Are all people children of god? Pope francis

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All humans are children of God?

By P. Franz Prosinger

On May 18, 2013, Pope Francis answered questions that were posed to him during his encounter with church movements:

“But we have to come together and create a" culture of encounter "with our faith, a culture of friendship, a culture in which we find brothers and sisters, where we also find them speak who cannot think as we do, even with those who have a different faith, who do not share our faith. Everyone has something in common with us: they are images of God, they are children of God. ”(Third question). “This experience must lead us to promote religious freedom for everyone, for everyone! Every man and every Mrs must be free in personal religious confession, no matter what. Why? Because this man and woman are children of God! ”(To the fourth question). This statement by Pope Francis on the questions asked during the Pentecost vigil is shortened and misleading, but can and must ?? in the context of the entire proclamation of the Pope and the Church – be understood correctly.

It is correct that all people are called to be children of God and that this calling corresponds to an innermost empowerment and longing (Catechism of the Catholic Church No. 27 ?? 30 "capax Dei"). Religious statements, thoughts, prayers and rites express this human desire (KKK 2566 f), albeit ?? outside the christian religion ?? mixed with misbelief. Therefore, no human "authority" may presume to intervene in this regulating, genuine and intimate relationship with his creator and father, as long as the natural law and the just public order of the community are not violated ( Dignitatis Humanae No. 2).

The Pope’s statement should not be understood in the sense that all human beings or religiously minded people are children of God in the sense that they are specifically included in the childhood of God opened by the Incarnation and the sacrifice of salvation, fulfilled by the Spirit of the Son and shouting "Abba! Father ”(Gal 4, 3 f). This is only updated by the grace of baptism (Rom 6: 3 ?? 5) and faith (Gal 2, 19 f).

Who is child of god?

By P. Engelbert Recktenwald

"In this diversity, in this diversification of religions, there is one certainty that we hold onto for everyone: we are all children of God," said Pope Francis in his video message of January 6, 2016 on January’s prayer opinion, the inter-religious dialogue. Perhaps the Pope wanted to express that God persecutes people with fatherly love, either because they are his children or so that they become his children, analogous to the word of St. Augustine on charity: “We have to love our neighbor love, either because he is good or so that he will be good. ”

But in the true and biblical sense, God’s child, according to Catholic teaching, is made by sanctifying grace. He receives sanctifying grace either through baptism, fidelity (which has the character of a baptized baptism) or the sacrament of penance; the latter because the baptized can lose sanctifying grace through mortal sin. He also ceases to be the child of God and heir to heaven. Through confession, that is, through receiving the sacrament of penance, he can return to the state of sanctifying grace and thus become a child of God again. Whoever dies in the state of sanctifying grace is saved and goes to heaven, whoever dies in the state of mortal sin is lost. If all people were invariably and always children of God, there would be no hell, because no child of God can go to hell.

It is also Catholic teaching that the state of sanctifying grace presupposes the theological virtue of faith. When the child is baptized, this virtue is poured into the soul together with sanctifying grace. Childhood of God therefore presupposes faith. That is why St. Paul: “By faith you are all children of God in Christ” (Gal 3:26) And in the Gospel of John it says: “But to all who received him, he gave power to become children of God (John 1:12). The Council of Trent teaches that "we are justified by faith, because faith is the beginning and the foundation of human salvation and the root of all justification, without which it is impossible to please God and to come to the community of his children" ( 6th session, decision on justification, chapter 8). The Council refers to Heb 11: 6: “Without faith it is impossible to please God. Because whoever comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a retributor to those who seek him. ”

The fact that we become children of God through baptism explains very nicely Catechism of the Catholic Church: “Grace is a participation in the life of God; it leads us to the very heart of the trinity: through baptism, the Christian shares in the grace of Christ, who is the head of his body. As an ‘adoptive son’, he may now call God ‘father’ in association with the only begotten son. He receives the life of the Spirit who breathes love into him and who builds up the Church. ”(No. 1997)

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