<p>Pope Francis criticized &ldquo;greedy&rdquo; Christians Thursday morning as he delivered a private sermon at Casa Santa Marta in Vatican City. ;</p>
<p>He slammed members of his own faith, those who profess to be Catholic but do not live their lives according to Christian values. These people may as well say, &ldquo;My life is not Christian, I don&rsquo;t pay my employees proper salaries, I exploit people, I do dirty business, I launder money, (I lead) a double life,&rdquo; said the pope. ;</p>
<p>Francis defined the word &ldquo;scandal&rdquo; as &ldquo;saying one thing and doing another.&rdquo; He even suggested that it&rsquo;s better to be an atheist than to live such a life. &ldquo;How many times have we heard &ndash; all of us, around the neighborhood and elsewhere &ndash; &lsquo;But to be a Catholic like that, it&rsquo;s better to be an atheist.&rsquo; It is that: scandal.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>A &ldquo;scandal&rdquo; is a grave offense in the Catholic Church. According to the Catechism, scandals include business fraud, swaying another person&rsquo;s moral compass, and misguiding students. ;</p>
<p>Francis suggested that salvation is open only to Christians who live a good life while on Earth. He has also suggested, in previous sermons, that atheists who live good lives will be offered God&rsquo;s grace in death. ;</p>
<p>Pope Francis has often encouraged Catholics to practice what they preach. The down-to-earth spiritual leader has been known to decline expensive apparel and travel options and advise cardinals not to behave like &ldquo;princes.&rdquo; ;</p>
<p>Less than two months after his election in February 2013, Francis surprised us by stating that Christians should view atheists as good people if they live good lives. ;</p>
<p><strong>Author&#8217;s Note: </strong>The pope&#8217;s ;tirade on Thursday reminds me of character Pius XIII&rsquo;s diabolical speech in the HBO TV series &ldquo;The Young Pope,&rdquo; where actor Jude Law slams &ldquo;part-time believers&rdquo; and preaches about an end of tolerance and a return to the mysterious and prohibitive. Maybe he&#8217;s watching??<em> ; ;</em></p>