Pope Francis offers hope to faithless, says atheists can go to heavenPope Francis says God opens heaven's doors to non-believers who "obey their conscience," shaking a widely-held assumption about Christian beliefs and reinforcing his image as the most progressive pontiff in history.
"You ask me if the God of the Christians forgives those who don't believe and who don't seek the faith," Francis wrote in a little known 2013 open letter published in the Italian newspaper La Repubblica. Francis was responding to questions from the paper's 91-year-old founder Eugenio Scalfari, reports Britain's The Independent.
"I start by saying -- and this is the fundamental thing -- that God's mercy has no limits if you go to him with a sincere and contrite heart," Francis wrote. "The issue for those who do not believe in God is to obey their conscience. Sin, even for those who have no faith, exists when people disobey their conscience."
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