We are Superheroes: A Clear Message from Pope Francis to 7,500 Children

Imagine you are a church leader, and you have the opportunity to speak to 7,500 children from 84 different countries on one single occasion. What an opportunity that would be! What would you say? What would your message be to those children? Would you take advantage of the unique opportunity to share the hope of the Gospel, or would you use the occasion to communicate a different message? For Pope Francis this scenario became a reality on November 6th, as he had the privilege of hosting 7,500 children in the Vatican. Pope Francis has always made himself accessible to as many people as possible and has always done his best to be among the Roman Catholic faithful. For this he is to be commended. What is troublesome, however, is the message he chose for the children on such a unique occasion. For the entirety of the two hours, and while he had the attention of these thousands of children and the adults who accompanied them, no hint of the biblical gospel was proclaimed. Christ was completely absent.

This occasion was not a celebration of the gospel and of the hope, forgiveness, and salvation that we have in Christ. It was a celebration of man. It was a celebration of what mankind can accomplish when it works together. Upon his entry into the large hall where the meeting was held, the Italian rapper Mr. Rain sang his most famous song “Supereroi” (Superheroes). Who are the superheroes? We are. We are “two drops of rain that will save the world.” Together we can stop the winds of a hurricane. We are superheroes. Mr. Rain was followed by the second singing of “Bello Mondo” (Beautiful World), a song which addresses the dangers of climate change.

Together we can save the world. This was the Pope’s message. We can save the world by being brothers and sisters. We are not enemies; we are all brothers and sisters. “Are we enemies”? Francis asked the children. “No!” was the response. “Louder I can’t hear you. Are we enemies”? “No!” “That’s right, we are all brothers and sisters. We are all part of the house of God. We are all the church. God loves you all very much.”

A celebration of man, not of the gospel. Yes, God does love us very much. But if he were only a God of love, there would be no need for the cross of Christ. He is a God of love, but he is also a God of a perfect and just wrath. His wrath is rightly poured out against sin, otherwise he could not be a God of love. We are all sinners. By nature we are enemies of God. We are all condemned. But praise be to God for loving us and giving us Christ (John 3:16)! Apart from that gift we have no hope. This message, however, was nowhere to be seen or heard. Instead, the message was that we can do it on our own. Instead of asking the children to pray to Christ (again, Christ was nowhere to be found), he implored them to pray to the Holy Mother, Mary.

A young boy from Ukraine asked Pope Francis, “Can you explain how to make peace?” What a wonderful opportunity to share the gospel! What a wonderful opportunity to proclaim the true peace we can experience in Christ. While we can and must pursue peace on Earth, due to sin true peace will never be accomplished. It is the tragedy of sin. The good news of the Gospel, however, is that for those that trust in Christ one day true peace will indeed reign. It will be true peace because sin and death will be eliminated, never to be seen or experienced again. Yes, as Christians we pursue peace, for this is Christ-like and is godly, but we know that true and everlasting peace is in Christ alone and in the removal of sin. This was not the Pope’s answer, however. After asking all the children to reflect on this question, he provided his own answer. “There is no method for making peace. Peace is made by a gesture. It is made by extending our hand to others in friendship and working together.” He then asked all the children if they wanted to make peace and asked them to extend their hands as a gesture of that desire. What is the hope for peace according to the Pope? We are. If we work hard enough, we can make peace. If we are all brothers and sisters, anything is possible. We are “two drops of rain that can save the world.” We are “superheroes.”

“Pope Francis”, asked a young lady, “What do you do when you get angry?” “When I get angry, I drink a glass of water before responding.” The Pope then asked all the children to say together with him, “When I get mad, before responding I will drink a glass of water.” Once again it is man that is the hope for overcoming the problem of anger. It is not Christ in us that gives our hearts new desires and helps us to deal with anger in a new way as new creations in Christ. No, it is a glass of water that helps me overcome anger. A celebration of man, not of the gospel.

Towards the conclusion of the event a choir of children sang the song “We are the World” by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. The children sang “We are the world, we are the children. We are the ones who make a brighter day, so let’s start giving. There is a choice we are making, we are saving ourselves. It’s true we’ll make a better day, just you and me.” No need for Christ, we are saving ourselves. We are drops of rain that can save the world. Together we can stop the winds of a hurricane. Thank you, Christ, but we’ve got this, we don’t need you. That is the message proclaimed on November 6, 2023 at the Vatican, and is confirmed by the complete absence of Christ in any song or dialogue. The meeting concluded with a Hail Mary. The evangelical church must take note of this blatant disregard for the Good News of Jesus Christ. It is not being hidden. It is plain for all to see. The evangelical church must continue to pray for true biblical reform in Rome. It needs it desperately.