I cannot find any evidence of an upside down cross being used by the current pope either. Maybe the photos of pope john paul really are just a mistake of some sort.

there are lots of pope photos here

Pope Photos


and even I do believe that Jesus had a hand in establishing the catholic church as it was established, more or less, for a certain day and time.. because if it weren't for the catholic church holding back the spread of islam I'd probably be wearing a burka right now... among other things the church did through the middle ages, like condemning witchcraft... not a perfect institution but it definitely had a purpose for a certain day and time.

however if you check the Vatican II catholic catechism, you will notice that today's catholic church declares that muslims, jews and catholics worship the same god. a bit of a problem there for most evangelicals, and even jews, who all disagree quite a bit with that idea... we do not worship allah. look up muslims or islam in the index to find that passage in the catechism.

I used to have the book on the shelf but I threw it out in the garbage so I forget which page it's on.

personally, I don't think it's wise to let anyone or anything come between you and your relationship with Jesus. that includes the pope. and even charles stanley. Jesus raised up a new temple 3 days after the crucifixion. I do believe the statement he made regarding that has great significance.

a big error I see in the catholic church is it's refusal to let go of the things of the past, so evident in it's use of symbolism. It's impossible to repent without letting go of the past.

pray for forgiveness for the sins of our fathers that our hearts might be healed.