An atheist expresses his quandary that although he does not believe in God yet somehow he loves him. Pope Leo responds with thoughtful, insightful counsel.
Pope Leo XIV responded to an atheist who paradoxically described himself as someone who “loves God,” explaining to him that “the real problem of faith” isn’t believing or not believing in him but seeking him.
In the February issue of the magazine Piazza San Pietro, the pope answered a man named Rocco from Reggio Calabria, Italy, who asked for help with some questions he had: “How is it possible to consider oneself an atheist and love God? I feel the need to love God, but I consider myself an atheist, or perhaps I think I am, and deep down, am I seeking God?”
To better express what he was going through, Rocco sent the pope the following poem: “I observe nature, spying on every development: the sunrise or its setting on the horizon; the starry sky and the mystery of harmony. I believe that I don’t believe, absolutely certain of nothingness, yet I still yearn for God. My drama is God! My restlessness is God! An atheist who loves God!”
Pope Leo XIV’s response
The Holy Father thanked Rocco for his “beautiful poetry” and shared that it reminded him of a line from St. Augustine’s “Confessions,” his most famous book: “You were within me, and I was outside. And there I sought you.”
In this regard, Pope Leo emphasized that this is enough “to tell you that one cannot be an atheist who loves God, who seeks him with a sincere heart.”
“Recently, several theologians have helped us reflect on how what is important in life is seeking God. Yes, because the real problem of faith isn’t believing or not believing in God, but seeking or not seeking him!” the pope continued.
God, Leo continued, “allows himself to be found by the heart that seeks him, and perhaps the correct distinction to make is not so much between believers and nonbelievers but between those who seek God and those who do not.”
In conclusion, Leo XIV said that “one can believe that one believes and not seek the face of God, not love him; one can believe that one does not believe and be ardent seekers of his face, loving him as you do. So, Rocco, we are all longing for Love, we are all seekers of God. And therein lies the dignity and beauty of our lives.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
