Pope Francis drew backlash on social media for saying that the human heart is "fundamentally good" during a recent interview with “60 Minutes.” During the interview, Norah O’Donnell asked him what gives him hope when looking at the world. In response, the pontiff said “everything,” citing multiple examples of people doing good things as evidence of humanity’s goodness.
"You see tragedies, but you also see so many beautiful things," he said. "You see heroic mothers, heroic men, men who have hopes and dreams, women who look to the future. That gives me a lot of hope. People want to live. People forge ahead. And people are fundamentally good. We are all fundamentally good. Yes, there are some rogues and sinners, but the heart itself is good."
On the X, many commenters blasted Francis for his comments, including accusations of him failing to understand the basic tenets of the gospel.
"This is contrary to basic Christian theology," radio host Erick Erickson wrote. "We are all sinners. There aren't just 'some sinners.'"
"If this is true, we don't need a Savior to die on the Cross. So this pope is a heretic," wrote author Eric Metaxas.
Author and “Relatable” podcast host Allie Beth Stuckey cited Scriptures stressing humanity’s sinful nature and that God alone is good.
“This is core to Christianity. Because if everyone is basically good, the gospel is not good news. If the gospel is not good news, what‘s the point?” she asked.
Other X users noted that Francis’ remark came off as an example of Pelagianism, a fifth-century heresy that contended that humanity is inherently good. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, Pelagianism was named after Pelagius, a monk who was excommunicated from the Catholic church in 418 AD. At the time, multiple councils condemned Pelagianism, including the theologian Augustine of Hippo in his “Confessions.”
During the interview, Francs also addressed the backlash regarding the Vatican’s recent “Fiducia Supplicans" guidance, which states it does not allow the blessing of a homosexual union itself but rather the two individual homosexuals involved in the union.
"What I allowed was not to bless the union; that cannot be done because that is not the sacrament," he said. "I cannot. The Lord made it that way. But to bless each person? Yes. The blessing is for everyone."
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Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.