Friday, December 02, 2005
POPE SAYS CHURCH NOT NECESSARY
VATICAN CITY, NOV. 30, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Whoever seeks peace and the good of the community with a pure conscience, and keeps alive the desire for the transcendent, will be saved even if he lacks biblical faith, says Benedict XVI.
The Pope made this affirmation today at the general audience, commenting on a meditation written by St. Augustine (354-430).
On a rainy morning in Rome, the Holy Father's meditation, addressed to more than 23,000 people gathered in St. Peter's Square, concentrated on the suffering of the Jewish people in the Babylonian exile, expressed dramatically in Psalm 136(137).
The Pontiff referred to Augustine's commentary on this composition of the Jewish people, noting that this "Father of the Church introduces a surprising element of great timeliness."
Augustine "knows that also among the inhabitants of Babylon there are people who are committed to peace and the good of the community, despite the fact that they do not share the biblical faith, that they do not know the hope of the Eternal City to which we aspire," Benedict XVI stated.
"They have a spark of desire for the unknown, for the greatest, for the transcendent, for a genuine redemption," explained the Pope, quoting Augustine.
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Great! Now how is he going to justify that with the teaching of past popes who have certainly taught something vastly different? B16 is preaching universalism, not Catholicism.
And why in the world should I put up with this scandal-ridden Church when this Church is no longer necessary for salvation according to the Pope? I don't need the Church to be a nice warm fuzzy humanitarian. All I need is the Masonic Lodge. They are very good at it!
And what's with this "spark" all of a sudden turning up in places where you'd not expect to find it? Is this the beginning of a synthesis of Jewish and Christian theology?
