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 ...
He needs to read the Bible...
He’s trying too hard now to be the “every Pope”.
A breath of fresh is one thing, changing tenents to be more ‘democratic’ is another.
Amen
The Pope is the “Vicar of Christ on Earth”. He does not speak for God himself.
The Church is just trying to connect with young people.
Um, trying in a way that doesn’t involve ‘hush money.’
You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the mute idols, however you were led. Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is accursed"; and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit.
- 1 Corinthians 12:2-3
This is the gospel of Jiminy Cricket.
What does this say about the college of cardinals who selected this pope, then?
These kind if comments make me very uneasy about this pope. This idea us wrong and anti- scriptural.
I remember the homily the priest gave at the RCC church I was attending at the time immediately after Nidal Hasan slaughtered all those people at Fort Hood while screaming allahu akbar. The message was that Christianity doesn't have a lock on salvation and people can find God and salvation through other faiths, and that it was wrong to condemn other faiths. Of course I, having converted to RCC several years ago after having attended mass regulalry for the better part of 20 years though - Dang! I should have switched to Rastafarian or Pagan.
The Way Home - John 14:4-7
“You know the way to the place where I am going.”
Thomas said, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. So how can we know the way?”
Jesus answered, “I am the way. I am the truth and the life. The only way to the Father is through me. If you really knew me, then you would know my Father too. But now you know the Father. You have seen him.”
Respectfully John 14:6 New International Version:
Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
I wouldn’t be too sure about that.
Acts 4: 12
He’s a Jesuit... enough said. That statement also does not fall into the infallibility category.
Anti-Christ, check
False Prophet, check
Just waiting for the appearance of the Beast...
The Pope's/Church's word is above the Bible. Catholics tell me this all the time.
So much for the phrase “Is the Pope Catholic?”
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