Pope Francis is under fire after claiming that human beings are “fundamentally good” in a recent interview with 60 Minutes host Norah O’ Donnell. “We are all fundamentally good,” he said. “Yes, there are some rogues and sinners, but the heart itself is good.”
Evangelical leaders have pointed out that the pontiff’s statements are contrary to the teaching of original sin, one of Christianity’s basic doctrines. “If this is true, we don’t need a Savior to die on the Cross,” wrote Eric Metaxas, best-selling author and national radio host.
Alluding to the pope’s statements in light of the 24/7 news cycle, Southern Baptist Convention President Bart Barber posted on X: “The remainder of the content of this news program and all the other programming on your TV suggests otherwise. And certainly Jesus taught to the contrary.”
Allie Beth Stuckey, conservative Christian author and podcast host, pointed out that the Bible refutes Pope Francis’ claims that humanity is inherently good. She quoted Mark 10:18—“No one is good except God alone”—and Jeremiah 17:9—“The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick”—among other verses. “This is core to Christianity,” Stuckey wrote. “Because if everyone is basically good, the Gospel is not good news. If the Gospel is not good news, what’s the point?”
Some X users also noted that Pope Francis’ statement echoed Pelagianism, a heresy spread by 5th century monk Pelagius and his followers. They denied original sin and taught that human beings are completely free to choose between good and evil.
Franklin Graham speaks out regularly on sin—and how it is the root cause of every problem in our world. “There is no place in the human heart or on the Earth where sin hasn’t wrought its deadly work,” he writes. “Sin brought death, both physical and spiritual, to the entire human race. When you took your first breath, outside your mother’s womb, you were already a sinner, alienated and separated from a holy God.”
But the Good News of the Gospel is that sin does not need to have the last word. As Franklin pointed out last week at the U.S. Capitol, during the unveiling of his father’s statue: “God so loved this world that He sent His Son on a rescue mission to save sinners. He didn’t come to condemn; He came to save. And if we would confess our sins and repent and believe on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can be saved.”
