Seems like reason and rationality are winning against blind faith and dogmatism in the recent skirmishes in the intellectual battlefield. After conceding to the scientific truth of biological evolution, declaring that there is no literal hell, admitting that not all written in the Bible are literally true, among others, the Roman Catholic Church did some interesting “updating” again of their religious dogma. Verily, verily I say unto you, atheists have a better chance of entering the kingdom of heaven than even the most devoted of Christians.
Indeed my brethren. Former physicist and New York St. Joseph’s Seminary theology professor Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete, stated that atheists can go to heaven too as long as he is honest and sincere in his atheism. Sorry mad-at-god-atheists, you don’t count. You still believe in God, just angry at him. Therefore you are not really honestly an atheist. Mmmm… perhaps you can be included… but I digress.
You can watch Robert Wright’s interview of Monsignor Lorenzo Albacete in full here .
Here are some of the more revealing and controversial insights straight from the horse’s mouth:
Robert Wright: So you believe that a Buddhist can be saved, can have salvation, the afterlife that a Christian has?
Lorenzo Albacete: Probably faster than I would.
Robert Wright: And what about an atheist?
Lorenzo Albacete: Oh yes, faster than I would in all probability.
Robert Wright: What would an atheist have to do to get into Heaven?
Lorenzo Albacete: Even St. Thomas Aquinas would say, follow his or her conscience. Be honest to your heart.
Robert Wright: But clear moral…
Lorenzo Albacete: Yes but it’s not the morality that gains you heaven. It’s not because an atheist does good things. It is the heart that gets you there. This is very important. Even for the Christian, a Christian can fulfill every damn moral law there is And end up in hell. This is a doctrine of the church. It’s not what you do, it is your stand in respect to otherness. It is your conscience.
We could take this to its logical conclusion and infer that even those deemed by many Christians as abhorrently evil such as gays, lesbians, wiccans can go to heaven so long as his/her heart is honest and sincere!
Of course lest one argues and suspects that this is merely liberal theology trying to “modernize” Catholic doctrines, here is what the monsignor has to say.
Robert Wright: As a matter of fact, you’ve just expressed a very liberal salvation doctrine, inclusive and modern.
Lorenzo Albacete: I think you could look it up and read in Pope John Paul II, the redeemer of man, Second Vatican Council. I can give you many references, the cataclysm of the church…
Robert Wright: Is that the Catholic position that a Buddhist or an atheist can go to Heaven?
Lorenzo Albacete: Yes. Sure.
Wright: There are a lot of Protestant denominations that aren’t saying that…
Lorenzo Albacete: That’s right. I respect that. We do not say that. In the mass in the fourth Eucharistic prayer of the mass, we pray for those who seek you. We are praying to God for those who seek you with a sincere heart. We are praying as much for them as we are for the Pope, the bishop, the church, etc.
Wright: So ultimately yours is…
Lorenzo Albacete: I don’t think I’m being a liberal Catholic. That is the doctrine of the church.
In short, according to the Monsignor, it is THE official Roman Catholic doctrine.
Rejoice heathens, for the kingdom of God is at hand!
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