The Truth About Pope Francis And Atheists

The Truth About Pope Francis And Atheists
Pope Francis gestures on June 5, 2013 at the end of his weekly general audience on St Peter's square at the Vatican. AFP PHOTO / FILIPPO MONTEFORTE (Photo credit should read FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images)
Pope Francis gestures on June 5, 2013 at the end of his weekly general audience on St Peter's square at the Vatican. AFP PHOTO / FILIPPO MONTEFORTE (Photo credit should read FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images)

I was touched by the Pope’s apparent declaration that morally well-behaved nonbelievers (such as, I hope, myself) are just as worthy of God’s beneficence as are morally well-behaved believers—that God, being good, does not punish nice, otherwise inoffending people simply for not kowtowing to Him. Why was I touched? Well, not because I believe in God. (I don’t.) And not because I was relieved to have it on good authority that I’m probably going to Heaven. (I’m not going anywhere, until such time, hopefully not too soon, as I go nowhere.) I was touched because the spirit of the Pope’s homily was one of kindness, tolerance, humanity, and common sense. I was touched because (putting aside questions of existence or nonexistence) the God that the Pope worships is not a cruel, vain, surpassingly egomaniacal tyrant.

However: Not so fast!

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