Pope Leo XIV: A Call to Prayer and Protest

In recent years, a growing number of evangelicals have begun looking to Roman Catholicism with admiration. Some are drawn to its structure, tradition, or “morals”. Others, disillusioned with shallow expressions of faith, even convert. Many now see Catholicism as simply another Christian denomination—different in form, but essentially the same in faith. But such views ignore both the plain teachings of Scripture and the historical convictions of the Protestant Reformation.

With the election of a new pope, the world celebrates. But for those shaped by the historic Protestant faith, this is not a moment of joy—it is a call to discernment and prayer. The papacy is not a Christian office, but an antichristian one. It elevates one man to the place of Christ, claiming authority over the Church, binding consciences through human tradition, and obscuring the gospel of grace with superstition. The Reformers, the Puritans, and our confessions all spoke with one voice on this issue.

Martin Luther, John Calvin, and others boldly identified the pope as the biblical Antichrist—not out of hatred, but out of love for the truth and for the Church. This view was not a fringe opinion, but a central conviction of Protestantism. The Westminster Confession and the 1689 Baptist Confession both declare that the papacy is “that Antichrist” who exalts himself against Christ and His Word.

Charles Spurgeon echoed this same spirit when he said it is the duty of every Christian to pray against Antichrist. He reminded us that this is not a figure of the past, nor only of the future, but a present enemy to the gospel. Behind the beauty and tradition of Rome lies a system that replaces Christ with man, grace with works, and Scripture with hierarchy.

Our duty today is the same: to pray for the conversion of Roman Catholics, to proclaim the sufficiency of Christ, and to resist every form of false teaching. Let us not grow soft or silent. Let us, with courage and love, call people back to Christ alone, Scripture alone, and the glory of God alone.

Nino Marques