Better to be atheist than hypocrite- Pope Francis

Chidi Samuel || Pope Francis, once again stirred the hornet nest once again with a criticism of some members of the catholic faith by stating that it is better to be an atheist than lead a hypocritical double life.

The Pope made the comments at a sermon in his private morning Mass at his residence. “It is a scandal to say one thing and do another. That is a double life.”

He said, “It is a scandal to say one thing and do another. That is a double life.”

“There are those who say ‘I am very Catholic, I always go to Mass, I belong to this and that association’,” the head of the 1.2 billion-member Roman Catholic Church said, according to a Vatican Radio transcript.

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He said that some of these people should also say “‘my life is not Christian, I don’t pay my employees proper salaries, I exploit people, I do dirty business, I launder money, (I lead) a double life’.”

There are many Catholics who are like this and they cause scandal,” he said. “How many times have we all heard people say ‘if that person is a Catholic, it is better to be an atheist’.”

Since his election in 2013, Francis has often told Catholics, both priests, and lay people, to practice what their religion preaches.