Reader's Blog: Pope open to the opinion, friendship of atheists
The published schedule of Pope Francis’ visit to Ireland in August is said to include a visit by him to the Capuchin homeless shelter in Bow St, Dublin. I hope he will sit down and talk to them and speak to them about spiritual matters, as well of their daily needs.
But Pope Francis has a spiritual confidant of his very own, a 93-year-old atheist called Eugenio Scalfari, who is a respected journalist in Italy.
By talking to Mr Scalfari regularly, Pope Francis sets a good example for the rest of the clergy in the Catholic Church that they should talk to lapsed Catholics and other non-believers more often and agree to disagree about the difficult moral and spiritual issues.
The homeless people of Bow St need spiritual advise just as much as any well-to-do Italian journalist does. But, in this age, when many mass-going Catholics no longer agree with their Church on a number of religious issues, it is time
to openly admit to these differences of opinion and in so doing we must all take a risk (including the Pope) and be open to changing our minds on some spiritual issues.
