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Neurotic priests scare me, says Pope

Shadow Wolf

Shadow Wolf

Certified People sTabber
Tlaloc said:
He didn't. You need a little understanding of Catholic theology to understand what he actually said there. That is, those who fail to enter the Church though no fault of their own aren't necessarily damned, this can include atheists. But the Church nonetheless still teaches that those who have consciously and culpably chosen to reject Christianity and the Church will not be saved.
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He said that everyone, even atheists, are redeemed so long as they are doing good and following their conscience, and that as long as they are doing good that they "will meet one another there."
 
G

Glaurung

Denizen of Niflheim
Shadow Wolf said:
He said that everyone, even atheists, are redeemed so long as they are doing good and following their conscience, and that as long as they are doing good that they "will meet one another there."
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Redeemed does not mean saved. I grew up in Catholicism (so you'll have to trust me that I know a little something about it) and if he started to teach universalism he'd be a material heretic and thus lose the papacy. No matter what Francis says, no salvation outside the Church is dogma and he cannot change that. Because Catholicism is not determined by the opinions of any given pope du jour.

All are redeemed in that Christ redeemed the world. But that does not mean all will achieve salvation. You can reject salvation by mortal sin, of which concious disbelief is one.
 
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G

Glaurung

Denizen of Niflheim
Vouthon said:
rancis went a bit further than that. He is changing how many lay Catholics view atheists, which for some has tended to be in confrontational terms (i.e. "scary" secularists out to destroy faith). In a papal address on 20 March 2013, he described his feelings about agnostics and atheists, again positively, by describing them as "our valued allies":
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That has nothing to do with the fact that doctrine states explicitly that culpable rejection of Christ is rejection of salvation. It doesn't matter how good of a person you are (no one is saying that atheists are bad people) but being a 'good person' in of itself does not merit salvation if you refuse Christ.

Whether or not any given atheist is in culpable mortal sin is something the Church doesn't say. That's up to God.
 
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