friend the next day and explained myself with the assurance that this would clear up our differences. He just looked at me and said, “Oh, no. I knew exactly what you meant. I just disagree with you.” Blessed is the man with such friends.
This brings up the recent remarks of Pope Francis at an interreligious meeting in Singapore when he said, “All religions are a path to God.” He added more lettuce to the salad when he later said,
If you start to fight, “my religion is more important than yours, mine is true and yours isn’t,” where will that lead us? 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].
It was yet another instance where the holy father says something which sounds charitable—and I’m sure was meant charitably—but, in the end, turns out not to be so.
Orthodox. Faithful. Free.
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