Pope Francis’s predecessor breaks silence to contradict explanation he gave to cardinals when he stepped down.

ROME – The former pope Benedict has claimed that his resignation in February was prompted by God, who told him to do it during a « mystical experience ».

Breaking his silence for the first time since he became the first pope to step down in 600 years, the 86-year-old reportedly said: « God told me to » when asked what had pushed him to retire to a secluded residence in the Vatican gardens.

Benedict denied he had been visited by an apparition or had heard God’s voice, but said he had undergone a « mystical experience » during which God had inspired in him an « absolute desire » to dedicate his life to prayer rather than push on as pope.

The German ex-pontiff’s comments, which are said to have been made a few weeks ago, were reported by the Catholic news agency Zenit, which did not name the person Benedict had spoken to.

A senior Vatican source said the report was reliable. « The report seems credible. It accurately explains the spiritual process that brought Benedict to resign, » he said.

Benedict said his mystical experience had lasted months, building his desire to create a direct and exclusive relationship with God. Now, after witnessing the « charisma » of his successor, Pope Francis, Benedict said he understood to a greater extent how his stepping aside was the « will of God ».

Benedict’s reported remarks contrast with the explanation he gave to cardinals when he announced his resignation on 11 February. « My strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry, » he said then.

At the time, a German journalist who had recently met Benedict reported he was going deaf, appeared to be blind in one eye, and was emaciated and « exhausted-looking ».

Speculation also grew that he was depressed after his trusted butler, Paolo Gabriele, was caught leaking his personal correspondence. Italian press reports have recently claimed he was frustrated by a network of influence built up at the Vatican by a pro-gay lobby of prelates.

Zenit reported that Benedict has stuck to his plan to live a life of secluded prayer, receiving very few visitors at his house in the Vatican’s gardens, which enjoys views across Rome to the Apennine mountains beyond.

« During these meetings, the ex-pontiff does not comment, does not reveal secrets, does not make statements that could be understood as ‘the words of the other pope’, but is as reserved as he has always been, » wrote Zenit.

After concerns were raised that Benedict would exert undue influence at the Vatican as his successor struggled to find his feet, Francis’s popular approach and his shakeup of Vatican protocols have relegated Benedict to the sidelines.

Francis has even joked about the situation, saying in July: « The last time there were two or three popes, they didn’t talk among themselves and they fought over who was the true pope! »

Having Benedict living in the Vatican, he added, « is like having a grandfather – a wise grandfather – living at home ».

Francis’s first encyclical, issued in July, was started by Benedict while he was in office and finished by his successor.

Benedict took his first day trip out of the Vatican on 18 August, walking in the gardens at the papal summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, outside Rome, where he stayed after his retirement while his new house was being refurbished. Benedict did not risk running into Francis, who has preferred to stay at his desk at the Vatican during the summer.

Tom Kington
The Guardian

This website – bibviz.com – aspires to be a beautiful and interactive resource for skeptics and believers alike to explore some of the more negative aspects of holy books.

It was heavily inspired by the Reason Project’s poster of biblical contradictions,

which in turn was inspired by Chris Harrison’s Bible Visualizations.

A new review of 63 scientific studies stretching back over decades has concluded that religious people are less intelligent than non-believers.

A piece of University of Rochester analysis, led by Professor Miron Zuckerman, found “a reliable negative relation between intelligence and religiosity” in 53 out of 63 studies.

According to the study entitled, ‘The Relation Between Intelligence and Religiosity: A Meta-Analysis and Some Proposed Explanations’, published in the ‘Personality and Social Psychology Review’, even during early years the more intelligent a child is the more likely it would be to turn away from religion.

In old age above average intelligence people are less likely to believe, the researchers also found.

One of the studies used in Zuckerman’s paper was a life-long analysis of the beliefs of 1,500 gifted children with with IQs over 135.

The study began in 1921 and continues today. Even in extreme old age the subjects had much lower levels of religious belief than the average population.

The review, which is the first systematic meta-analysis of the 63 studies conducted in between 1928 and 2012, showed that of the 63 studies, 53 showed a negative correlation between intelligence and religiosity, while 10 showed a positive one.

Only two studies showed significant positive correlations and significant negative correlations were seen in a total of 35 studies.

The authors of the review looked at each study independently, taking into account the quality of data collection, the size of the sample and the analysis methods used.

The three psychologists carrying out the review defined intelligence as the “ability to reason, plan, solve problems, think abstractly, comprehend complex ideas, learn quickly, and learn from experience”.

Religiosity is defined by the psychologists as involvement in some (or all) facets of religion.

According to the review, other factors – such as gender or education – did not make any difference to the correlation between intelligence and religious belief.

The level of belief, or otherwise, did however vary dependent upon age with the correlation found to be weakest among the pre-college population.

The paper concludes that: « Most extant explanations (of a negative relation) share one central theme —the premise that religious beliefs are irrational, not anchored in science, not testable and, therefore, unappealing to intelligent people who ‘know better’. »

Criticisms of the conclusions include that the paper only deals with a definition of analytic intelligence and fails to consider newly identified forms of creative and emotional intelligence.

The psychologists who carried out the review also sought to pre-empt the secularist interpretation of the findings by suggesting that more intelligent people are less likely to have religious beliefs as they associate themselves with ideas around personal control.

« Intelligent people typically spend more time in school – a form of self-regulation that may yield long-term benefits, » the researchers wrote.

« More intelligent people get higher level jobs (and better employment (and higher salary) may lead to higher self-esteem, and encourage personal control beliefs. »

Rob Williams
The Independent

Après une visite de sept jours à Rio pour les Journées mondiales de la jeunesse, le pape Francois, dans l’avion du retour, a, une nouvelle fois, cherché à donner un autre visage à l’Eglise catholique pour se démarquer de son prédécesseur conservateur, Benoît XVI.

Il a ainsi affirmé ne pas juger les homosexuels, y compris dans l’Eglise. « Le problème n’est pas d’avoir cette tendance, c’est de faire du lobbying. C’est le problème le plus grave, selon moi. Si une personne est gay et cherche le Seigneur avec bonne volonté, qui suis-je pour la juger ? » a-t-il demandé, estimant que le problème était « d’en faire un lobby ». « Les lobbies ne sont pas bons », qu’ils soient politiques ou francs-maçons.

« Je n’ai encore vu personne au Vatican sur la carte d’identité duquel est inscrit ‘gay’. On affirme qu’il y en a. Le catéchisme de l’Eglise catholique dit très bien qu’on ne doit pas marginaliser ces personnes qui doivent être intégrées dans la société. »

PAS D’ORDINATION POUR LES FEMMES

Evoquant plus largement la sexualité dans l’Eglise, il a distingué « les délits » comme « les abus sur mineurs » et les « péchés », notamment les « péchés de jeunesse ». « Des laïcs, des prêtres, des sœurs ont péché et se sont convertis. Quand le Seigneur pardonne, il oublie tout. »

Interrogé sur le mariage gay et sur l’avortement, auxquels l’Eglise est fermement opposée, le pape a répondu : « Vous savez parfaitement la position de l’Eglise. » Pour la seule fois, il a répondu brièvement, sèchement, selon des journalistes présents dans le vol.

Et, s’il a dit vouloir approfondir le rôle des femmes au sein de l’Eglise – « On ne peut pas imaginer une Eglise sans femmes actives » –, il a catégoriquement rejeté l’idée que la prêtrise leur soit ouverte.

AFP, AP et Reuters
Le Monde