I believe in God - not in a Catholic God; there is no Catholic

“I believe in God — not in a Catholic God; there is no Catholic God. There is God, and I believe in Jesus Christ, his incarnation. Jesus is my teacher and my pastor, but God, the Father, Abba, is the light and the Creator. This is my Being.” — so spoke Pope Francis, shepherd of souls and servant of the humble, whose words echo with the thunder of universality and the gentleness of love. In this confession, we hear not the doctrine of division, but the song of oneness — the truth that God cannot be contained by walls, names, or nations. He is not the possession of any church, creed, or crown. He is Being itself, the eternal Light that burns before all religions and beyond all boundaries.

In the ancient days, men built altars upon mountains, each believing their god greater than another’s. They carved idols, named them with pride, and fought wars in their honor. Yet the prophets and sages rose like dawn to remind humanity that the Creator is not bound to temples made by human hands. When Moses stood before the burning bush, he asked for the Name — and the voice replied, “I AM WHO I AM.” In that name resided no tribe, no sect, no claim — only existence itself. So too, Pope Francis reminds the world that God is not Catholic, or Muslim, or Jew, or Hindu. God is. He is the breath within the lungs of every soul, the source of every spark of conscience and compassion.

When the Pope said, “This is my Being,” he spoke not as one above others, but as one who has seen that faith is not a garment we wear, but the very thread from which our being is woven. He honors Jesus Christ, not as an emblem of division, but as the incarnation of divine love — a teacher, a pastor, a mirror of what humanity can become when it remembers its Source. The Christ he follows is not the Christ of political banners or denominational borders, but the Christ who said, “Love one another as I have loved you.” In this love, there is no Catholic or Protestant, no believer or skeptic — only the beloved children of Abba, the Father of all light.

Consider the life of Saint Francis of Assisi, whose name Pope Francis bears with reverence. In an age of crusades and bloodshed, Francis walked unarmed into the camp of the Sultan, not to convert by sword, but to speak of peace. He saw the divine image in the eyes of a man called “enemy,” and in that moment, he understood the same truth his papal namesake would later proclaim: God is one, though His names are many, and His light shines even upon those who do not recognize its source. For the holy do not see boundaries; they see the sacred in all creation — in man, in beast, in leaf and stone.

This teaching calls upon us to transcend the narrow walls of our own minds. Too often, humanity worships its symbols more than its Creator, guarding doctrines while neglecting compassion. But the Pope’s words remind us that faith without universality is no faith at all. To believe in God is not to defend a label, but to embody His light — to love without discrimination, to serve without reward, and to see divinity reflected in every soul. The true believer is not one who says, “My God,” but one who whispers, “Our God.”

In your own life, remember this: every act of kindness, every word of mercy, every moment of understanding is a form of worship. To live in harmony with others — even those who differ from you — is to honor the Creator who made you both. When you walk through the streets, see the divine spark in the stranger’s eyes. When you pray, know that your prayer joins the river of countless others flowing toward the same eternal sea. Let your faith be vast as the sky, not narrow as a room; let it breathe, let it embrace.

And so, the lesson is this: believe not in ownership, but in Oneness. Let your faith make you larger, not smaller; freer, not fearful. Do not say, “My God is greater,” but “God is greater than all.” For when you live this truth, you become a vessel of peace in a divided world. As Pope Francis taught, the essence of faith is not control, but communion — not possession, but participation in the eternal light. God is the Creator, the Father, the Being from which all being flows. To believe in Him is not to draw boundaries, but to dissolve them in love.

Therefore, live as a child of that light. Be humble in your worship, boundless in your compassion, and steadfast in your service. In every person, see the reflection of the same divine Abba that breathes life into you. For when you do, you will understand the heart of this teaching — that to believe in God is to awaken to the unity of all creation, and to find, at last, that this unity is your very Being.