A Catholic priest from Poland is facing rebuke after calling Pope Francis a “foreign body” in the church and implying the Pope should pass away soon if his views on refugees and non-Christian beliefs don’t change.
“I pray for wisdom for the pope, for his heart to open up to the Holy Spirit. And if he does not do that, I pray for his quick departure to the House of the Father,” Father Edward Staniek said during a homily in Krakow last month, according to an English transcription of his words.
“I can always ask God for a happy death for him, because a happy death is a great grace,” he said.
During the homily, the prominent priest and theologian also took issue with some of the Pope’s more liberal ideas on immigration, divorce and Islam.
Of Muslims, Staniek said there is “no way to dialogue with them.”
“In the name of mercy, [Pope Francis] calls parishes and dioceses to open the door for the followers of Islam,” he said during his homily. “As a religion, they are hostile to the Gospel and the Church. They murdered millions in religious wars…We can show mercy to those Muslim believers who are dying of hunger or thirst. The doors of the diocese and the parish may be open only to believers in Jesus Christ.”
Staniek’s words were censured by the Archbishop of Krakow, Marek Jedraszewski.
“It is with great pain and sorrow that I have heard of the remarks about Father Francis by Fr. prof. Edward Staniek during his homily at The Church of the Felician Sisters in Krakow. I raised this matter during my personal conversation with him,” the statement reads.
