Sunday 4^th May 2025

For Christ also suffered once for sins,
the righteous for the unrighteous,
to bring you to God.
1 Peter 3:18 (NIVUK) 

Will the Pope be in Heaven?
I realise that even raising the question of whether the Pope will be in heaven is controversial.  Some will want to say, “Of course he will!  He was the leader of the largest grouping of Christians on the planet.  If he isn’t in heaven, who is?”  Others may respond, “What the Roman Catholic Church teaches is not the gospel.  Of course he won’t be in heaven!”

Now, it’s natural that we should want him to be in heaven.  We should, like God himself, want “all people to be saved” (1 Timothy 2:4) and want no one to perish.

However, there are some concerns.  One is that on Easter Sunday, when Pope Francis last appeared before the crowds in Rome, he granted an indulgence, which is “a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven.”  This betrays a lack of confidence in the finished sacrifice of Christ for our sins, as if something more is needed, or can be effective, in winning our forgiveness. 

For another, he was a known devotee of Mary, dedicating his papacy to her, and choosing to be buried in a basilica dedicated to her, Santa Maria Maggiore.  He prayed the rosary regularly, which repeatedly asks Mary to “pray for me.”  How can we ask Mary to pray for us when she’s a sinner herself and needs Jesus’ prayers?

Finally, there will be masses said for the Pope after his death, which will be praying for the salvation of his soul, again as if Christ’s sacrifice and faith in him is not enough. 

These are all classic Roman Catholic teachings, where both grace and faith are necessary but not sufficient – something more is needed.  This is what the Protestant Reformers protested against, as they rediscovered from the Scriptures that we are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone to the glory of God alone.

Having said all that, like so many of us, Pope Francis may not have been consistent in his faith, and he really did trust in Christ and his finished work.  What we do know is that he’ll be saved in exactly the same way as anyone else: through faith in Christ.

Meanwhile, let’s pray for Roman Catholics as they grieve his passing, and let’s pray for a new Pope who will believe and teach the gospel of justification by faith.

Prayer
Father, we thank you that faith in Christ and his death really does bring us to you.  Please comfort Roman Catholics with this truth, and give them a new Pope who will believe and teach this gospel.  Amen.

Yours warmly, in Christ,

Chris Hobbs (Senior Minister)