My main contention is with the claim that all are children of God. If this is true, why are some people called “children of wrath” according to Ephesians 2:3 and why are others called the “children of the devil: in 1 John 3:10 and Acts 13:10? If what Pope Francis said is true, who was Jesus talking about when he said:

“You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44)

One well-known neo-Catholic came to the defense of Pope Francis by saying he merely meant we are all children of God, in the sense that we are all created by God. In other words, the Scriptures referenced above are talking about things on a spiritual level, whereas Pope Francis is just talking about being a child of God on a natural level. I’m not buying this distinction, but let’s assume it is true for the moment. Are we really to believe that this is how the average person is going to interpret the video? Does the average person really make such distinctions, or are they more prone to interpret this as meaning we are all children of God, in the sense that we are all one big family and belong to the same side? If the latter, isn't the statement harmful to souls, regardless of what Pope Francis intended?

Furthermore, granting the neo-Catholic claim, doesn’t that mean Satan and the fallen angels are also children of God? Isn't this the logical conclusion of such a view? After all, they too are created by God. If such a definition doesn’t apply to them, why not? If being created by God is the only basis for being called a child of God, why does a Muslim receive such a title but not Satan?

It is interesting to note that Pope Francis bases his desire for dialogue upon the notion that we are all children of God. With the way things are going under the Franciscan Reign of Terror (as one popular blogger calls this pontificate), I wouldn’t be surprised if the “God of surprises” (i.e. Pope Francis) carries his statement to its logical conclusion and opens up a dialogue with Satan, the neo-Catholic’s newest member of the children of God. After all, we wouldn’t want to be exclusive or anything like that.