What? Pope Francis and an atheist?

Just yesterday Pope Francis added yet another startling act to his list of seemingly astonishing motions as pope. This time he met up with Martin Schulz, a European Parliament President and atheist. Their meeting lasted about 30 minutes and Schulz even invited the pope to address the Parliament later.

This meeting is important because it shows how "universal" Pope Francis is. His message is really not just for the whole church, but all of humanity. This is seen in this incredible witness he gives by approaching this man in a friendly gesture.

The two men, Pope Francis and atheist Schulz, discussed some of the social problems facing Europe, poverty and unemployment being several.

But what is perhaps most surprising is the amiable mood of the whole affair. An article from the National Catholic Register sums this up quite well:

"But what is most interesting about this visit - though it is hard to gauge without a Vatican communique - is the change of mood, and the fact that an atheist head of the European Parliament was so willing to visit the Pope. One informed source speaking on condition of anonymity told the Register there has so far been "absolutely no backlash" against Schulz for the meeting."

"Absolutely no backlash" means that no one has spoken out criticizing Schulz for meeting up with the Pope. This happened before to previous presidents after meeting with Pope Benedict XVI.

At the end of the article, which can be read fully here, the author commented on how Schulz respects the pope:

"But on a personal level, Schulz clearly respects Pope Francis and, as an additional sign of his openness to dialogue with the Church, he brought his local parish priest with him as part of his delegation."

So let us today be thankful for having such an outgoing, peace loving and welcoming shepherd of the Catholic Church!