₦airaland Forum

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - The Holy Father is full of surprises, born of true and faithful humility. On Wednesday he declared that all people, not just Catholics, are redeemed through Jesus, even atheists.
However, he did emphasize there was a catch. Those people must still do good. In fact, it is in doing good that they are led to the One who is the Source of all that is good. In essence he simply restated the hope of the Church that all come to know God, through His Son Jesus Christ.
Francis based his homily on the message of Christ to his disciples taken from the Gospel of Mark. Francis delivered his message by sharing a story of a Catholic who asked a priest if atheists were saved by Christ.
"They complain," Francis said, "If he is not one of us, he cannot do good. If he is not of our party, he cannot do good." He explained that Jesus corrected them, "Do not hinder him, he says, let him do good."
The disciples, Pope Francis explained, "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."
"Even them, everyone, we all have the duty to do good, Pope Francis said on Vatican Radio.
"Just do good" was his challenge, "and we'll find a meeting point."
Francis explained himself, "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."
Father James Martin, a Jesuit priest, told 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."
Pope Francis is trying to deepen our understanding of the fullness of Christ's sacrifice and its reach, which extends to all men and women. We often fall into familiar ways of thinking that are closed. We divide ourselves into groups, forgetting that we are all children of God, identical, regardless of any divisions we establish for ourselves.We are also all called to the One who created us and, through His Son,is recreating us anew. He calls us to accept His salavation.
The Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes) contains an important explanation of the phenomena referred to as 'Atheism' (See, GS #17-22). It is a very large term and we have to first examine what is meant when it is embraced by an individual to best understand the effect of the claim.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains that "Since it rejects or denies the existence of God, atheism is a sin against the virtue of religion but the imputability of the offense can be significantly diminished in virtue of the intentions and the circumstances" (CCC#2125).
The Holy Father was not teaching anything new. In fact, this hope that all who do not yet know God are not only capable of doing good - but will progress toward that knowledge of God by doing good - is ancient. On Good Friday we all pray:
Let us pray also for those who do not believe in Christ,that, enlightened by the Holy Spirit,they, too, may enter on the way of salvation. Almighty ever-living God,grant to those who do not confess Christ that, by walking before you with a sincere heart, they may find the truth and that we ourselves, being constant in mutual love and striving to understand more fully the mystery of your life, may be made more perfect witnesses to your love in the world. Through Christ our Lord.

salvation101:
am sure u didn't know well lemme educate you so dat wen next u point a finger at another person, you know dat 4 others are pointing to you..

https://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/the-pope-has-a-small-but-deadly-army-of-elite-warriors-1733268646

salvation101:
while ur pope has a whole army protecting him

salvation101:
Where is bazaar in d bible? Old nd new testament?

U do not collect tithe but collect multiple offerings

salvation101:
Where is bazaar in d bible? Old nd new testament?

U do not collect tithe but collect multiple offerings

Cardinal Anthony Okogie, retired Catholic Archbishop of Lagos, has declared that the Catholic church does not run on titles.

The former President of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, made the remake while noting that Catholic church had never taught that God’s blessings depended on tithe paying.


Okogie was reacting to a statement credited to the Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, who had said that looters normally take their proceeds to church.

Reacting to the statement, Okogie stressed that no Catholic Bishop has a private jet.

In a statement, Okogie said, “Anyone who has a faint idea of how the Catholic Church is run would know that the Catholic Church does not run on tithes. She has never taught that God’s blessings depend on tithes. No Catholic Bishop in this country has a private jet.

“Not even the Pope has one. But an uninformed state governor, notorious for being insolent, described the Bishop’s intervention as the wailing of religious leaders who no longer have access to tithes because of this government’s anti-corruption fight.


“True friends tell each other the truth. There cannot be sincere friendship where there is no truth. Those who are telling our President the truth are his true friends. Those who are shielding him from the truth while insulting those who tell him the truth are his real enemies.

“By insulting well-meaning Nigerians who happen to disagree with policies of government they are not winning friends for the President. They are in fact helping to grow the rank and file of the angry. Whoever loves this President would want him to succeed. Whoever wants him to succeed must tell him the truth. For if he fails, Nigeria fails.

lalasticlala:
This girl has started again with her unending drama. Madam drama queen.

Franzinni:
A disgrace to Christianity
A disgrace to RCCG
a disgrace to Oodua
A disgrace to Nigeria
A disgrace to education

What exactly does an errand boy do in Aso rock self?

resurgentxtian4:
We all agree Buhari has been a disaster and his Fulani brothers are out killing fellow Nigerians with reckless abandon but the igbos are mocking and insulting Yorubas for our choice to vote in Buhari.

The igbos should get this straight: if you continue mocking Yorubas for the economic hardship and herdsmen killings in Yorubaland, you would only shoot yourselves in the foot by making Yorubas hardened in their support for Buhari just to spite the igbos. I am a Christian and I am not happy with the present Government but igbos should not add insult to injury by blaming Yorubas for what Nigeria has become under Buhari. Igbos’ lack of diplomacy and fervent wish to see Yorubas suffer will only end up hurting them as a people because we all know the Yorubas will always have a better deal in Nigeria as presently constituted. Do not allow your hate for Yorubas give Buhari an easy win in 2019. Igbos will hurt more if Buhari does another 4 years and nothing will happen. We all know that igbo wailing for the past 3 years has been caused by unfavorable policies by the Buhari Government. Yorubas are suffering too but we know our way around.

Do not let hate allow you to alienate the Yorubas to the point of voting Buhari again. To be for-warned is to be forearmed.

ichuka:
Having the right to give/take His Life has nothing to do with His Father abandoning Him on His course to full fill what He started from the Begining.

boxymccoy:
Because the iniquities of us all was laid on him, the Father had to forsake him for that moment for the first time. That’s to show you level of hatred that God has for sin.

shadeyinka:
Jesus was connecting us to the prophecy of David and showing the fulfilment of God the prophecy of the suffering Messiah.

ichuka:
Having the right to give/take His Life has nothing to do with His Father abandoning Him on His course to full fill what He started from the Begining.

hypnotic:
Because at that moment he carried the sin of the world both dead and living. It has been said that God can't behold iniquity, thus Jesus cried out

ichuka:
Don't get you

haylegbede1:
Or probably he wasnt supposed to die in the first place

ichuka:
That's the first time He has been seperatef from communion/relationship with the Father.

FarahAideed:
All I know is that church is in the heart and not in any Building