Pope Francis on Friday wrapped up a three-day visit to Singapore by declaring that “all religions are a path to God”.
“They are like different languages in order to arrive at God, but God is God for all,” the Pope said, who had set aside his prepared text and spoke largely off the cuff. “Since God is God for all, then we are all children of God.”
The Pontiff made his remarks during a interreligious meeting with young people held at a Catholic junior college, just prior to departing Singapore for his return flight to Rome.
Such rhetoric has stirred controversy in the path among Catholics who fear that it calls into question Catholic doctrine on Christ as the only Saviour of the world and also undercuts missionary efforts to bring people to the faith.
When Francis used similar language at an interfaith meeting during a 2022 trip to Kazakhstan, Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Astana warned that it risked creating a “supermarket of religions”.
Judging by his remarks on Friday, however, the pontiff has not been deterred by such criticisms.
“If you start to fight, ‘my religion is more important than yours, mine is true and yours isn’t’, where will that lead us?” he asked aloud. “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].”
Catholics in Singapore make up about 3.5 per cent of the population of just under six million. Overall, Christians of all types represent about 19 per cent of the population, Buddhists 31 per cent and Muslims 15 per cent, with significant Hindu and Sikh minorities as well.
The pontiff exhorted young people to engage in interfaith dialogue.
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