Over at Catholic News Services, I read that Pope Francis spoke to members of the Renewal in Spirit in St. Peter’s Square. This group is a Catholic charismatic group consisting of Lutherans, Anglicans, Orthodox, and Catholics.

It is entirely possible that Pope Francis has not read any of his predecessors work. But that does not negate that his predecessors had strong words to say in regards to ecumenism and praying alongside other Christians.

From the article:

If the devil “unites us in death, who are we to divide ourselves in life?” he said, adding that all Christians can and must pray together, as they have all received the same baptism and are striving to follow Christ.

Pope Pius XI wrote in his encyclical Mortalium Animos (1928):

“This being so, it is clear that the Apostolic See cannot on any terms take part in their assemblies, nor is it anyway lawful for Catholics either to support or to work for such enterprises; for if they do so they will be giving countenance to a false Christianity, quite alien to the one Church of Christ.”

Pope Pius XI is very clear that we do not recognize their false Christianity because of their rejection of the One True Church of Christ, the Catholic Church.

With the aforementioned paragraph, Pope Pius XI condemns this next statement from Pope Francis:

“Some people may not realize they can pray with Christians of other denominations”, adding that people must do so because “all of us have received the same baptism, all of us are following the path of Jesus, we want Jesus.”

No, the Catholic Church has condemned this act that you are trying to push forth. Those people who don’t pray with other Christians do so because the Church has forbidden it. For you to utter falsities like this demeans the authority of the papacy, as well as the Magisterium of the Church.

The Protestants have used the baptismal formula that the Catholic Church gave us by order of Jesus Christ. Some Protestants do not even use the Trinitarian formula and do not have valid baptisms.

In terms of ecumenism, Pope Francis stated “Christian unity was the work of the Holy Spirit” and “Christians need to pray together in a spiritual ecumenism, an ecumenism of prayer.”

While this does sound lovely on the outside, it is nothing but error. St. Maximilian Kolbe, when talking about false ecumenism says:

“Only until all schismatics and Protestants profess the Catholic Creed with conviction, when all Jews voluntarily ask for Holy Baptism – only then will the Immaculata have reached its goals. … In other words there is no greater enemy of the Immaculata and her Knighthood than today’s ecumenism, which every Knight must not only fight against, but also neutralize through diametrically opposed action and ultimately destroy. We must realize the goal of the Militia Immaculata as quickly as possible: that is, to conquer the whole world, and every individual soul which exists today or will exist until the end of the world, for the Immaculata, and through her for the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.”

St. Maximilian Kolbe does not mix words. Our Lady wants all souls to be a part of her Son’s Church. Those who are not a part of His Church are outside and will not take part of the Heavenly banquet. No matter what Pope Francis may say about praying with other Christians and how the Holy Spirit wants it, even though he has no way of knowing what the Holy Spirit wants, he speaks in error.

Fortunately, he was not speaking ex cathedra, but it doesn’t matter. The damage has already been done, and this papacy continues to march on, spreading as much error as possible.