Given this, there certainly wasn’t any need for Christ’s sacrifice, now was there?
In fact, if there is ANY other way to salvation,
His sacrifice was in vain.
Nope, He is THE Way, THE Truth, and THE Life.
There is no other.
You would think even the Pope would get that, wouldn’t you?
THINK for a minute — Jesus is the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And his last prayer was: “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”
What does all this mean for pagans and Buddhists and atheists who have never heard about Christ, or having heard, do not know enough to believe? Did the Son of God’s prayer go unanswered for those who do not know what they are doing because of ignorance?
His mercy draws everyone to eternal life. Not everyone responds (to believe otherwise is the heresy of universalism). Some respond thinking that they need no mercy, from God or from anyone else (that’s the heresy of Pelgianism).
Then there are those who respond without full knowledge of what they are doing. “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison?”
This saying illuminates the spiritual status of those who do not believe in God due to innocent ignorance. If they respond to Christ in one of His “distressing disguises” (Mother Theresa’s phrase), then Jesus says He counts it as a response to Him. They are not getting into heaven without Christ, they are getting into heaven by receiving Christ in disguise.
“Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me. These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
In conclusion, the Pope is just reiterating basic Catholic doctrine in harmony with Scripture — but using his provocative modern-media sauce to get the attention of everyone — atheists and Christians — to THINK about God’s gifts of Mercy and Sanctifying Grace.