Posted on 10/02/2013 1:14:47 PM PDT by Obadiah
It’s another week and thus another interview with Pope Francis. This one, I’m sorry to say, is more than just confusing. It’s a theological wreck.
In an interview with La Repubblica, in response to a question about whether there is a “single vision of good,” the Pope said, “Everyone has his own idea of good and evil and must choose to follow the good and fight evil as he conceives them. That would be enough to make the world a better place,” and “The Son of God became incarnate in the souls of men to instill the feeling of brotherhood.” When the reporter commented, “Some of my colleagues who know you told me that you will try to convert me,” the Pope also said “Proselytism is solemn nonsense, it makes no sense. We need to get to know each other, listen to each other and improve our knowledge of the world around us.”
From Augustine’s Confessions to “Well, everyone has his own ideas about good and bad…” is a mighty long path.
I’m with you...
He is a public heretic. Public heretics can not be popes.
Sede Vacante.
That's very clear from his statements.
He is old and has serious medical problems. He will not be with us for long. Hopefully a new, young, Conservative Pope will replace him and forcefully dictate known Catholic Truths.
if so (no pope, and that does sound rather jarring for a Christian statement, no matter what form of small-o orthodox Christendom made it) — does that put the Roman Catholic church in evangelical mode or what? obviously nobody expects it to shut down like the government....
there should at least be a good theoretical answer to the question of good and evil... good is what you get from being invested in God, and evil is what you get from being invested in the enemy. the difficulty of doing this does not excuse falling into moral relativism... that was the sin of the garden.
The writer is commenting on an English translation of an article in a radical left wing Italian newspaper, between Pope Francis and an atheist journalist. Let's begin with the translation, which is riddled with errors. For example:
Italian: Il Figlio di Dio si è incarnato per infondere nell’anima degli uomini il sentimento della fratellanza….
Eng. Translation: “The Son of God became incarnate in the souls of men to instill the feeling of brotherhood”,
Proper Translation: The Son of God was incarnate in order to instill in the soul of men the feeling of brotherhood.
I don't think he is saying that there isn't absolute good and evil. He's saying that everyone's compass doesn't measure the same.
You see it in the New Testament. Some were offended by eating meat that had been offered to idols. Other knew the idols weren't real and that meat was meat.
You see it today among denominations. Some feel drinking is a sin. Others recognize drinking in moderation is okay.
And in some cases there are ligitimate differences in conscience that do not arise differences in understanding scripture.
What may be okay for one person is not for another because God has told that person not to do something. And the inverse could be true to. God could have commanded someone to do something, so it's a sin if they don't do it, but God didn't command that same thing of others.
Part of the problem with this interview is poor translation from Italian to English.
See this thread where Fr. Z. clears some of this up:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/religion/3073621/posts?
the problem is the vague language. “as he conceives them” — due to what? due to the direction of God (that’s great) or due to some unknown factor (that’s asking for big trouble)?
This is no improvement. This pope is a true Jesuit.
The Son of God was incarnate so that he may die as the ultimate sacrifice so that sins may be forgiven.
As other have noted (and I have noted, as well), part of the problem is translation. The thread linked twice in this thread has a discussion by Fr. Zuhlsdorf, an American priest currently residing in Rome, who is pretty fluent in Italian.
In the case of “conceives,” Fr. Z believes that's not such a good translation, but rather, what is being said is more along of the lines of becoming aware [of the objective moral law]. Which is actually Catholic teaching, that men are capable of becoming aware of, of learning, of detecting, of developing a conception of the moral law unaided by grace.
sitetest
there is a “single vision of good,” the Pope said, “Everyone has his own idea of good and evil...
If he is being mistranslated then I hope he recognizes this ongoing problem and takes greater steps to grasp that his statements bear some manner of weight and that the margin for haphazardness is quite small.
Does the Catholic Church continue when a pope dies? Of course it does. We are just in a much longer period of sede vacante than normal.
I’m so tired of the excuses...mistranslations, media bias, not reading it in context.
Please.
Enough.
Exactly. Pure modernism.
“Some of my colleagues who know you told me that you will try to convert me,” the Pope also said “Proselytism is solemn nonsense, it makes no sense. We need to get to know each other, listen to each other and improve our knowledge of the world around us.”
And this is exactly what sets apart a Spirit-filled Christian from a professing Christian. We are called to go and make disciples of men and that means evangelize and proclaim the Gospel to all who don’t know Him and even to those professing they know Him.
You cannot serve two masters. You either believe Jesus and His word or you try and please everyone in the world. Sounds like that is what this pope is doing...appeasing and pleasing everyone but Christ.
Is a light bulb beginning to shine in your vicinity, pius?
It’s not just this pope. This has been going on since Vatican II.
That’s the way it looks to me. It would also be in line with prophesy.
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