Why do some believe that the Pope is the antichrist?

Question

I am a practicing Roman Catholic, and I've heard through various types of media of a claim that the Pope is the antichrist. What leads some to believe this, and what are some arguments that I, as a Catholic, can use to refute such claims?

Answer 1

If you can read Spanish, my answer will make more sense. Check this website out: http://www.defiendetufe.org/anticristo.htm

Here, Catholics and other setcs ask questions about the Catholic Church. Im Catholic, anyways.

This person asked a question if the Pope is the anti-christ because he has a chair with an cross upside down. I hope you can understand the website I gave you, but the Pope its not the Anti-christ.

Those are make up stories of Protestants churchs and sects that have been and are trying to disappear the Catholic Church.

Please contact me if you have any questions! I can translate them for you. Good bye and thanks, we as Catholics are different than what people think who we are.

Answer 2

I am not a Catholic and I don't think the Pope is the Anti-Christ.

But I have a problem with ONE MAN speaking for GOD.

Jesus is one thing, but a MAN MAN is another.

I mean let's face it. I don't know how old you are, but once upon a time a CATHOLIC went to hell for eating Roast Beef or Ham on Friday. Now it's ok!

What happened to all those peole way back when?

Once upon a time MASS was said in Latin. Hey, that's partially not that bad. It tought you a second language. But Today it's in your own language.

Maybe that's not so good, either!

It made Mel Gibson's film a little wrong, as EVEYRONE except the Catholics agree that everyone should have spoken GREEK.

It is historically accurate. ALL the bible scriptures were written in GREEK or in HEBREW.

GREEKS occupied Palestine years before the Romans. GREEK was already the established language and ROMANS spoke Greek fluently in the uppper class ranks.

Of course, since Catholics don't read the bible as much as Protestants do, it's hard to hit the next one, but Jesus said: To keep from being fornicators ALL men should marry.

Now we come to Priests in the Catholic Church of which 15% are accussed of being sexual preditors against minors, in most instances HOMOSEXUAL preditors, of which the founders of the Catholic Church Peter and his assoicate Paul, both said Homosexuality is wrong.

Were priests allowed to marry, as they ONCE WERE in the Catholic church, maybe this wouldn't happen.

I can see, maybe, the POPE being a single man, but Priests. Rank and file Priests.

It's a terrible toll to take on them and 15% is a lot of complaints and when I worked for the LAPD we were told that for EVERY girl who files a sexual assault complaint there are 9 others that don't. Hence probably MOST of the Priests and even most Protestant Ministers are probably guilty of some sexual misconduct in their lives.

The fact the the Church hid these things and moved priests around is a serious indictment of your UPPER controlling branches.

Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Hence, you can see that the BUCK stops at the POPE'S DESK.

Now, that's enough of an indictment to indicate that maybe the Pope, whom ever they may be, better take a good look at what direction the church is going before it goes to hell in a hand basket.

This doesn't indict the church, just the management that runs it.

The buck stops at the Pope's desk.

Hence the Pope must take all the heat.

Why is it MArtin Luther gets a Heresy trial for questioning authority and these priests don't get hesey trials for molesting altar boys?

Until the Pope takes action, let the courts and I hope the courts bleeds Rome of every red cent it has to compensate people until the Pope wakes up and takes action in the name of Jesus and God.

Until then, the Pope doesn't look to swift in the "protecting the rank and file" church goer.

It don't make the Pope the Anti-Christ, it just makes the Pope look like he's running the United States of America!

But the most serious problem is YOU Have not say. If YOU try to have a say, you get called a HERETIC and you get EXCOMMUNICATED.

You can't vote the Pope out! You can't vote Bishops and CArdinals out. YOU have no voice.

You must blindly sit back and OBEY, least you go to hell.

Answer 3

Let me preface by saying I do not remember how I was told this, by what source, but I do remember they seemed sincere when telling me this.

My understanding is that the Vatican has some kind of "secret papers", like prophecies or something, dating back centuries, and only Popes read it, although some info has gotten out about them (announced, leaked, ???). Anyway, apparantly there was some sort of "countdown" that suggested when you get to "x" Pope, he would be the last Pope ever, and he would actually be the antichrist, and apparantly we are on Pope "x" now.

I'm sure I'm getting a ton of details wrong here, perhaps if what I am saying sounds familiar to anyone, they can help me by filling in the blanks.

Now, that is (vaguely) specific, in more general terms, there are a number of Protestants who view the Catholic church as basically apostate, and they would predict the Pope being the antirchrist as part of their overall view of Roman Catholicism.

I'm not sure how you would go about refuting this; part of the problem in calling someone antichrist is that you are basically predicting their future, and you cannot determine the accuracy of that statement until after that person has either fulfilled your statement or died. This same logic would hold for any "prophecy" which does not lend itself to a timed fulfillment.

Answer 4

Visit remnantofgod.org/666-CHAR.htm for the prophetic facts why pope's the antichrist. And don't be misled by the rapture theory as it was created after the reformation to pull the onus off of the popes. The reformation said the pope's the antichrist. The rapture theory makes people look to a futuristic antichrist. It's not biblical.

Answer 5

I believe some sects of Protestant Christians believe this. Some are large than others. The largest that I can think of is the Seventh Day Adventists. I do not know the details why but I believe it has to do with a misinterpretation of how the AntiChrist will form all religions into one prior to the Second Coming of Christ.

I don't believe this myself...

Answer 6

Many reasons.
1) the pope changed the 10 commandments of God.
2) The pope says church leaders can forgive sins. The bible says only God can do this.
3) He claims to be Christ Representative on earth. This is blasphemy. It is the Holy Spirit who is Christs Representative.
4) Popes have killed millions of people in the name of religion.

Answer 7

well the Bible does say that the antichrist is of ROman blood. the Pope is of Roman blood. He did come to power out of an election ("out of the sea" as the Bible puts it), and he is in control of many people. only one problem: the Rapture hasn't happened yet. the Bible says that he will rise only after the Rapture occurs. as much as i wanna believe that the Pope is the antichrist (as i am Protestant and, no offense, despise Catholicism), its just not logical.