Pope Francis Tells Sobbing Child his Atheist Father could be in Heaven

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Pope Francis spoke the truth.

God decides who is in heaven. God decides if this man was a believer. Not us. Not Pope Francis.

If he did have questions or doubts about the faith, and had his children baptized anyway - taught them the faith with such clarity that this little boy would turn to the Holy Father for the answer to such an important question - well, that speaks volumes, doesn’t it?
 
hmikell7 said:
edit: I realize how difficult it would be to dash a little boy’s hopes for seeing his father again, but I can’t believe that this is what the Pope would have been doing considering the weight that his words would carry for the world’s other 1.2 billion Catholics.
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The weight his words carry is to try to teach the rest of us arrogant, hardhearted, selfish, holier-than-though Pharisees to stop putting ourselves in the judgment seat of God!

The only judgment you or I should be worrying about is our own. And when we stop trying to turn the Gospels into a theological version of the penal code of Heaven County, maybe we’ll be ready to follow the example of Pope Francis and evangelize through our loving and compassionate service.

Just my two grumpy cents’ worth of opinion…
 
He actually didn’t say that. What he said was much more nuanced.

 
I love this video. I’ve watched it over and over. Sometimes I think we all forget that Pope Francis is, first and foremost, a priest. Watching him console that crying child just struck right at my heart that he is, first, a spiritual Father.
 
Gertabelle said:
The weight his words carry is to try to teach the rest of us arrogant, hardhearted, selfish, holier-than-though Pharisees to stop putting ourselves in the judgment seat of God!

The only judgment you or I should be worrying about is our own. And when we stop trying to turn the Gospels into a theological version of the penal code of Heaven County, maybe we’ll be ready to follow the example of Pope Francis and evangelize through our loving and compassionate service.

Just my two grumpy cents’ worth of opinion…
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And this is where we need a separate button to give a post 1 million likes at once.
 
Of course, he ‘could’ be in Heaven! Hence, the term ‘could’, i.e. it is possible! Just as Hitler, Judas Iscariot, and Luther ‘could’ be in Heaven!

As a convert, it’s downright deplorable and dejecting to see baptized Catholics protest the Holy Father, especially when they attempt to conjecture his expertise on doctrine. Let me let you in on a little secret, you don’t know squat about doctrine and morals in comparison to the Pope! If you want to arrogantly attempt to protest him and his words, there are 30,000+ protesting ecclesial communities you are free to join!

Personally, I think there are many, perhaps, that have countless insecurities within themselves they like to project on others, especially anything concerning judging the moral state of one’s soul. And, frankly, I cannot wait, if I make it to Heaven, to see it littered with a bunch of bona fide atheists who, through invincible ignorance and no fault of their own, fed more, clothed more, visited more, etc. than all these ‘Catholics’ who love to spew Pharisaical vitriol at the Holy Father and those outside the Church thirsting and hungering for Christ!
 
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casslean said:
If he did have questions or doubts about the faith, and had his children baptized anyway - taught them the faith with such clarity that this little boy would turn to the Holy Father for the answer to such an important question - well, that speaks volumes, doesn’t it?
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For all we know this atheist father was struggling every day with his doubt and trying hard to believe and he just couldn’t get himself past whatever mental block he had.

There are all different kinds of atheists. Just like there are all different kinds of Catholics.
 
Why is so hard not to believe, unless we believe we are, and not God is the ultimate judge?
 
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The Church teaches that “in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him.” (CCC 848)

As for who counts as ignorant through no fault of their own, that is for God alone to judge–we can’t make any assumptions on that point. Here’s a couple holy popes on this:

St. John Paul II:
Certainly, the condition “through no fault of their own” cannot be verified nor weighed by human evaluation, but must be left to the divine judgment alone.
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Bl. Pius IX:
Now, in truth, who would arrogate so much to himself as to mark the limits of such an ignorance, because of the nature and variety of peoples, regions, innate dispositions, and of so many other things?
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We know from Scripture that God judges by the heart and not by appearances, and can certainly override His own formal directives regarding man’s salvation. We don’t know the background, what motivated the father to call himself atheist. We are taught, however, that in the end we’ll be judged on our love. Maybe actions speak louder to God than words or professions of faith, even as He desires all to enter the true fold and gain proper understanding and faith.

We’re all born atheist for all practical purposes BTW, lacking knowledge of and faith in God let alone hope in and love for Him.
 
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As a non-Catholic, that video is so lovely - I can’t see why anyone would want to criticise the Pope for what he said there.
 
I agree. There is NOTHING wrong with what the Pope said in an attempt to provide some comfort to a child. And there is EVERYTHING right with taking on the role of pastoral care at a time of grief and mourning. At a time like this, religion is designed to comfort the afflicted, not terrify them or instruct them.
 
Gertabelle said:
The weight his words carry is to try to teach the rest of us arrogant, hardhearted, selfish, holier-than-though Pharisees to stop putting ourselves in the judgment seat of God!

The only judgment you or I should be worrying about is our own. And when we stop trying to turn the Gospels into a theological version of the penal code of Heaven County, maybe we’ll be ready to follow the example of Pope Francis and evangelize through our loving and compassionate service.

Just my two grumpy cents’ worth of opinion…
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Not enough likes in the world to post here!

“penal code of heaven county” LOL That MADE my day!!!
 
Many Catholics in this forum seem more comfortable with the belief that people end up in hell rather than in heaven.

No one knows for sure where the father of this child is.

For all we know, he had a conversion before he drew his final breath,

Jim
 
so all one has to do is prove how God determines who goes to heaven, hell or purgatory, then one can critize the pope and chatise him for giving a boy hope that his father might be in heaven.

jackwagons
 
I just wanted to add that we should keep Emanuele’s father in our prayers. And pray for this young boy, his siblings and his mother.
 
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