"Pope Benedict, in a new encyclical released on Friday, said atheism was responsible for some of the "greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice" in history."
"Atheism could be regarded by some as a "type of moralism", particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries, to protest against the injustices of the world and world history, he said.
Reciting arguments made by atheists, he said: "A world marked by so much injustice, innocent suffering, and cynicism of power cannot be the work of a good God. A God with responsibility for such a world would not be a just God, much less a good God."
History has proven wrong ideologies such as Marxism which say humans had to establish social justice because God did not exist, the Pope wrote.
"It is no accident that this idea has led to the greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice," the Pope said. Such a concept was grounded in "intrinsic falsity"
57 comments
Hey Ratzinger...you have no moral authority whatsoever.
You were Prefect of the CDF, formerly known as The Office of the Inquisition.
Some say you belonged to the Nazi Party in your youth.
Why don't you shut the fuck up and start weeding out all those pedophiles in your church.
@Micheal
You forgot the Holocaust. Then again, it was not directly influenced by Catholicism, but it was definitely not a result of atheism.
"atheism was responsible for some of the 'greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice'"
Notice the word some is used, which means religion is the most frequent cause.
What was the name of that boys group he was in as a young man? It's on the tip of my tongue, Hugger-youth, Happy-youth. I know it started with an H. Well I guess if anyone knows about violence and cruelty. He'd be the guy.
Pope Benny wears rose-colored glasses to match the shoes.
He probably thinks the non-condemnation of Adolf Hitler by the Catholic Church was a good thing. Oh, and the Jesuits practice communism even if they don't refer to it as such.
The Inquisition? The Crusades? Support for tyrants and dictators all over the world? The sale of indulgences as a guarantee of heaven? The condemnation of any birth control method (rhythm only counts in music)? And so on and so on...
Now what is his holiness suggesting? Mao and Stalin would kill just as many people even if they where Xtians, they would still be extremist, power-crazed, megalomanic dictators with or without gawd. *Cough*Hitler*Cough*
.... says the man who, until recently, was head of the Inquisition.
Don't take my word for it... look it up!
Thanks, Pope BeneNazi, for reconfirming my atheism. I remember thinking about joining the Catholic Church, but that was before you became pope.
With so much philosophy on his back, he should have known by now that atheist is not communism. And has to be consistent with that if he doesn't want to be associated with Crusaders, Inquisitors or dictators. It's fair game.
I agree with everything been said, but would you please quit using this nazi-argument in this context? For gods sake, he was a child/teen back than! I hightly doubt that he had much of a choice. Back than, if you refused to join the Hitler Youth, you were not only expelled from school, you and your family even had to fear persecution. The membership became COMPULSORY for all german boys. Ratzinger joined because otherwise he wouldn´t have been allowed to continue his school education.
Wasn't this fellow the big cheese of the Inquisition organization?
Yes, yes...follow your antiChrist "saint" Paul to Hell, you foolish and arrogant p0pe.
No beer volcano for you, either. (For a Bavarian, that is REAL Hell.)
Wait... has Marxism even been tried?
I know people like to go on about Communism and all that crap, but Communism =/= Marxism, so... has it ever really been tried or are people just talking bollocks about it?
BTW, this lot are in serious discussions with the Orthodox churces to end the schism dating back to 1054. This will likely mean the end of papal infallability, acceptance of married priests and the Roman patriarch having to admit that he's no longer top dog. Thought you might like to know....
"Marxism which say(s) humans had to establish social justice because God did not exist"
did it say this? didn't it just say we should do it cos it's the right thing to do?
This old fart is every bit as tiresome as evangelical fundies, but he has a better wardrobe. I relinquished Catholicism a good many years ago, when I came to the realization that I could predict the church's stance on any subject. Anyone can do it. Try it. Whenever a new medical breakthrough occurs, a new technology is introduced or a new social problem arises, just think of the most reactionary, anti-human position conceivable regarding the subject. That will be the Catholic Church's official reaction.
@Betsy Newson: now that's rather interesting.
I don't see it going particularly well, but I think I'd like to know a little more. Do you have any links to any pages or articles with some information handy?
When did an organised group of Atheists, with absolute authority from, say Richard Dawkins, that not even the police could stop (for fear of being subject to their tortures), go around forcing religious people to recant their faith, on pain of death?
Because that's what YOUR lot did, centuries ago via the Spanish Inquisition - or as it's called these days, the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. Which YOU led, prior to becoming Pope, Ratzy, m'boy. And who used to be a member of the Hitler Youth, hmmmmmmmm? Not ME, that's for sure (and not just because I was born in 1964. I loathe & detest anything & everything right-wing). And certainly not Richard Dawkins, nor any Atheist of your generation.
Hypocrisy. It doesn't just apply to Protestant fundies.
When Voytila died and Ratzinger sat on his place, there was a joke about it.
WWII. Young German soldier is on patrol in Polish village during police hour. He sees another young man, civilian, going back home. Since it's during police hour, soldier lifts his gun to shoot him. Then, sky opens, time stops and angel shows up all covered in light.
It wasn't the social justice (something that Jesus would probably have agreed with) that killed many people, but the corruption and dictatorship that it unfortunately carried with it.
The Pope has still not touched on the issues he put forth; how the world can be as unjust, violent and cruel if there is a benevolent and omnipotent god governing it?"A God with responsibility for such a world would not be a just God, much less a good God."
Your name is not really true, is it? You're not just saying good things...
Here's the truth. Human beings are responsible for ALL "forms of cruelty and violations of justice in history". Some of those human beings have had religious beliefs which led them to be cruel. Others had religious beliefs which they kept in a separate compartment and were cruel for other reasons. Others again had religious beliefs which led them to cry out and campaign against injustice.
Atheists have been cruel too and the same caveats apply: some as a result of their atheism, others in spite of their atheism, while other atheists have been in forefront of protests against cruelty.
Conclusion: all human beings can be bastards at times, and they will justify their evil-doing by appealing to whatever ideology is to hand, religious or otherwise. Other human beings will always be humane, and they may or may not explain their goodness in terms of a belief system.
Neither religion nor the lack of it makes people cruel. Circumstances do; religion or the lack of it may then be used as an excuse. Goodness requires no justification. The Pope is talking through his mitre.
Religion is a great excuse to do nothing about problems/injustice, because
a) God will take care of it
b) God will compensate in the next life, that just happens to be invisible
c) how dare you question God's order? The creation is perfect as it is!
Reciting arguments made by atheists, he said: "A world marked by so much injustice, innocent suffering, and cynicism of power cannot be the work of a good God. A God with responsibility for such a world would not be a just God, much less a good God."
and the fact that these things happened often by the hands of the religious is one of the reasons I'm an atheist.
"A world marked by so much injustice, innocent suffering, and cynicism of power cannot be the work of a good God. A God with responsibility for such a world would not be a just God, much less a good God."
...and yet so far.
Last time I heard, Tomas De Torquemada wasn't an Atheist.
You should know, Ratzy, seeing as you - before becoming Pope - was the head of the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith; the modern, cuddly, user-friendly term for the Inquisition. As in Spanish .
And last time I heard, it wasn't Atheists who were involved in a vast cover-up of a huge scandal involving paedophiles in the clergy of the Catholic Church. Which you knew about; nay, by inaction, allowed to happen, for fear of such destroying the RCC as a whole.
It is no accident that this idea has led to the greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice. The idea of hypocrisy .
yes how dare Karl Marx want to stop the horrible suffering of workers in c19th England, the bastard.
PS. "The first man who made a deliberate attempt to rid men of their fears and bonds, the first man who tried to abolish slavery within his domain, Epicurus, was a materialist" ~ Sartre
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