Is Pope Francis an Atheist? Nope - But He Is a Universal Salvationist

Bill Maher suggested Pope Francis is really an atheist after his recent remarks about atheists also being saved

 This past week Pope Francis I made headlines around the world (we saw them in 50 pt. font in German papers) when on delivering a homily at the Chapel of the Domus Santa Marta he said:  

"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! And this Blood makes us children of God of the first class. 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."

Headlines across the world immediately proclaimed, "Even Atheists Can Go To Heaven.".
 
This prompted comedian Bill Maher-  a self-proclaimed atheist - on his 'Real Time' show last night to opine the new Pope "is really an atheist".  Actually, I wouldn't go so far. But the text and words do pretty well confirm to me that Francis accepts the doctrine of Universal Salvation. According to Wikipedia, Universal Reconciliation or Salvation is:

“the doctrine that all sinful and alienated human souls—because of divine love and mercy—will ultimately be reconciled to God."

I first became acquainted with Universal Salvation while debating an Anglican Priest in Barbados in 1982. At one point I mocked the concept of “Hell” as infantile, and basically “apartheid theology” based on gloating over the suffering of those unlike you, who don’t subscribe to your special beliefs- but whom you condemn to everlasting perdition. I also mocked the notion that the presumption of Hell meant every sect or Christian denomination could, in effect, pass judgment on every other sect or denomination. Fundies could hell bind Catholics, Catholics could hell bind Fundies, both could also consign Jews and Muslims to the everlasting pits as the Muslims could return the favor to Christians! It was an afterlife MUTUAL ANNIHILATION PACT!


The priest laughed and conceded the point, and I won the debate – scored by objective observers – based on that line of attack. After the debate, however, the priest confided to me that in the upper echelons of the Anglican hierarchy (recall here that King James, of King James Bible fame was an Anglican too) no one took Hell seriously and there was no doctrine of Hell or of exceptional salvation for the few. Instead all Anglican seminaries taught Universal Reconciliation – Salvation. The priest told me he didn’t teach it himself nor did any other Anglican padres he knew. They had to instead teach Heaven or Hell because that is what their parishioners expected. He told me that if they attempted to teach the actual doctrine of universal salvation most of the faithful would leave that Church because their skewed sense of moral right and wrong dictated the “evil” receive the ultimate punishment. But he said this dichotomy troubled him no end!


Evidently, it didn't trouble Pope Francis who was prepared to go on record with his views, to the chagrin of the Vatican's usual sock puppet mouth pieces who then tried their damnedest to walk it back.  A Vatican propagandist.....errrrr....spokesman, quickly intervened and interjected his "correction",  as if the pontiff was an untutored child who needed to be steered in the right direction by his parent. Father Thomas Rosica said: "people who know the Catholic Church cannot be saved if they refuse to enter or remain in her."

Actually, a more profound truth is that - assuming salvation is a viable concept at all - it's more likely that if they really know the Catholic Church and how it has historically distorted the truth to its own ends, they can't be saved if they DO remain in her!

Though this Vatican stooge did try his best to dampen the media hubbub, few people paid much attention as the 'cow had already escaped the barn' while the little know-nothing,  hierarchy hireling tried to shut the door too late. Besides that, the Pope himself never retracted his remarks and in addition, he'd previously said atheists can be "precious allies" in the building of a peaceful coexistence between peoples and in the careful protection of creation.

This means we can take Rosica's bollocks with a grain of salt (not that I believe a 'heaven' exists anyway or that 'salvation' really is an objective, realistic concept).   The point is that Rosica and his Vatican clowns were revealed for the arch-hypocrites they really are because - make no mistake- they'd have no qualms accepting the thousands of priest pedophiles who raped and sodomized children into their precious holy and saved flock while those of us who left the Church (seeing that more truth resided outside her walls than in ) are condemned. (After all, the priest pedophiles can just go to confession and do a five rosary  'penance'!)

But to reinforce the point the Church hierarchy is largely made of hypocrites, it's only been in the last two days another one of these gowned twits (a Cardinal George Pell of Australia) has proclaimed that of course "abortion is a much worse crime than sex abuse of children by priests".  See: http://www.salon.com/2013/05/28/cardinal_abortion_is_worse_scandal_than_priest_abuse/


Out of the mouths of maggots!  And sincerely, if Pell  really truly believes this then this pest needs to flush his and his church's natural law doctrines and their so-called canon law right down the toilet. Or at least a Vatican sewer.

What is almost as unseemly is the odious second- guessing of the putative leader of the faith.  A person who from all outward appearances and indications displays more sincerity and adherence to genuine Christian principles than the whole Vatican amongst all its pointy headed hacks, hangers-on and hypocrites.

A lot who still hasn't recovered from being schooled on sexual ethics by a nun, Sister Margaret Farley. See e.g.

http://www.brane-space.blogspot.com/2012/06/nun-articulates-sexual-ethics-for.html