Evangelist Ray Comfort was "horrified" by Pope Francis' recent proclamation that human beings are "fundamentally good," telling CBN News he believes the pontiff missed a significant opportunity to share the Gospel with a watching world. "[I was] horrified, because the pope's got a wonderful platform," Comfort said. "I mean, here's an opportunity to ... tell people how they can find everlasting life."
Comfort's comments came after a debate erupted earlier this month over Pope Francis' response to journalist Norah O'Donnell's question about what gives him hope. "Everything. You see tragedies, but you also see so many beautiful things," the pontiff said during the "60 Minutes" appearance. "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." But it's what the pope said next that ignited a firestorm. "And people are fundamentally good," he added. "We are all fundamentally good. Yes, there are some rogues and sinners, but the heart itself is good."
Some fact-checkers on X attempted to clarify what they saw as a mistranslation of part of the pontiff's statement. Thus, a comment on the platform reads, "Pope Francis said 'somos un poco pícaros y pecadores,' meaning literally 'we are a little bit rogue and sinners,' speaking to some sinfulness within each of us. This is not the same as saying 'there are some rogues and sinners.'"
Regardless, this doesn't address the critiques that people like Comfort have over Pope Francis' statements on the heart and general human goodness. Pushing back on the quote, Comfort said it's "a basic fundamental to believe what Jesus said" – that "there is none good but God." Comfort said the main problem with the entire conversation about the human heart is the metric many people choose to gauge it. "We measure ourselves by man's standards rather than God's," he said. "When God says 'good,' He means moral perfection, and thought, word, and deed." Comfort continued, "And that's why the Bible says, 'There is none good,' and the problem is, if you tell people they're good, they don't see their need of a Savior."
He went on to cite the Ten Commandments to show the seriousness of sin and the inability of humans to live in and through perfection.