Francis says that Luther "did not err" on Justification (Heresy)

Jan 09, 2025

During his flight from Armenia to Rome on Sunday (June 26, 2016), Antipope Francis gave a press conference to the assembled journalists aboard the plane. Below is the question, and Francis' answer, about Martin Luther.

Kleinjung: “Holy Father, I wanted to ask you a question. Today you spoke of the gifts of the shared Churches, of the gifts shared by the Churches together. Seeing that you will go in I believe four months to Lund for the commemoration of the 500th anniversary of the reformation, I think perhaps this is also the right moment for us not only to remember the wounds on both sides but also to recognize the gifts of the reformation. Perhaps also – this is a heretical question – perhaps to annul or withdraw the excommunication of Martin Luther or of some sort of rehabilitation. Thank you.”
Pope Francis: “I think that the intentions of Martin Luther were not mistaken. He was a reformer... in that time, the Church was not exactly a model to imitate. There was corruption in the Church, there was worldliness, attachment to money, to power...and this he protested. Then he was intelligent and took some steps forward justifying, and because he did this. And today Lutherans and Catholics, Protestants, all of us agree on the doctrine of justification. On this point, which is very important, he did not err. He made a medicine for the Church, but then this medicine consolidated into a state of things, into a state of a discipline, into a way of believing, into a way of doing, into a liturgical way and he wasn’t alone; there was Zwingli, there was Calvin, each one of them different, and behind them were who? Principals! We must put ourselves in the story of that time. It’s a story that’s not easy to understand, not easy. Then things went forward, and today the dialogue is very good. That document of justification I think is one of the richest ecumenical documents in the world, one in most agreement. But there are divisions, and these also depend on the Churches. In Buenos Aires there were two Lutheran churches, and one thought in one way and the other...even in the same Lutheran church there was no unity; but they respected each other, they loved each other, and the difference is perhaps what hurt all of us so badly and today we seek to take up the path of encountering each other after 500 years. I think that we have to pray together, pray. Prayer is important for this. Second, to work together for the poor, for the persecuted, for many people, for refugees, for the many who suffer; to work together and pray together and the theologians who study together try...but this is a long path, very long. One time jokingly I said: I know when full unity will happen. - “when?” - “the day after the Son of Man comes,” because we don’t know...the Holy Spirit will give the grace, but in the meantime, praying, loving each other and working together. Above all for the poor, for the people who suffer and for peace and many things...against the exploitation of people and many things in which they are jointly working together.” (http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/full-text-pope-francis-inflight-press-conference-from-armenia-45222/)

Francis openly states that Martin Luther “did not err” on justification! That is quite a statement. Luther's false doctrine on justification was his signature heresy. Luther's heresy is fully explained and refuted in our documentary on justification.

The documentary proves that the doctrine taught by Luther, and embraced by the Protestant 'Reformation', is totally unbiblical, illogical and heretical. Luther's heresy was also of course fully condemned by the Catholic Church at the Council of Trent in numerous dogmatic passages. The relevant citations from the Council of Trent, which anathematize Luther's heresy, are found in our article which exposes the Vatican II sect's notoriously heretical agreement with the Lutherans on justification:

The Vatican II sect’s Protestant Revolution: the 1999 Joint Declaration with the Lutherans on Justification [File]

The following video also contains an extremely important discussion about justification: ‘Born Again’ Refutes ‘Faith Alone’ (video). It explains, in detail, the differences between the Catholic and Protestant views by focusing on the causes of justification. It shows why the Protestant position, to which Antipope Francis subscribes, is totally unbiblical, illogical and heretical.

For Antipope Francis to declare that Luther “did not err” on justification, and that he agrees with Protestants on the issue, is heresy of the most notorious and outrageous kind. He is a Protestant. Those who obstinately consider Antipope Francis to be a Catholic in the face of such facts are definitely heretics as well. As astounding as Francis' statements are, it needs to be remembered that he is simply articulating the position of the heretical Joint Declaration With the Lutherans On Justification (exposed in the article above). That agreement was fully approved by Antipopes John Paul II and Benedict XVI. Benedict XVI even said that it was “signed by the Catholic Church”. As we can see above, Francis bases his diabolical position fully on the Joint Declaration. So, in agreeing with Luther and accepting the Protestant heresy, Francis is being a faithful son of the Great Harlot, the Vatican II sect. That is why it’s not sufficient to reject the obvious apostate Antipope Francis. One must reject all of the Vatican II antipopes (the entire Counter Church) and embrace the Catholic faith, whole and undefiled.