Detail from The Last Judgment by Michelangelo Buonarroti in the Sistine Chapel. Pope Francis has spoken often about the existence of hell, despite reports to the contrary, writes Msgr. Lopez Gallo. (Wikimedia Commons image)
“Father, I am horrified. Is it true that the Pope said that hell does not exist?” asked one of my readers. I answered, “Do not be upset. Let me explain why what you read in the media must be questioned.”
Since his election, the Pope has met five times with Eugenio Scalfari, a 94-year-old atheist philosopher, by now known for quoting the Pope without having recorded their conversation or taking notes.
He wrote recently about his last encounter with the Pope, and the Vatican insists that the report is not factual. Scalfari says the Pope claims to be honoured that he is considered a revolutionary, and reports that he talked about the non-existence of hell, saying that unrepentant souls are annihilated after death.
The account of the interview was published on Thursday, March 29, 2018, in La Repubblica, the daily paper that Scalfari co-founded and which he also claims the Pope said is the only newspaper he reads. At the end of the interview, the article says, Scalfari expressly denied the divinity of Christ, describing Jesus of Nazareth as “a man and no more than a man.”
Greg Burke, the Vatican Press Office director, issued the following statement: “What the author reported is the result of his own reconstruction, in which the exact words spoken by the Pope are not cited … Therefore, no quotation in the said article must be considered as a faithful transcription of the Holy Father’s words.”
It is wrong to criticize the Pope when we ignore his intention. We do not know why he maintains his friendship with Scalfari, but perhaps he is trying to indoctrinate this “lost sheep” and feels that this person who does not believe in God can be converted.
Many cardinals and prelates have commented that the comments are at odds with previous statements of Pope Francis concerning the existence of hell, most recently when he appealed to the mafia to give up their lives of crime and avoid eternal damnation.
Some theologians have warned that his comments are a cause of scandal in the literal sense of the term because they disorientate and confuse many Catholics, and also because these remarks are then used and abused by those whose aim is to destroy the Church.
Journalists also acknowledge that on other occasions Pope Francis has certainly warned of the danger of souls going to hell, according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church which unequivocally affirms the existence of hell and the immortality of the human soul: “The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell where they suffer the punishment of hell’s eternal fire. The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he has been created and for which he longs” (CCC n.1035).
“Since we know neither the day nor the hour, we should follow the advice of the Lord and watch constantly so that, when the single course of our earthly life is completed, we may merit to enter with him into the marriage feast and be numbered among the blessed, and not, like the wicked and slothful servants, be ordered to depart into the eternal fire, into the outer darkness where ‘men will weep and gnash their teeth’” (ibid, n.1036).
The thesis that eternal life is reserved for the just while the wicked disappear is an ancient heresy denying not only the existence of hell but the immortality of the soul defined as a truth of the faith by the Fifth Lateran Council.
Salvation from eternal damnation is the destiny awaiting those who do not die in mortal sin. For the salvation of men, Our Lord offered his Redeeming Passion and Our Lady reminded us of this at Fatima. The first secret, conveyed to the three young shepherds on July 13, 1917, began with the terrifying vision of a sea of hellfire. If it hadn’t been for Our Lady’s promise to take them to heaven, wrote Sr. Lucia dos Santos, the visionaries would have died of shock and fright. Our Lady’s words are upsetting and severe: “You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart.”
A year before the Marian apparitions, the Angel of Peace had appeared to the three little shepherds and taught them this prayer: “O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell, lead all souls to heaven especially those in most need of thy mercy.”
Our Lady herself told us this at Fatima, foreseeing the defection of sinners, but also assuring us that we will never be bereft of assistance from heaven.