DID POPE FRANCIS MEAN TO OPEN UP THE GATE OF HEAVEN FOR ATHEISTS?

Guest Sat 01 Jun 2013, 09:46

Did Pope Francis mean to open up the gates of heaven for atheists?

The new pope is already known for reaching out beyond the faithful. But did he go too far by seeming to indicate believers and nonbelievers would meet each other in the afterlife?

Pope Francis, May 2013

Pope Francis: 'We must meet one another doing good.' Photograph: Franco Origlia/Getty Images

Age: 76.

Appearance: Papal person.

Which pope are we talking about here? The main one.

Pope Francis? That's him.

How's he doing? He's doing good. And not just because that's his job. He's reached out to believers and nonbelievers alike with speeches about the "tyranny" of free-market capitalism, the "heartless" cult of money and the suffering caused in Italy and around the world by "so many mafias".

Sounds like a man for all the people. Indeed. Even the atheists. In his homily last week on Vatican Radio, Pope Francis told listeners: "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!"

Does that mean what I think it does? Maybe. He went on: "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."

I knew it! He means heaven, right? Er, it's more like –

He's saying we'll meet one another in heaven! Well, a lot of people thought that, but –

Even us atheists! In heaven! We're saved! Best pope ever! He didn't mean heaven.

Huh? He didn't mean heaven. At least not according to the Vatican, which published an "Explanatory Note on the Meaning of 'Salvation' in Francis's Daily Homily of May 22", the day after the pope's address.

Saying what? Saying: "Pope Francis has no intention of provoking a theological debate on the nature of salvation through his homily", and going on to explain "they cannot be saved who, knowing the church as founded by Christ and necessary for salvation, would refuse to enter her or remain in her".

Meaning? Meaning even good atheists won't be living in the nicer areas of the afterlife.

No heaven for me then? Sorry. Turns out the pope's a Catholic after all.

Do say: "We must meet one another doing good …"

Don't say: "… and from there proceed to our separate designated zones for the rest of eternity."