Pope Tells Young Catholic Boy His Atheist Father is in Heaven
Dear Emanuele,
First of all, let me say from the start that you are so brave in asking this question. Talking about death is not easy, and you have the courage to do so in front of so many people.
I am so sorry this has happened. Anytime a loved one dies it is a tragedy that we don’t know how to deal with, since the one we love has been taken from us. My heart is breaking with you over the loss of your father. I wish I could take the pain away but I cannot. All I can do is tell you about the One who can.
I think the reason why you are asking this question is because you really want to know the answer, and you truly have no idea where your father is. You are seeking the answer to the world’s most important question: how do we get to Heaven?
I also want to commend you on the fact that you believe in Heaven. That is not something that many people believe these days, and I’m so thankful that you do believe that there is a Heaven. It sounds to me like you believe that God has a standard for what it takes to get to Heaven. The question is what is His standard? I wish I could tell you that baptism was enough! or that taking all the sacraments could save you but the standard is much higher than that. The Bible tells us that God is entirely Holy. That holiness is who He is. When Jesus was on earth, He seemed to raise the standard to a whole new level. He seemed to make it harder than the pharisees. In one sermon in particular, in Matthew 5, He says that the sin of murder goes beyond the actual action, and since God sees our hearts and intentions, when we call our brother a bad word, it’s as if we committed murder in our hearts. He ends the chapter by raising the standard to an impossible level! He says that in order to go to heaven you must be as perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matt 5:48)!
Your question leads me to believe that you also believe in Hell because of the fear I hear in your voice and the tears is see in your eyes. You know that it exists and that it is a place that people will go. This is a reality I’m constantly thinking about. I don’t want anyone to go there. But I wonder if maybe you haven’t considered the fact that you and I deserve to go there. I know there is concern in your heart about where your father is, but first, before we worry about others, we must check our hearts first. As I speak to you, I know three things about myself. I am a sinner. The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23)!
First of all, let me say from the start that you are so brave in asking this question. Talking about death is not easy, and you have the courage to do so in front of so many people.
I am so sorry this has happened. Anytime a loved one dies it is a tragedy that we don’t know how to deal with, since the one we love has been taken from us. My heart is breaking with you over the loss of your father. I wish I could take the pain away but I cannot. All I can do is tell you about the One who can.
I think the reason why you are asking this question is because you really want to know the answer, and you truly have no idea where your father is. You are seeking the answer to the world’s most important question: how do we get to Heaven?
I also want to commend you on the fact that you believe in Heaven. That is not something that many people believe these days, and I’m so thankful that you do believe that there is a Heaven. It sounds to me like you believe that God has a standard for what it takes to get to Heaven. The question is what is His standard? I wish I could tell you that baptism was enough! or that taking all the sacraments could save you but the standard is much higher than that. The Bible tells us that God is entirely Holy. That holiness is who He is. When Jesus was on earth, He seemed to raise the standard to a whole new level. He seemed to make it harder than the pharisees. In one sermon in particular, in Matthew 5, He says that the sin of murder goes beyond the actual action, and since God sees our hearts and intentions, when we call our brother a bad word, it’s as if we committed murder in our hearts. He ends the chapter by raising the standard to an impossible level! He says that in order to go to heaven you must be as perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matt 5:48)!
Your question leads me to believe that you also believe in Hell because of the fear I hear in your voice and the tears is see in your eyes. You know that it exists and that it is a place that people will go. This is a reality I’m constantly thinking about. I don’t want anyone to go there. But I wonder if maybe you haven’t considered the fact that you and I deserve to go there. I know there is concern in your heart about where your father is, but first, before we worry about others, we must check our hearts first. As I speak to you, I know three things about myself. I am a sinner. The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23)!
I also know that I deserve to go to Hell for eternity. The Bible says the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). One sin against an eternal God would warrant an eternity in hell, but I’ve sinned thousands, even millions of times throughout my life. Even though you are young, Emanuele, you too have sinned so many times, and one day you will be judged by God, alone. No one else will be there. What will you do? Are you trusting in your works? Are you trusting in your baptism to save you? God, the Creator of all things, cannot let you into Heaven based on you obeying some rules, because you’ve broken so many as well. And so, you and I deserve Hell. And God would be completely fair to send us there for eternity, and we would be guilty and have to accept the consequences.
But God is kind. He is merciful and has provided one way, the only way, for us to be saved. He came to earth Himself. The Bible tells us that there is one God in three persons. There is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father sent the Son to the earth to provide a way for us to go to Heaven. Jesus is both God and man, so He is the only mediator we need!
But God is kind. He is merciful and has provided one way, the only way, for us to be saved. He came to earth Himself. The Bible tells us that there is one God in three persons. There is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Father sent the Son to the earth to provide a way for us to go to Heaven. Jesus is both God and man, so He is the only mediator we need!
He also was the only perfect man who’s ever lived, and He died on the cross for our sins! And lastly, He opened up the gates of Heaven by rising from the dead, and, in an instant, He was able to defeat death. Now, those who put their faith in Him are able to instantly be saved from their sin by the Holy Spirit and are allowed entry into Heaven. They don’t have to work their way to Him since He took care of everything on the cross. They don’t have to earn their salvation, they just get to live their lives in a manner worthy of the salvation they already have!
Emanuele, you can be saved today! You can know for sure that you are going to Heaven when you die. You see, God is perfectly righteous and would have been perfectly fair even if He didn’t give us a chance to be forgiven, but now He gives many the opportunity to hear the truth and to repent of our sin. I wish I could tell you that your dad is in Heaven. I can’t.
Emanuele, you can be saved today! You can know for sure that you are going to Heaven when you die. You see, God is perfectly righteous and would have been perfectly fair even if He didn’t give us a chance to be forgiven, but now He gives many the opportunity to hear the truth and to repent of our sin. I wish I could tell you that your dad is in Heaven. I can’t.
I can tell you that if he repented of his sin, and placed his total faith and trust in Jesus even in his last days on earth, that he is. But I’ll tell you something, wherever he is, he knows two things–that God is Holy, and that he wasn’t. For us, though, who are still on earth, I pray that everyone here realizes that life is short, we could die at any moment, and as long as we have breath in our lungs and ears to hear, that there is still time to repent and put our faith in Christ. He is the only one who can satisfy our hearts desires and who can comfort us when we face tragedy.
Thanks for your question, Emanuele, and I pray that you make a wise decision to trust in Jesus.
(Of course I realize that the Pope doesn’t believe what I’ve written here, so we shouldn’t expect him to be able to answer this way. And probably none of us would be asked this same question in a public setting by someone who has never heard the Gospel before. So this is a very unique situation.The best thing we can do, is pray that one of the few missionaries who are in Rome will run into Emanuele and the rest of the crowd who heard that demonic answer and will right the Pope’s wrong.)
Thanks for your question, Emanuele, and I pray that you make a wise decision to trust in Jesus.
(Of course I realize that the Pope doesn’t believe what I’ve written here, so we shouldn’t expect him to be able to answer this way. And probably none of us would be asked this same question in a public setting by someone who has never heard the Gospel before. So this is a very unique situation.The best thing we can do, is pray that one of the few missionaries who are in Rome will run into Emanuele and the rest of the crowd who heard that demonic answer and will right the Pope’s wrong.)
