Billy Graham and the Catholic Church
PetePanaro
the Catholic Church thinks of him, (and vice-versa) and I found some
interesting stuff.
They say that you can tell a lot about a person by those who are against him.
Well I found one of quite a few Fundy sites that are angry at Graham for his
association with the Catholic Church. One tidbit I would add before pasting
the contents of this site is that I've also heard that Billy Graham was the one
who hooked Pope John Paul II and President Reagan up in their fight to destroy
Communism. To me it seems Graham is the real deal:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
http://www.whidbey.net/~dcloud/fbns/grahamrome4.htm
BILLY GRAHAM AND ROME
PART 4 OF 4
The following material is part four of a four-part series of articles
documenting Evangelist Billy Graham’s relationship with the Roman Catholic
Church.
"It is one thing to invite unconverted Roman Catholics to a gospel meeting to
hear the gospel preached, but it is quite another matter to go to a meeting
where Roman Catholics, and Roman Catholic priests that are still firmly in
Rome, are preaching from the platform." --Christian News, June 26, 1988
1990
"Billy Graham spent January 8-13, 1990, meeting with a number of Vatican
officials. Included was a private meeting with Pope John Paul II. Reporting on
this the Boston Archdiocese stated that ‘Dr. Graham said it is particularly
evident in the Pope’s speeches that his attitudes and decisions are based on
his great personal spiritual life ... He bases His work and messages and vision
on biblical principles.’ A Religious News Service photograph showed Graham
presenting the Pope with a handmade quilt from a place near his home in North
Carolina. Using the phrase ‘bridge builder’ from his close friend, Cardinal
Cushing, Graham referred to Pope John Paul II as ‘indeed a bridge builder,
and that is something our divided world desperately needs’" (Ewin, The
Assimilation of Evangelist Billy Graham).
This was Graham’s second audience with a Roman pontiff.
In April 1990, Graham held a crusade in Albany, New York. The following is a
description that appeared in a Catholic publication:
About 20,000 persons are busy making ready for Billy Graham’s 1990 Capitol
District Crusade, including representatives from 18 Protestant denominations in
the area and a delegation of top Catholic officials appointed by Bishop Howard
J. Hubbard.
The Graham Crusade, scheduled for April 22-29 at the Knickerbocker Arena in
Albany, comes in response to a request made by Bishop Hubbard and other
religious leaders, who three years ago formally invited the world renowned
evangelist to preach here. ‘There are nine Catholics on the 30-person
executive committee set up to direct the Crusade. ... Diocesan officials view
the Graham Crusade as a tool for evangelization,’ explained an executive
committee member, Rev. James Kane, director of the diocesan ecumenical
commission....
As for the specific dogmatic content of Mr. Graham’s sermons, Father Kane
said, ‘there is nothing that the Catholic should feel uncomfortable with or
be leery of.’ He said the evangelist’s emphasis on the Gospel and on the
importance of the individual’s personal relationship with Christ is
consistent with Catholic teaching.
‘However,’ he added, ‘we would, of course, emphasize the importance of
the Eucharist and the Mass, the sacraments, and the importance of the structure
and organization of the Church and its bishops and the Pope’ (The Evangelist,
Roman Catholic Diocese paper of Albany, New York, quoted in Foundation,
Jan.-Feb. 1990).
Wilson Ewin’s prayer letter for July 6, 1992, reported the following about
Graham’s June 1990 crusade in Catholic Quebec: Rick Marshall, mission
director and a member of the Minneapolis-based staff, said in an interview, "It
is being made clear to all staff and volunteers there is to be no
proselytizing" (The Gazette, Montreal, March 17, 1990).
1991
The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association held a crusade in St. Louis,
Missouri, September 22-29, 1991, co-sponsored by the Archdiocese of St. Louis.
Graham associate Ralph Bell was the speaker. Priest Vincent A. Heier, director
of the Archdiocesan Office for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs and a
member of the crusade executive committee, "stressed that although the effort
is ecumenical, people who attend the crusade and are interested in the Catholic
faith will be directed to Catholics. ‘Billy Graham has always been very
ecumenical ... Billy Graham has not necessarily pushed people into one
denomination or another but he’s tried to encourage whatever denominations
that want to cooperate.’"
In a letter encouraging priests in the St. Louis to attend upcoming seminars,
Catholic Archbishop John L. May noted that "Catholics will be needed to receive
those who approach seeking out information on the Catholic Church during the
actual crusade" (Australian Beacon, May 1991).
The Detroit Free Press for September 29, 1991, quoted Graham as saying, "The
Roman Catholics know that I’m not against them, and IN MY THINKING, RIGHTLY
OR WRONGLY, I REPRESENT ALL THE CHURCHES."
Graham’s September 1991 Central Park meeting in New York City was endorsed by
Roman Catholic Cardinal John O’Connor. The Cardinal said that ‘the Billy
Graham organization has asked our help in providing people to counsel and to
welcome back those who wish to practice their Catholic faith." At the rally
Graham thanked "Cardinal O’Connor and all the Catholic Bishops and churches
that are cooperating here today." Workers from 200 of the city’s 630 Catholic
parishes were among those who were trained for follow-up counseling (National &
International Religion Report, Oct. 7, 1991).
1992
In April 1992, Graham paid a five-day visit to Communist North Korea under the
auspices of the government-sanctioned Korean Christian Federation and the
Korean Catholic Association, and he preached in a Protestant church and a
Catholic church. He delivered a message from the Pope to communist President
Kim, and Kim entrusted him with a return message for the Pope (Christianity
Today, May 18, 1992).
Referring to the Graham crusade in Philadelphia, June 24-28, 1992, Cardinal
Anthony J. Bevilacqua, archbishop of Philadelphia, sent out a letter with the
following comments:
"As Catholics, in union with our Holy Father, the Pope, we are completely
committed to our Church’s ecumenical work. ... The Archdiocese ... has
developed an understanding with the Greater Philadelphia Billy Graham Crusade
that is fully in accord with Catholic ecumenical principles."
According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the archdiocese sent forty trained
counselors for the Crusade. After each crusade session, Catholics coming
forward were linked up with Catholic counselors and referred to the Catholic
Church (Calvary Contender, July 1, 1992).
Roughly 1,900 of those who came forward at the Philadelphia crusade were Roman
Catholic, and their names were given to 250 Catholic parishes for follow up.
Catholics comprised 14% of the individuals who came forward (The Catholic
Standard and Times, Philadelphia, Thurs., July 16, 1992).
In September 1992, Graham held a crusade in Portland, Oregon, and there was
full participation by the Catholic Church. According to Christians Evangelizing
Catholics, 10,000 counselors were expected to attend classes, and Roman
Catholic churches set a goal to supply 6,000 of these. Those who respond to the
altar call will be directed to Catholic parishes (Catholic Sentinel, April 24,
1992, cited in Christians Evangelizing Catholics, June 1992). In an interview
with FM radio station KBBM, Catholic Bishop Walshman and "Sister" Tulley stated
that the Graham crusade first approached them and invited them to participate.
When asked if the Catholic counselors would have opportunity to lead Catholics
back into the Roman church, Tulley replied: "Indeed, indeed ... that agreement
was made ... I am in constant contact with the Crusade" (Wilson Ewin prayer
letter, May 28, 1992).
1993
In March 1993, Billy Graham traveled to the Vatican and met with a Roman
Catholic Pope. This was at least the third time that he met with John Paul II.
Graham said, "I’m always impressed by the Pope’s warmth and friendship..."
He said the Pope showed a special interest in his crusade in Essen, Germany;
and well he should, given the number of converts Graham crusades refer
Romeward" (Calvary Contender, April 15, 1993).
Graham’s June 1993 crusade in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, brought together
1,050 churches representing 65 denominations. The crusade chairman was
Episcopalian Fred Fetterolf. There were six Catholics on the executive
committee.
The Catholic Church took an active part in the Graham crusade in Columbus, Ohio
(Columbus Dispatch, Sept. 19, 1993).
1994
Graham’s June 1994 crusade in Cleveland, Ohio, featured an alliance between
Catholic and Protestant churches and secular rock stations, two of which were
co-sponsors of the crusade (Calvary Contender, Sept. 15, 1994). Of the 1,005
churches that participated, more than 100 were Catholic. More than 60% of the
Catholic churches in the area were involved with the Graham crsuade. Catholic
Bishop Pilla conducted a Mass at St. John’s Cathedral "to welcome back the
fallen-away and the freshly recruited from the Graham Crusade."
In December 1994, Graham praised Pope John Paul II to Time magazine: "He’ll
go down in history as the greatest of our modern Popes. He’s been the strong
conscience of the whole Christian world" (Paul Gray, "Empire of the Spirit,"
Time, Dec. 26, 1994, p. 54).
1995
Graham’s October 1995 crusade in Sacramento, California, brought together 38
Catholic parishes and 303 Protestant churches. The Catholic parishes also
provided counselors. Graham paid tribute to Pope John Paul II on opening night.
"Thank God that he has the voice to speak out courageously on the moral issues
of our day" (Christianity Today, Dec. 11, 1995).
1996
Graham’s June 1996 crusade in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, brought the
participation of 119 Catholic parishes and 269 Lutheran congregations
(Christianity Today, July 15, 1996). This represented 53 percent of the
Catholic parishes. This is a dramatic change from the 1973 Minneapolis crusade,
when no Catholic churches and only a few Lutheran churches participated.
Archbishop Harry Flynn, head of the archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis,
urged priests to become involved in the crusade "in an effort to reach
alienated Catholics" (Morphew Clark, St. Paul Pioneer Press, Jan. 13, 1996).
Priest Robert Schwartz of the St. John Neumann Catholic parish told reporters
that about 60 members of his parish had been trained to counsel those who came
forward during the crusade. Some of the training sessions, both for Protestant
and Catholic counselors, were held at his parish. He said that some were
apprehensive when they first arrived, but the ecumenical activity broke down
those apprehensions: "They have to tell me how strange it is to be in a
Catholic church and how hard it was to come inside. The good thing is they are
there, sitting there in a Catholic church" (St. Paul Pioneer Press, May 12,
1996). He further said: "I haven’t heard anything I would disagree with, but
there are some things I would add, such as a social justice component, the
Eucharist and liturgy, the importance of sacraments--those kinds of things."
Former Minnesota governor Al Quie, who was the chairman for the 1996 Graham
crusade in Minneapolis, said Catholics had been "very involved in recent
crusades in Miami, Cleveland and other cities."
Graham’s 1996 Carolinas Crusade involved "Jewish, Catholic, Protestant and
other denominations on the committee" (Graeme Keith, crusade chairman,
Charlotte Observer, March 1, 1996).
1997
In a January 1997 interview with Larry King, Graham said that he has wonderful
fellowship with Rome, is comfortable with the Vatican, and agrees with the Pope
on almost everything.
KING: What do you think of the other [churches] ... like Mormonism?
Catholicism? Other faiths within the Christian concept?
GRAHAM: Oh, I think I have a wonderful fellowship with all of them. For example
...
KING: You’re comfortable with Salt Lake City. You’re comfortable with the
Vatican?
GRAHAM: I am very comfortable with the Vatican. I have been to see the Pope
several times. In fact, the night -- the day that he was inaugurated, made
Pope, I was preaching in his cathedral in Krakow. I was his guest ... [and]
when he was over here ... in Columbia, South Carolina ... he invited me on the
platform to speak with him. I would give one talk, and he would give the other
... but I was two-thirds of the way to China...
KING: You like this Pope?
GRAHAM: I like him very much. ... He and I agree on almost everything.
The March-April 1997 issue of Promise Keepers New Man magazine contained an
interview with Graham. (This magazine no longer officially represents Promise
Keepers, but it did at that time.) Following is his statement on Catholicism:
"Early on in my life, I didn’t know much about Catholics. But through the
years I have made many friends within the Roman Catholic Church. In fact, when
we hold a crusade in a city now, nearly all the Roman Catholic churches support
it. And when we went to Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., for the crusade [last
year], we saw St. Paul, which is largely Catholic, and Minneapolis, which is
largely Lutheran, both supporting the crusade. That wouldn’t have happened 25
years ago" ("Billy Graham in His Own Words: What the Evangelist Has Learned
from a Lifetime of Ministry to the World," New Man, March-April 1997, pp.
32,33).
In a May 30, 1997, interview Graham told David Frost, "I’M EQUALLY AT HOME IN
A BAPTIST CHURCH, ANGLICAN CHURCH, OR ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH." Obviously, Dr.
Billy Graham does not think Rome’s doctrinal heresies are a serious problem.
He did not get such an attitude from the Bible, though. When the Apostle Paul
wrote to the preacher Timothy, he instructed him not to allow ANY OTHER
DOCTRINE (1 Tim. 1:3). In contrast to this, Rome has added many doctrines that
the Apostles did not teach. Timothy was warned about false teachers by name and
was told that false teaching is wrong and dangerous and must be avoided (2 Tim.
2:16-18).
The Roman Catholic Church, joining 49 other denominations, played an important
role in Graham’s June 1997 crusade in San Antonio, Texas. Graham praised the
cooperation of Hispanics and Catholics, including an early endorsement from
Archbishop Patrick Flores, the top Catholic official in Texas. "Flores met with
Graham and taped radio spots in English and Spanish encouraging Catholics to
attend the crusade to help bring them to a closer commitment to their faith"
(Christianity Today, May 19, 1997, p. 51). Graham said: "The Devil has
separated us, and a crusade like this is used of God to bring people of all
denominations together" (Calvary Contender, June 1, 1997). To be Scriptural,
Graham should have said: "God has separated Bible-believing Christians from
false-gospel systems such as Roman Catholicism, and a crusade like this is used
of the Devil to bring people of all denominations together."
The Houston Chronicle noted that the Roman Catholic Church participated in
every aspect of the Graham crusade: "As a Christian leader, Billy Graham has
earned a respect that so transcends theological differences that Baptists,
Catholics and Presbyterians come together for planning, meetings and training
sessions months in advance to prepare for a Graham crusade" (Houston Chronicle,
March 30, 1997).
When Mother Teresa died in September 1997, Graham called her a saint. He
ignored the fact that she worshipped the wafer of the Catholic Mass as Jesus
Christ and taught her patients to pray to their pagan gods.
"It was my privilege to be with her on several occasions. The first time was at
the Home of Dying Destitutes in Calcutta. I had a wonderful hour of fellowship
in the Lord with her just at sunset, and I will never forget the sounds, the
smells and the strange beauty of that place. When she walked into the room to
greet me, I felt that I was, indeed, meeting a saint" (Graham, cited by David
Briggs, "Mother Teresa Hailed as Saint," Associated Press, Sept. 6, 1997).
In his 1997 autobiography, Just As I Am, Graham said his goal was not to lead
people out of Roman Catholicism:
"MY GOAL, I ALWAYS MADE CLEAR, WAS NOT TO PREACH AGAINST CATHOLIC BELIEFS OR TO
PROSELYTIZE PEOPLE who were already committed to Christ within the Catholic
Church. Rather, it was to proclaim the Gospel to all those who had never truly
committed their lives to Christ" (Graham, Just As I Am, p. 357).
1998
The June 1998 Billy Graham crusade in Ottawa, Ontario, witnessed the highest
proportion of Catholic churches that have ever participated in a Graham
crusade. Forty-six of the 56 English-speaking parishes participated (Bob
Harvey, "Billy Graham’s Catholic crusaders," Ottawa Citizen, May 5, 1998, p.
A1). Archbishop Marcel Gervais was on the platform with Graham during the
meetings. Gervais said: "This will be a good, positive ecumenical experience
that will convince people we can work with other churches." Rosemary Gauthier,
one of the Catholics who served on the general committee for the Graham
crusade, said, "We hope a lot of Catholics will re-commit themselves and return
to the church during the Mission." Seven hundred and fifty Catholics were
trained as counselors.
1999
Graham's crusade in Indianapolis, Indiana, in June 1999 won the endorsement of
Archbishop Daniel M. Buechlein, who encouraged Catholic parishes to participate
(The Indianapolis Star, June 3, 1999).
Billy Graham conducted a crusade in St. Louis, Missouri, in October 1999. In an
interview with the press, Graham said that baptism is not his concern and not
his business. The following is his statement:
"Baptism is very important because Jesus taught that we are to believe and to
be baptized. But that is up to the individual and the church that they feel led
to go to. The churches have different teachings on that. I know that in the
Lutheran or the Episcopal or Catholic Church it is a very strong point, and in
the Baptist church. But there are some churches that would not insist on
baptism. So, I give them the freedom to teach what they want. I am not a
professor. I am not a theologian. I'm a simple proclaimer. I'm announcing the
news that God loves you and that you can be forgiven of your sins. And you can
go to heaven. My job from God is not to do all these other things. I am not a
pastor of a church. That's not my responsibility. My responsibility is to
preach the Gospel to everyone and let them choose their own church, whether it
is Catholic or Protestant or Orthodox or whatever it is" (Billy Graham,
interview with Patricia Rice, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 10, 1999).
This is an amazing statement and shows how openly disobedient Dr. Graham is to
the Bible. He pretends that any baptism is acceptable--infant baptism,
baptismal regeneration. Even no baptism is acceptable to Graham. He simply
doesn\rquote t care what happens to those who respond to his message. It\rquote
s not his business, he says. God does not require him to be concerned with
baptism or \ldblquote all these other things,\rdblquote he says.\par \par This
is absolute nonsense. Where in the Bible has God told Billy Graham that he is
at liberty to preach the Gospel but not to be concerned with baptism and other
aspects of biblical obedience? This is not what Jesus Christ told the Apostles,
and it is not what the Apostles told the first churches. The exact same
passages that command the Gospel to be preached command the baptism of
believers and the training of believers. Consider the following passage:
"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, BAPTIZING THEM in
the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: TEACHING THEM TO
OBSERVE ALL THINGS whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you
alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen" (Matthew 28:18-20).
This is the Great Commission that Jesus Christ has given. The Gospel is to be
preached AND believers are to be baptized AND discipled. Billy Graham has no
authority to divide the Great Commission so that he ignores two-thirds of it.
Furthermore, the Gospel itself requires that baptism be practiced biblically.
False baptisms corrupt the very Gospel. Graham mentioned, for example, that
Catholic baptism is acceptable to him. The following statements from the New
Catholic Catechism explain what the Roman Catholic Church believes about
baptism:
"The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation. ... The
Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into
eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she
has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are 'reborn of
water and the Spirit.' God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism..."
(New Catholic Catechism, 1992, # 1257).
"By Baptism all sins are forgiven, original sin and all personal sins, as well
as all punishment for sin" (New Catholic Catechism, 1992, # 1263).
"Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte 'a new
creature,' an adopted son of God, who has become a 'partaker of the divine
nature,' member of Christ and co-heir with him, and a temple of the Holy
Spirit" (New Catholic Catechism, 1992, # 1265).
This is what Rome believes about baptism. Is this what Billy Graham also
believes? Does he believe salvation is bound to the sacrament of baptism? Does
he believe that baptism purifies sin and makes the person a new creature and
imparts the Holy Spirit? If Billy Graham believes what Rome teaches about
baptism, he should be honest and join the Catholic Church.
On the other hand, if he doesn't believe what Rome teaches, if he believes what
the Southern Baptist Convention teaches about baptism (he is an ordained
Southern Baptist preacher), he should condemn Rome's doctrine as heresy and
should warn his converts to have nothing to do with Roman Catholicism.
Following is what the Southern Baptist Convention teaches about baptism:
"Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the
Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience SYMBOLIZING the
believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer's death
to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of
life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection
of the dead" (Baptist Faith and Message, Southern Baptist Convention, May
1963).
There can be no neutral ground here. Rome teaches that baptism is a sacrament
or channel or grace and that it purifies sins and makes a new creature in
Christ. Baptists teach that sin is purified through faith in Jesus Christ alone
and that baptism merely SYMBOLIZES and TESTIFIES TO the salvation the believer
has already received through faith in Christ. Rome teaches that salvation comes
from Christ to the sinner through the mediation of the sacraments of the
Catholic Church. Baptists teach that salvation comes directly from Christ to
the sinner. Baptist churches have no sacraments or channels of grace. They have
the simple ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper to symbolize and
memorialize the full salvation the believers already possess in Christ.
The difference between Roman Catholic doctrine and Baptist doctrine is the
difference between heaven and hell. The Apostle Paul said there is only one
true Gospel, and those who change the Gospel are cursed of God (Galatians 1).
Rome and the Baptists teach different gospels. One or the other is cursed, and
the ecumenical philosophy cannot change these solemn facts.
In the St. Louis interview, Graham also said that the Catholic Jesuits who came
to St. Louis centuries ago were "doing evangelism."
"That's the responsibility that Jesus left us, to go to all the world and
proclaim the Gospel to every creature. That's evangelism. That is what the
Jesuits did when they came to St. Louis. They were doing evangelism" (Graham,
ibid.).
Again, Graham says nothing about the false sacramental, works-faith gospel the
Jesuits were proclaiming. What confusion! The Apostles spent much of their time
warning about false gospels (i.e., 2 Cor. 11:1-4; Galatians 1; Colossians 2; 2
John; Jude), but Billy Graham warns about nothing and pretends that all who
preach the "gospel" are preaching the same true gospel.
In an interview with the Associated Press in December 1999, Billy Graham said
he would pick Pope John Paul II as the "man of the century." According to
Graham, the pope "has brought the greatest impact of any pope in the last 200
years" Graham further said: "I admire his courage, determination, intellectual
abilities and his understanding of Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox
differences, and the attempt at some form of reconciliation" (Associated Press,
December 17, 1999). Sadly, Graham had no warning about the false gospel that
John Paul II preaches and whereby multitudes are led astray to eternal
damnation.
Billy Graham has had opportunity to preach to more people than any other man in
this generation, perhaps in history. When he stands before God, he will give
account for the souls of those who were deceived by his false ecumenical
message and were thereby turned to false gospels such as Rome's.
__________________________
These are not isolated facts, but exemplify Graham’s philosophy and
methodology through the years. For almost fifty years Graham has turned
inquirers over to Catholic churches, has accepted honorary degrees from
Catholic schools, has flattered the Popes with amazing accolades, has visited
Pope John Paul II to seek his counsel. In the Evangelical world, Billy Graham
has no equal in the building up of Roman Catholicism.
The alarm must be raised against flirting with error and against following
disobedient Christian leaders who are involved in these activities. The error
of New Evangelicalism is not so much what it teaches that is wrong, but what it
refuses to preach and the illicit fellowship in which it is involved. If we
don’t lift a voice against compromise of this magnitude, surely we must be
branded as traitors. Brethren, "Keep thee far from a false matter" (2 Kings
10:10).