Pope blames world's worst woes on atheism

It should not surprise anyone particularly that Pope Benedict XVI, in his second encyclical, blames atheism for the world's worst woes, just as the recent spate of popular anti-God books blames religion:

Pope Benedict XVI strongly criticized modern-day atheism in a major document released today, saying it had led to some of the "greatest forms of cruelty and violations of justice" ever known to mankind.

But in his second encyclical, Benedict XVI also critically questioned modern Christianity, saying its focus on individual salvation had ignored Jesus' message that true Christian hope involves salvation for all.

I am SO glad, as a Catholic Christian, that someone (and imagine, it is the Pope, of all people) is speaking up against the irrelevant Jesus-hollering that has defaced so much recent evangelism in his 76-page document. (I haven't read it yet, but I am hardly surprised that he would say things like these, and I certainly look forward to reading it.)

Look, I am personally a Christian and I believe that Jesus is the answer, but if you can't be bothered to define the question, how do you know if I am right or wrong?

Hat tip fellow Catholic journalist David Warren, who didn't himself notice this till some friends forwarded it to him. I didn't know till he forwarded it to me. Just shows you what sinners we Catholics are. We were drinking heavily in assorted low-class pubs when the news was announced, okay? Glad that's cleared up.