Pope Francis Says All Who Do Good Are Redeemed - Atheists Included
Pope Francis rocked some religious and atheist minds today when he declared that everyone was redeemed through Jesus, including atheists.Dear Catholic/ex-Catholic/knowledgeable friends: Is this as big a deal as it seems to my very outsider eye?
“The Lord created us in His image and likeness, and we are the image of the Lord, and He does good and all of us have this commandment at heart: do good and do not do evil. All of us. ‘But, Father, this is not Catholic! He cannot do good.’ Yes, he can… “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the Blood of Christ: all of us, not just Catholics. Everyone! ‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone!”.. We must meet one another doing good. ‘But I don’t believe, Father, I am an atheist!’ But do good: we will meet one another there.”
Who knows if this is as live-and-let-live as it seems to me at first, who knows what else this Pope will do; but this seems like a nice start, and hopefully William Donahue is absolutely fucking livid about it.
The basic idea’s been around in theological circles forever. Important to note that this isn’t an official doctrinal statement: this isn’t something that Catholics are required to believe, nor an exercise of papal infallibility ex cathedra, just a theological opinion. The previous pope made similar statements, and pissed people off because he focused on the “salvation of the non-faithful only takes place through the operations of grace imparted by the Church” part.
I’m a recovering Catholic and I have Srs Thoughts About Christian Theology, but I’ll spare you and cut to the chase: this sentiment isn’t one that’s particularly new, but it is noteworthy because of who’s stating it and how. The church under Benedict’s papal reign didn’t do much to to win any favor in the public eye. Pope Francis is wise to be inclusive and make these public statements of good will, not simply because this is the right thing to do but also because this helps move the church back towards a more positive image. Props to the folks running PR at the Vatican.
I still say we’ll talk about anything when they start paying property tax on Vatican owned land and not getting discounted bills for the all the utilitiy companies (50% off). Especially while there are unemployed people that set themselves on fire in Italy. So do good Francesco pay the state tax money back for the last 5 decades, and citizen decades of forced Vatican deductions on tax returns. We’ll be waiting.
(Source: electrichoney)
