Pope Francis rocked some religious and atheist
minds today when he declared that everyone was
redeemed through Jesus, including atheists.
During his homily at Wednesday Mass in Rome,
Francis emphasized the importance of “doing good”
as a principle that unites all humanity, and a “culture
of encounter” to support peace.
Using scripture from the Gospel of Mark, Francis
explained how upset Jesus’ disciples were that
someone outside their group was doing good,
according to a report from Vatican Radio.
“They complain,” the Pope said in his homily,
because they say, “If he is not one of us, he cannot
do good. If he is not of our party, he cannot do
good.” And Jesus corrects them: “Do not hinder
him, he says, let him do good.” The disciples, Pope
Francis explains, “were a little intolerant,” closed
off by the idea of ​​possessing the truth, convinced
that “those who do not have the truth, cannot do
good.” “This was wrong . . . Jesus broadens the
horizon.” Pope Francis said, “The root of this
possibility of doing good – that we all have – is in
creation”
Pope Francis went further in his sermon to say:
“The Lord created us in His image and likeness,
and we are the image of the Lord, and He does
good and all of us have this commandment at
heart: do good and do not do evil. All of us. ‘But,
Father, this is not Catholic! He cannot do good.’
Yes, he can… “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 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.”
Responding to the leader of the Roman Catholic
church’s homily, Father James Martin, S.J. wrote in
an email to The Huffington Post:
“Pope Francis is saying, more clearly than ever
before, that Christ offered himself as a sacrifice
for everyone. That’s always been a Christian belief.
You can find St. Paul saying in the First Letter to
Timothy that Jesus gave himself as a “ransom for
all.” But rarely do you hear it said by Catholics so
forcefully, and with such evident joy. And in this
era of religious controversies, it’s a timely
reminder that God cannot be confined to our
narrow categories.”
Of course, not all Christians believe that those who
don’t believe will be redeemed, and the Pope’s words
may spark memories of the deep divisions from the
Protestant reformation over the belief in redemption
through grace versus redemption through works.
The pope’s comment has also struck a chord on
Reddit, where it is the second most-shared piece.
More from Reuters:
Atheists should be seen as good people if they do
good, Pope Francis said on Wednesday in his
latest urging that people of all religions – or no
religion – work together.
The leader of the world’s 1.2 billion Roman
Catholics made his comments in the homily of his
morning Mass in his residence, a daily event
where he speaks without prepared comments.
He told the story of a Catholic who asked a priest
if even atheists had been redeemed by Jesus.
“Even them, everyone,” the pope answered,
according to Vatican Radio. “We all have the duty
to do good,” he said.
“Just do good and we’ll find a meeting point,” the
pope said in a hypothetical conversation in which
someone told a priest: “But I don’t believe. I’m an
atheist.”
Francis’s reaching out to atheists and people who
belong to no religion is a marked contrast to the
attitude of former Pope Benedict, who sometimes
left non-Catholics feeling that he saw them as
second-class believers.

Well the animals, birds, insects, plants, bacteria, and virus are living things and they got souls. Last time I check, stones were said to talk and praise God in the bible. But they aint christians or religious. Please preach to this things. We dont need jesus or your heaven. Thanks

Catholics believe in universal atonement/redemption but not universal salvation, that Jesus died for everyone doesn't mean everyone is saved

The end will tell the just