Pope Francis says atheists can be good

[Martinus]

Pope Francis says atheists can be goodJust do good, and we'll find a meeting point, says Francis in marked departure from Benedict's line on non-Catholics

•The Guardian, Wednesday 22 May 2013 19.50 BST

Atheists should be seen as good people if they do good, Pope Francis has said in his latest urging that people of all religions, and none, work together.

The leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics made his comments in the homily of his morning mass at his residence, a daily event at which he speaks without prepared comments.

He told the story of a Catholic who asked a priest if even atheists had been redeemed by Jesus.

"Even them, everyone," the pope answered, according to Vatican Radio. "We all have the duty to do good," he said.

"Just do good, and we'll find a meeting point," the pope said in a hypothetical reply to the hypothetical comment: "But I don't believe. I'm an atheist."

Francis's reaching out to atheists and people who belong to no religion is in marked contrast to the attitude of his predecessor, Benedict, who sometimes prompted complaints from non-Catholics that he seemed to see them as second-class believers.

And also from HuffPo, which is probably reading slightly more into the sermon than the Pope said:

Pope Francis Says Atheists Who Do Good Are Redeemed, Not Just Catholics
Posted: 05/22/2013 2:25 pm EDT  |  Updated: 05/23/2013 2:33 am EDT

Pope Francis rocked some religious and atheist minds today when he declared that everyone was redeemed through Jesus, including atheists.

During his homily at Wednesday Mass in Rome, Francis emphasized the importance of "doing good" as a principle that unites all humanity, and a "culture of encounter" to support peace.

Using scripture from the Gospel of Mark, Francis explained how upset Jesus' disciples were that someone outside their group was doing good, according to a report from Vatican Radio.

"They complain," the Pope said in his homily, because they say, "If he is not one of us, he cannot do good. If he is not of our party, he cannot do good." And Jesus corrects them: "Do not hinder him, he says, let him do good." The disciples, Pope Francis explains, "were a little intolerant," closed off by the idea of ​​possessing the truth, convinced that "those who do not have the truth, cannot do good." "This was wrong . . . Jesus broadens the horizon." Pope Francis said, "The root of this possibility of doing good – that we all have – is in creation"
Pope Francis went further in his sermon to say:

"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."
Responding to the leader of the Roman Catholic church's homily, Father James Martin, S.J. wrote in an email to The Huffington Post:

"Pope Francis is saying, more clearly than ever before, that Christ offered himself as a sacrifice for everyone. That's always been a Christian belief. You can find St. Paul saying in the First Letter to Timothy that Jesus gave himself as a "ransom for all." But rarely do you hear it said by Catholics so forcefully, and with such evident joy. And in this era of religious controversies, it's a timely reminder that God cannot be confined to our narrow categories."
Of course, not all Christians believe that those who don't believe will be redeemed, and the Pope's words may spark memories of the deep divisions from the Protestant reformation over the belief in redemption through grace versus redemption through works.

The pope's comment has also struck a chord on Reddit, where it is the second most-shared piece.

More from Reuters:

Atheists should be seen as good people if they do good, Pope Francis said on Wednesday in his latest urging that people of all religions - or no religion - work together.

The leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics made his comments in the homily of his morning Mass in his residence, a daily event where he speaks without prepared comments.

He told the story of a Catholic who asked a priest if even atheists had been redeemed by Jesus.

"Even them, everyone," the pope answered, according to Vatican Radio. "We all have the duty to do good," he said.

"Just do good and we'll find a meeting point," the pope said in a hypothetical conversation in which someone told a priest: "But I don't believe. I'm an atheist."

Francis's reaching out to atheists and people who belong to no religion is a marked contrast to the attitude of former Pope Benedict, who sometimes left non-Catholics feeling that he saw them as second-class believers.

Now, again, he is benefiting somewhat from the "blessing of low expectations" and he is not really saying that much here but the fact that every week or so he delivers a sermon that I cannot help but agree with is something. This Pope is really awesome, as Popes go.

[Tamas]

What is the news here, Marty? Even Dante's Inferno says that those people who not sinned but were not Christian got into the terrace of whatever of Hell and not Hell itself.

[Tamas]

BTW if we are on topic, before you start going to churches again on account of this dude, don't forget that your place in hell is guaranteed

[Martinus]

I don't even feel like responding to your trolling.

[Tamas]

 

[Viking]

At this point one must wonder, if Atheists get to go to heaven, what point there is, if any, to having a catholic church?

[Tamas]

At this point one must wonder, if Atheists get to go to heaven, what point there is, if any, to having a catholic church?

keep pedophiles out of prison?

[Martinus]

At this point one must wonder, if Atheists get to go to heaven, what point there is, if any, to having a catholic church?

People like you make me want to stop being an Atheist.

[Grey Fox]

It's a fair question altho the real danger isn't the catholic church. It's all those evengelical anglicans.

[grumbler]

At this point one must wonder, if Atheists get to go to heaven, what point there is, if any, to having a catholic church?

People like you make me want to stop being an Atheist.

He already stopped you from being an intellectual, and from being Western; why stop there?

[Tamas]

The clearly ongoing drift of Martinus from outspoken anti-clergy to devout Catholic is in fact a fascinating process to witness in such detail.

[Ed Anger]

The clearly ongoing drift of Martinus from outspoken anti-clergy to devout Catholic is in fact a fascinating process to witness in such detail.

The feet washing is bringing him back.

[Caliga]

What is the news here, Marty? Even Dante's Inferno says that those people who not sinned but were not Christian got into the terrace of whatever of Hell and not Hell itself.

I think you misunderstand what Dante was trying to do there. 

[Malthus]

At this point one must wonder, if Atheists get to go to heaven, what point there is, if any, to having a catholic church?

Heh, in Judaism, it is explicit - there is no religious benefit to being a Jew. Anyone who follows the "Noahide laws" (don't kill, don't steal, etc.) is just as righteous as the most righteous Jew - according to Judaism. Thus, being a Jew conveys no religious benefit whatsoever, in the Christian sense. 

[grumbler]

Heh, in Judaism, it is explicit - there is no religious benefit to being a Jew. Anyone who follows the "Noahide laws" (don't kill, don't steal, etc.) is just as righteous as the most righteous Jew - according to Judaism. Thus, being a Jew conveys no religious benefit whatsoever, in the Christian sense.   

The Jewish god is the kind of god whose rewards consist of leaving you alone... unless you are too virtuous, in which case he fucks with you on a bet.  It has never surprised me that so many people raised in the Jewish tradition had a bent for law-talking.