A new Vatican initiative to promote dialogue between believers and atheists debuted with a two-day event on Thursday and Friday (March 24-25) in Paris.
“Religion, Light and Common Reason” was the theme of seminars sponsored by the Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Culture at various locations in the French capital, including Paris-Sorbonne University and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
What next, perhaps an Atheist Ordinariate?
It’s a shame to see a shallow and dismissive comment where the blog-owner has posted interesting news probably intended to stimulate discussion.
The headline of course is also somewhat curtailed, but a reading of the article would overcome wrong impressions.
The first of these encounters, in Paris, seems to have been well-received, with a prominent French non-believer contacting the organizer Cardinal Ravasi to ask if they could collaborate on a book about, of all things, the Gospel of John…..
As followers of Christ, we are called to spread the Good News, and who better to hear it than atheists? Even if they don’t believe, a seed has been planted.
I thought this was an interesting observation by Cardinal Ravasi: “We are aware that the great challenge is not atheism but indifference, which is much more dangerous.†I suppose he means that atheists have at least thought about a divine power. They may have decided they don’t believe one exists, but they have considered the matter. Indifference rises from ennui and a disconnection with the world at large, I think. Someone who is indifferent as to whether a divine power exists or not operates on a superficial level of existence.
That sounds right, Branford, and IIRC other news about this refers to ‘non-believers’ rather than ‘atheists’, who are only one subset of non-believers (Muslims would be another sub-set). The plan is to hold a series of these encounters, in Tirana (Albania), Florence, Barcelona, Stockholm, Valencia, Quebec, Prague and Milan. The Tirana meeting will be in the only country (of these cities) whose Constitution actually instated atheism. And if I’ve understood correctly, it is being suggested in the Italian-language coverage that more such encounters could help kick-start discussion in ‘fledgling Middle East democracies’ where there are Christian populations, and the discussions would likely be in Arabic for instance, not English or a European language.
I disagree with the quote by the cardinal that Branford posted. Indifference often turns around when life gets tough — a loved one dies, someone is ill, and they’re seeking meaning. It seems that many atheists have quite a bit of knowledge about religious belief but they’ve become jaded for a variety of reasons, including being treated badly by church people.
Ooops, clicked submit by accident. To continue …
Atheism often comes with a variety of hurts that I hope the RCs will treat sensitively. I have come across a number of atheists who were once believers but were deeply hurt by “Christ’s representatives on Earth.” When you make claims like that, bad behavior and abuses of power/trust cut much more deeply.
Good observations, Teatime2. I once had a boss who was an atheist and adamantly against the RC church in which he had been raised. I always felt there had to be more to his story – such anger does not exist without some great cause, whether actual or perceived.