Israel Folau has attacked the Catholic Church because Catholics do not read the Bible.
Folau is a rugby player who is fullback for the New South Wales Waratahs and Australia’s national team the Wallabies.
Last Wednesday in an Instagram post, Folau suggested homosexuals and other groups – including drunks and atheists – were destined for hell.
In a sermon he preached recently, Folau noted that there a lot of people who go to church but do not follow the doctrine of Christ.
He critiqued the Catholic church because Catholics “baptise babies with a sprinkling of water over the top of their head, things like that, that aren’t even biblical.”
Folau also finds fault with the Catholic Church’s devotion to Mary, the mother of God.
“What does the Catholic Church do? They create an image of Mary and Jesus and totally go against what God’s word is.
“What are we putting up in front of God that are idols? In this example, I’m talking about Mary, but it could be things like money, or jobs, it could be things like our husbands or wives.
“The problem with a lot of people today is they don’t read the word, they go to church on Sunday, listen to what the pastor says, and that’s it,” Folau said.
“They don’t go back home to check for what the word of God says.”
As a result of the backlash caused by Folau’s Instagram post, Rugby Australia and the NSW Rugby Union released a statement on Thursday evening saying that barring unforeseen circumstances, Folau would be sacked.
But administrators are working behind the scenes to ascertain whether they are able to sack him.
Folau grew up as a Mormon but moved to an being an active member of an Assemblies of God fellowship in 2011.
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