the spiritual corruption is obvious to all, unless of course one is wilfully blind.
There is no perfect church, but faithful yes. In Revelation we see the Seven letters to Seven churches and three out seven were faithful the rest were put on notice to repent, exposing the sin within. These letters were to specific churches but were also messages to all churches throughout the Church Age. Yes, man misinterprets scripture (as you apparently do as well) and some mislead their flocks. But make no mistake,
God is sovereign and He has everything under control. He has factored in our sins and failures into His perfect plan. Every Christian in the Book of Life has been accounted for. His work has been done and He is right on schedule. Man cannot mess up His plan. Only the works of the Holy Spirit through us matter -- they are accomplished. Fear not, evil has been restrained by the Holy Spirit and He also uses the Body of Christ and governments of the world to do His will.
Intellectual ability is utterly irrelevant when it comes to serving God.
Well I would not discount an unintelligent man in his service to God. God uses all men. But to get through 8 years of Seminary, advance to Bishop, Cardinal and then Pope requires a bit of intelligence, knowledge, a exemplary track record, peer admiration, a reflection of Jesus' Light and Love that has well been experienced and noted throughout his Church body.
If St Francis of Assisi is a church of Jesus Christ, then inviting pagans to place their pagan gods on the altar is the equivalent abomination of putting idols in the temple of God in Jerusalem.
Again your narrow perspective only sees what you want to see and that is evil. Idols were not worshipped by any Christians during this event, nor should we at any time. For instance, a Buddha placed anywhere is nothing and means nothing, has no power - it's just a statue of a fat dead person who had no power then nor does he have power now. We aren't to bow down to any idol and worship it but the idol itself has no power in the presence of God and the Church. But we do not wrestle statues or with flesh and blood but with powers and principalities in dark places - demons. We wrestle with the spiritual realm, that is what you should concern yourself with.
You don't make converts by indicating that their god is equal to your god!
I am sure the Pope did not make that claim. Maybe you are inferring that because of your prejudice?
Christian theologians know who God is and know He is the only God and so, in a sense our God is their God, (unbeknownst to them), but they see Him in a distorted way, they believe falsely and not according to the Bible. They may believe basic things like He is the Creator, He loves us, He's all knowing. If you told a Hindu who believes in many gods, reincarnation, etc., that Jesus loves him and wants a relationship with him, he might respond, "I know ... he is one of many ..." And then he would share his thoughts. He's confused and has a false concept of God, nevertheless, there is one God who loves him.
So regardless of all the false religions, God loves us and that would be the Pope's foundational concept along with peace, hope, and faith. If you are the Pope, you don't burn bridges and cut yourself off from all other religions and firmly demonize them -- you don't do that. You speak the truth in love. The Word transforms hearts and minds, not burning people at the stake.
He gave legitimacy for perverse and satanic gods.
He continually told Christians to pray to Mary.
The final world antichrist religion will be pantheism, all gods being equal. That is what he endorses.
I am aware of this ecumenical movement, but I do not think Pope John Paul II ever gave legitimacy to other gods --
because there aren't any. Satan is said to be the "god of this world system", but he's a fallen angel -- and he is legitimate.
Btw, the final anti-Christ religion is Islam. Islam has always been anti-Christ and anti- Semitic throughout their history. They are surrounding Israel and the Middle East is on fire as we speak. The mark of the beast is the Islamic symbol these Muslim terrorists wear on their sleeves or headbands. Their signature is chopping of heads which btw is supported by Rev. 20:4 So get off your anti- Catholic, anti- Church path -- you are way off base!