Pope: 'False God' of Terrorism Must Fall
It’s often when the Holy Father speaks off-the-cuff that his words have the most impact.
That was the case today when he gave a reflection on the first General Congregation of the Synod for the Middle East and spoke out strongly against terrorist ideologies. The Pope warned those who follow such beliefs that they are not fighting in the name of God but a false god which must ultimately fall. He said the same of those who impose a false idea of marriage and other destructive powers, ones based on “false divinities that must be unmasked.” .
Violence in the name of God is a key concern of the Synod Fathers who say that it is on the rise in Middle East, causing many of the region’s problems.
Another clip of the Pope’s improvised remarks can be found here, while Sandro Magister has a full translation of his reflection.
Full daily summaries of the Synod which runs until Oct. 24 can be found on the blog of the Vatican Information Service.
Edward Pentin Edward Pentin is the Register’s Senior Contributor and EWTN News Vatican Analyst. He began reporting on the Pope and the Vatican with Vatican Radio before moving on to become the Rome correspondent for EWTN's National Catholic Register. He has also reported on the Holy See and the Catholic Church for a number of other publications including Newsweek, Newsmax, Zenit, The Catholic Herald, and The Holy Land Review, a Franciscan publication specializing in the Church and the Middle East. Edward is the author of The Next Pope: The Leading Cardinal Candidates (Sophia Institute Press, 2020) and The Rigging of a Vatican Synod? An Investigation into Alleged Manipulation at the Extraordinary Synod on the Family (Ignatius Press, 2015). Follow him on Twitter at @edwardpentin.
