The pope was trying to make a statement about good works -- and he said that it is good works that gets a person to heaven, even if they are not a member of the catholic church. Here are those words:
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 are created children in the likeness of God and the Blood of Christ has redeemed us all! And we all have a duty to do good. And this commandment for everyone to do good, I think, is a beautiful path towards peace. If we, each doing our own part, if we do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter: we need that so much. 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.
That's a pretty clear statement. Even an atheist can get to heaven -- not by changing his/her views and joining the church, but by doing good in the world. Now this statement didn't mean much to atheists beyond being a bit amused by it. Atheists do good because it is the right and moral thing to do -- not because it might get them to a place after they die that they don't even believe exists. But it certainly upset a lot of catholics, especially high-ranking catholics whose existence depends on telling people they cannot go to heaven without paying the proper respect for the church (and its officials).
Now one of those two church beliefs is wrong. Either the pope is not fallible anymore (since he was wrong when he said atheists could get to heaven), or the church teaching that only members of the church can get to heaven is wrong. Both cannot be true now.
And it looks like the high officials in the Vatican have made their choice. Vatican spokesman Thomas Rosica the next day (May 23rd) "clarified" the issue. He said that anyone who knows of the catholic church "cannot be saved" if they "refuse to enter her or remain in her". In plain English, that means the pope was wrong and atheists cannot go to heaven. The pope, according to other high catholic officials, is no longer infallible.
Even though I'm an atheist, I find that very interesting. I'm just a bit amused that it took them over a thousand years to figure that out.
Ted, the only statements held to be infallible by the Pope are those that are explicitly noted as being infallible. And that involves a long bureaucratic process (as you'd imagine, given that the Catholic Church's bureaucracy is over 1500 years old), which is probably why it's been over 100 years since a Pope last issued an "infallible" statement (even the anti-birth-control policy isn't based on an "infallible" statement). This statement by Pope Francis is his personal opinion, while the Vatican spokesman's statement is still official Church policy. Changing official Church policy is yet another of those long bureaucratic processes that a simple statement of opinion by a sitting pope doesn't short-cut.
ReplyDeleteIn short, if you're familiar with the Catholic church, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary here. Outsiders to the Catholic Church seem to think that the Pope is like the Church's dictator whose every word is sanctified and treated as infallible. The Church doesn't actually work like that. While not a democracy, any changes in fundamental doctrine are done cautiously and via a process that takes years, if not decades. The Catholic Church didn't last 1500 years by acting hastily and rashly...
How convenient! So its OK for the pope to lie in an official mass, because he's only infallible when the Vatican says he's infallible. No wonder the church is losing customers faster than an ugly hooker with the clap.
DeleteA lie is a deliberate fabrication of fact, like saying that global warming is a myth when you know better. It appears here that what we have is a difference of opinion between the Pope and official Church doctrine, since nobody has returned from Heaven and told us whether non-Catholics have arrived there or not :).
DeleteBut yes, the Catholic Church has arrived at numerous mechanisms to deal with the possibility of a Pope who is, let us say, "out there", such as making it slow and difficult for a Pope to get changes to Church doctrine published in the official catechism. Otherwise the institution would have self-destructed long ago because some Pope would have issued dictates that had the basic effect of dismantling the Church. As for the Catholic Church losing customers, I have a sneaking suspicion that has more to do with all the child-diddlers and with their various anti-woman dictates regarding birth control and women in the priesthood, not any of this how many angels fit on the head of a pin BS.
"Anyone who knows of the catholic church 'cannot be saved' if they 'refuse to enter her or remain in her'."
ReplyDeleteThat's what SHE said.
Ba-da-bing.