Pope Francis has ruffled the feathers of some religious leaders in the United States by saying that all religions provide a path to God.

Francis delivered the spontaneous remark late last week during an interfaith gathering with young people at a Catholic institution in Singapore, according to The Christian Post. He went off-script from his prepared speech, emphasizing that different faiths serve as “languages” leading to the same divine truth.

“There’s only one God, and each of us has a language to arrive at God,” Francis said, as reported by the Catholic news website Crux Now. “Some are Sheik, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, and they are different paths [to God].”

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This inclusive message immediately drew sharp reactions, particularly from Bishop Joseph Strickland of Texas, who was dismissed from his duties by the Vatican last year for publicly disagreeing with the pope over abortion and LGBT issues. He took to X to call for the pope to reaffirm that Jesus is the sole path to salvation.

“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,” Bishop Strickland posted.

Bishop Strickland’s comments arrive amid broader, long-standing criticisms from Catholic traditionalists, who have previously accused Francis of promoting a diluted version of church teachings.

Earlier controversies include his remarks on humanity’s inherent goodness during a “60 Minutes” interview, which some viewed as contradicting core Christian doctrines on sin and redemption. Traditional Catholics have also been left fuming over Francis’ slow crackdown on Latin Mass liturgies, begging the pontiff for an explanation.

The Washington Times has reached out to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for comment.