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  • 2014-12-14 (xsd:date)
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  • Did Pope Francis Say It's Not Necessary to Believe in God? (en)
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  • In December 2014, an image of Pope Francis was circulated via social media, with a strike quote appended to it suggesting that the pontiff had said It is not necessary to believe in God to be a good person: The quote was deemed plausible by many Facebook users (who subsequently shared it) due in part because Pope Francis has been both inclusive and non-judgmental in his commentary thus far regarding faith, morality, and good deeds. The heavily-circulated quote also read to many as a natural extension of what was widely viewed as partial acceptance of atheism by Pope Francis during a May 2013 homily: back then, Pope Francis' words were interpreted by some to mean atheists could achieve redemption through good deeds without belief in God, while others inferred the comments merely referenced corporeal time on Earth and cooperation towards peace: Following Pope Francis' homily, Fr. Thomas Rosica (a Vatican spokesperson who specializes in translating the Pope's remarks for English-speaking Catholics and the media) issued a clarification stating the homily's content was not intended to suggest belief in God was immaterial to salvation: Earlier comments notwithstanding, the quote appended to the image that circulated in December 2014 does not match any verifiable comments made by Pope Francis. Although Pope Francis did make statements in 2013 that were widely received as atypically inclusive of nonbelievers, they did not resemble the not necessary to believe in God to be a good person quote. It's not clear where the quote originated, but there is no proof (nor is there precedent) for the claim Pope Francis voiced it. (en)
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