(CP) During a three-day visit to Singapore, Pope Francis declared that "all religions are a path to God," sparking backlash among religious leaders in the U.S.

The statement was made at an interreligious meeting with young people at a Catholic junior college shortly before his departure back to Rome.

Departing from his prepared remarks, Francis spoke off the cuff, stating that different religions are like "different languages" to reach God.

"If you start to fight, 'my religion is more important than yours, mine is true and yours isn't,' where will that lead us?" he asked," according to Crux Now. "There's only one God, and each of us has a language to arrive at God. Some are Sheik, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, and they are different paths [to God]."

Reacting to the pontiff's comments, Bishop Joseph Strickland, who oversaw the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tyler, Texas, until his dismissal by the Vatican last year, said in a post on X, "Please pray for Pope Francis to clearly state that Jesus Christ is the only Way. To deny this is to deny Him. If we deny Christ, He will deny us, He cannot deny Himself."

Strickland was ousted for disagreeing with Francis on the issue of banning pro-abortion Catholic politicians from receiving communion and over the degree to which outreach to the LGBT community is acceptable in the Catholic Church. A petition created in defense of Strickland last year said he was ousted because he "publicly corrected several heterodox statements from Pope Francis."

Francis, referring to the universal nature of God, claimed, "Since God is God for all, then we are all children of God."

In Singapore, Catholics constitute about 3.5% of the population, with Christians at 19%, Buddhists at 31%, Muslims at 15% and significant Hindu and Sikh minorities.

Francis also encouraged young people to engage in and sustain interfaith dialogue. "For interreligious dialogue among young people, it takes courage, because youth is the time of courage in our lives," he said.

Fr. Calvin Robinson, who recently moved from England to lead a church in western Michigan, also rebuked the pope's statement in a post on X: "This is a counter-scriptural statement from Pope Francis. The Scriptures teach us the opposite. The gate to [H]eaven is narrow.

Robinson added, "In Christ's own words: 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'"

The pope's remarks come amid reactions from conservative Catholic quarters, reminiscent of past controversies.

Francis previously faced criticism and accusations of heresy on social media back in May for claiming the human heart is "fundamentally good" during a "60 Minutes" interview.

When asked by interviewer Norah O'Donnell what gives him hope about the world, the pope responded with "everything," citing acts of goodness by people as proof of humanity's inherent goodness.

"You see tragedies, but you also see so many beautiful things," he said. "You see heroic mothers, heroic men, men who have hopes and dreams, women who look to the future. That gives me a lot of hope. People want to live. People forge ahead. And people are fundamentally good. We are all fundamentally good. Yes, there are some rogues and sinners, but the heart itself is good."

At the time, many commenters on X criticized Francis for his remarks, with some accusing him of failing to grasp the basic teaching of the Gospel. Others quoted portions of Scripture that teach God alone is good and that humanity has a sinful nature.

Some X users noted that Francis' comment appeared to be an example of Pelagianism, a fifth century heresy that denied original sin and taught the essential goodness of humanity.

During his 2022 trip to Kazakhstan, he made similar statements. Auxiliary Bishop Athanasius Schneider of Astana, a frequent critic, had then commented on the risk of creating a "supermarket of religions."

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