Posted on 09/13/2013 7:29:54 AM PDT by cleghornboy
Pope Francis, referring to atheists who refuse to believe in God, His Commandments and His Church, recently said, "God forgives those who obey their conscience." See here.
Pope John Paul II, in his Encyclical Letter Veritatis Splendor, explains that: "Conscience, as the judgment of an act, is not exempt from the possibility of error. As the Council [Vatican II] puts it, 'not infrequently conscience can be mistaken as a result of invincible ignorance, although it does not on that account forfeit its dignity; but this cannot be said when a man shows little concern for seeking what is true and good, and conscience gradually becomes almost blind from being accustomed to sin.'" (Veritatis Splendor, No. 62, citing Gaudium et Spes, 16).
Pope John Paul II continues: "Conscience is not an infallible judge; it can make mistakes....Conscience, as the ultimate concrete judgment, compromises its dignity when it is culpably erroneous, that is to say, 'when man shows little concern for seeking what is true and good.." (VS, Nos. 62, 63, citing Gaudium et Spes, 16).
How then can Pope Francis issue a blanket statement declaring that God will forgive all atheists who obey their conscience?
Some years ago, Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, during his Keynote Address of the Fourth Bishops' Workshop of the National Catholic Bioethics Center, on "Moral Theology Today: Certitudes and Doubts," which was delivered in February of 1984, had this to say...
(Excerpt) Read more at lasalettejourney.blogspot.com ...
I swear I was thinking that after I hit post.
Clear as a bell.
Uh, no he isn’t.
Oh my Lord Jesus Christ, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven, especially those who are most in need of thy mercy.
No pushin’ and shovin’! Plenty of fire for everyone!
(Obscure old science fiction reference)
AN ATHEIST IN THE WOODS
An atheist was walking through the woods.
‘What majestic trees!
‘What powerful rivers!
‘What beautiful animals!
He said to himself.
As he was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him.
He turned to look. He saw a 7-foot grizzly bear charge towards him.
He ran as fast as he could up the path. He looked over his shoulder & saw that the bear was closing in on him..
He looked over his shoulder again, & the bear was even closer.
He tripped & fell on the ground.
He rolled over to pick himself up but saw that the bear was right on top of him, reaching for him with his left paw & raising his right paw to strike him.
At that instant the Atheist cried out,
‘Oh my God!’
Time Stopped.
The bear froze.
The forest was silent.
As a bright light shone upon the man, a voice came out of the sky.
‘You deny my existence for all these years, teach others I don’t exist and even credit creation to cosmic accident.’
‘Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament?
Am I to count you as a believer?
The atheist looked directly into the light, ‘It would be hypocritical of me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a Christian now, but perhaps you could make the BEAR a Christian’?
‘Very well,’ said the voice.
The light went out. The sounds of the forest resumed. And the bear dropped his right paw, brought both paws together, bowed his head & spoke:
‘Lord bless this food, which I am about to receive from thy bounty through Christ our Lord, Amen.’
In explanation of Frances’ previous remarks as seen from the Vatican (http://www.zenit.org/en/articles/explanatory-note-on-the-meaning-of-salvation-in-francis-daily-homily-of-may-22) and other commentators:
100% of humanity is “redeemed”
Redeemed /= saved
Forgiven /= saved
“Anonymous Christians” are surprised to find themselves in heaven in spite of their unbelief: “...non-Christians who end up in heaven must have received the grace of Christ without their realising it.” (Jesuit Fr. Karl Rahner, not repudiated by the Vatican, AFAIK)
But this in turn suggests that being in heaven cannot = salvation, because “only through this Church can one obtain the fullness of the means of salvation.” (Catechism 162, 171)
After reading it all, I sit here wondering, what is salvation? The very concept seems lost in a muddle.
What value is there in God’s “forgiveness” of atheists, honest and true to their consciences, that Frances declares? Is he saying anything with content?
In my opinion all Catholics should feel distinctly uncomfortable with the direction in which Frances is leading.
Make that “Francis,” of course. He is a guy.
I think that the Pope needs to "revise and extend" his remarks on this matter.
Starting to sound like Pope Amen Specklebird
Where is it written that the Pope is the “Vicar of Christ on Earth” ?
I have just almost finished a fresh reading of New Testament, this is something I do non stop, a chapter in the morning and a chapter at night, just finished Jude, starting Revelation tonight
Cant recall anything about a Pope or that he is the Vicar of Christ on earth
Sounds like he has been hanging out with Joel Osteen. Joel Osteen when pressed by Larry king about 5 times, asking him if homosexuality was a sin?
Finally Joel Osteen said...well it`s not God`s best
The people of Sodom and Gomorrah now hope for a appeal of their case
Opinion noted. In my opinion all Protestants should feel distinctly uncomfortable with the direction in which protestantism is leading.
I do. For much the same reasons of muddle that I mentioned. Did you bother to consider the problems I cited, rather than simply digging in your heels?
Same here. If I said this kind of thing to my priest I'd get a very energetic lecture. Probably with a reminder that the Holy Father is not infallible at ALL times.
Of course he’s not infallible in all things. In fact he’s wrong here. Just flat out wrong.
Just another nail in the papal infallibility coffin.
Crap like this is why I left the Catholic church. When man-made traditions are equal to scripture you know there are serious problems with the Faith.
God bless Martin Luther, the man who realized this truth: that you need Jesus, not the RCC to be saved.
But on such topics one expects him to get it right.
As absurd as it may sound, I don’t know if the pope actually has ever asked Jesus into his life?
There are priests and pastors in all Christian denominations that have never truly received Jesus into their lives.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.