The fifty-five year old pastor made this controversial statement while he was preaching in his church, Household of God Church in Ikeja, Lagos. He said the Catholic church was a counterfeit church created by Satan. He accused catholics of bowing to idols and crucifying Jesus by eating His flesh and drinking His blood every Sunday.
“They are not Christians and have never been,” Okotie insisted, to the wide-eyed shock of his congregation.
“They don’t know Jesus. They believe that when they eat bread on Sundays, they are eating the body of Jesus. It’s ritual."
He said Pope Francis is Anti-Christ, doing the bidding of the devil and that it was only a matter of time before the Catholic church came out to declare full service to Satan.
He urged his congregation to save the Catholics by evangelizing to them. He added that all he was saying wasn't out of disrespect. Rather, he was showing respect for the word of God.
He added that it was only fair that those who knew the truth should bring it to those who didn't in the Catholic church. He said that Pope John Paul II, one of the most revered popes in recent Catholic history, had handed over the Catholic Church to Mary, earthly mother of Jesus, and that the current Pope (Francis) had done the same thing, instead of surrendering it to Jesus Christ Himself.
He said that, while he didn't write the bible, it was obvious that Catholics aren't Christians and they do not serve the same Christ he preaches about in the bible. He added that Catholics didn't even believe in hell, but in purgatory ("the purgatory that they invented," he added)
Pastor Chris Okotie has been married twice, and divorced twice, and he announced that there would be a beauty pageant to announce the most beautiful woman in his church next Sunday. His yearly "Grace Programme" will also hold next Sunday.
The former music star, who is now a politician of sorts has always been a controversial character in Nigeria. He once said that it was the devil who informed him that he was going to be a preacher. Pastor Chris Okotie once said the famous Prophet T.B. Joshua was the son of the devil and his congregation will wind up in hell.
Pastor Chris Okotie has announced frequently in recent times that God has anointed him to be president of Nigeria. Alas, the prophecy hasn't come to fruition yet, as he has lost in the two presidential elections he contested in.