Recently, while addressing an inter-religious meeting of young people in Singapore, Pope Francis stated that “every religion is a way to arrive at God.”

Francis, who apparently deviated from his prepared speech and spoke extemporaneously, said that no religion should be given priority and that individuals should instead focus on parity between beliefs.

The preposterously progressive pontiff said, “Every religion is a way to arrive at God. There are different languages to arrive at God, but God is God for all. And how is God God for all? We are all sons and daughters of God. But my god is more important than your god, is that true?” He added, “There is only one God and each of us has a language to arrive at God. Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, they are different paths.” Huh?

Is the Hindu god Brahma the same as Sikhism’s Waheguru, and Islam’s Allah? What about Buddhism, which doesn’t really have a God? Are all these gods, and the non-god truly somehow the same? Is Christianity really no better than frisbeetarianism? Are Rastafarians truly on par with Jewish people? Should we take the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster as seriously as we take, say, Islam? Is Raelism simply a “different path” to the same God? The Church of Maradona worships soccer star Diego Maradona as if he were a god. This is obviously a different path to a different god. Should it be held in precisely the same regard and esteem as the mainline religions? Is a religion promising men the reward of 72 servile virgins in paradise for "martyring" themselves against innocent people no different than one that does not?

 Should one’s own religion not be given priority over all others, in any case?

If not, what does that say about that religion and that “believer?”

Is Pope Francis a heretic?

Image: Palácio do Planalto, via Wikimedia Commons (extracted) // CC BY 2.0 Deed