Pope Francis : "God willed the plurality of religions"

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There are impediments for many people which keep them from entering the Catholic Church.

Those impediments are usually caused by us, not God nor the person who can’t accept the Church as being true.

Jim
 
Maximilian75 said:
The original is in French… paging @OraLabora
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Actually the original is in Italian, French was just the translation one up from the English. However I did read it in French as it’s closer to Italian than English. There’s really nothing controversial. One, it’s part of God’s permissive will that we have freedom and that includes religious liberty. Two God seeks us, just as much as we seek him. He wants us to seek him freely, not through coercion, and the document makes that abundantly clear. Lastly, there are elements of Truth, big elements, in all Abrahamic religions, and even in other belief systems. Think of the “Golden Rule” for instance, and for Abrahamic believers, belief in one, unique God who made us in His image. The statement wants people of all faiths to consider each other brothers and sisters.

The common elements between faiths bind us all, albeit some imperfectly, to the One True Church, the one founded by Christ. None are automatically excluded from salvation even if bound imperfectly to Christ’s Church. But it is through His Church that the graces for salvation will be distributed. Sacramentally for Catholics, the Orthodox, etc., and by means known only to Him for others. Nor are Catholics guaranteed salvation, if we close our hearts to His grace.
 
Years ago I was introduced to the book, Christ the Eternal Tao
by Damascene Hieromonk

It’s by an Orthodox priest who is also an expert on the Taoism. He compares the teachings of Lau Tzu to that of Jesus and the similarities are amazing.

Also, he does a good job explaining to the reader how those individuals who came long before Jesus Christ, we able to receive truth, through the Holy Spirit, because in God’s mercy, he provides those with sincere hearts, truth.

Taoism is six hundred years older than Christianity.

We believe that the Catholic Church has the fullness of “Revealed” truth. But we don’t have all truth that has yet to be revealed to us.

However, I believe as Teilhard De Chardin wrote, that humans have been evolving spiritually for about 10,000 years and continue to do so.

Pope Francis is an example of an evolved spiritual teacher.

Jim
 
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LittleFlower378 said:
Right, God does not RESIST, but doesn’t he will the best for people, the best meaning that they be Catholics!?!
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No, God doesn’t will everyone to be Catholic. The answer to why God doesn’t will that everyone be Catholic can be found in the document.
 
A DOCUMENT ON
HUMAN FRATERNITY
FOR WORLD PEACE AND LIVING TOGETHER

… the document that is the subject of this thread
 
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Revelation 2:27

There was a time we lived in a society based on what the church said on matters of morality religion and rulers.

Revelation 20:7

The chaos we live in now.
 
The document talks about different evils, the goodness of religious freedom, and that religion is a good.

The document doesn’t touch that God wills all to be Catholic. Once again, people of different religion s CAN be saved, but God still wills all to enter the Catholic Church.

Maybe we are on the same page here but just not understanding the different aspects of the will of God.
 
You’re right we are in a whole new kind of chaos right now but similar to the days of Noah
 
skelly said:
Revelation 2:27

There was a time we lived in a society based on what the church said on matters of morality religion and rulers.

Revelation 20:7

The chaos we live in now.
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If you are literally applying those verses to today that means the devil had been bound for the last approx. 1000 years. I thought the devil himself brought on the Reformation etc.
 
Maximilian75 said:
HH Francis signed this document, which contains this statement…

http://press.vatican.va/content/salastampa/it/bollettino/pubblico/2019/02/04/0097/00199.html#tradinglese

“The pluralism and the diversity of religions … are willed by God in his wisdom…”

How can this be reconciled with Church teaching?
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A perfect example of taking one sentence and missing the point of a long document.

This is the modus operandi of LifeSiteNews, Church Militant, and the like. Is that, by any chance, how this sentence came to your attention?
 
I’m on mobile and can’t quote - look at post 51 of the thread.

I’m simply curious and wanted to start dialog. If that offended, sorry…?
 
I see Post 51 by Tis_Bearself.

I am not offended. It’s just that I am still reading the Holy Father’s letter, haven’t got to the passage you quoted – which is a good topic for discussion – and the letter seems to be about other matters worthy of consideration.
 
There’s one by me in that region… mobile is infuriating
 
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Pope Francis : "God willed the plurality of religions" Non-Catholic Religions
Thanks, all. this makes more sense now. Not trying to bash Papa, but rather just trying to understand things better
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thank you! Like I said I don’t really understand a lot of the technical side of religion.
 
LittleFlower378 said:
Maybe we are on the same page here but just not understanding the different aspects of the will of God.
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I don’t think we are on the same page. The document states that “The pluralism and diversity of religions,…are willed by God in His wisdom,…”. It doesn’t say that God wills everyone to be Catholic.

The document, taken as a whole, provides the reasoning for this. But I’ll attempt to give the more explicit parts from the document here:
Dialogue, understanding and the widespread promotion of a culture of tolerance, acceptance of others and of living together peacefully would contribute significantly to reducing many economic, social, political and environmental problems that weigh so heavily on a large part of humanity;

· Dialogue among believers means coming together in the vast space of spiritual, human and shared social values and, from here, transmitting the highest moral virtues that religions aim for. It also means avoiding unproductive discussions;
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There is even an example given of this ^ :
Good relations between East and West are indisputably necessary for both. They must not be neglected, so that each can be enriched by the other’s culture through fruitful exchange and dialogue. The West can discover in the East remedies for those spiritual and religious maladies that are caused by a prevailing materialism. And the East can find in the West many elements that can help free it from weakness, division, conflict and scientific, technical and cultural decline.
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Okay, I got to that passage and the sentence in question:
Freedom is a right of every person: each individual enjoys the freedom of belief, thought, expression and action. The pluralism and the diversity of religions, colour, sex, race and language are willed by God in His wisdom, through which He created human beings. This divine wisdom is the source from which the right to freedom of belief and the freedom to be different derives. Therefore, the fact that people are forced to adhere to a certain religion or culture must be rejected, as too the imposition of a cultural way of life that others do not accept;
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Different people might read it differently. That makes it interesting for CAF.

It’s probably compatible with CCC 843:
843 The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as “a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life.”
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