Pope quoted as saying ‘hell doesn’t exist’ | Photo: CockyBoys/GSN
The Pope has been bizarrely quoted as saying ‘hell does not exist.’
If quoted correctly, the huge theological shift would go against hundreds of years of teaching from the Catholic Church.
However the Vatican has now said the comments, quoted in an Italian newspaper, were a ‘reconstruction’ of what the Pope actually believes.
They come from an article by co-founder and former editor of La Repubblica Eugenio Scalfari. He is well known being an atheist but has had several telephone conversations and face-to-face meetings with the Pope.
The Vatican confirmed Pope Francis did invite Scalfari to his residence March 27.
During their conversation, the 93-year-old Scalfari says the Pope said that while souls of repentant sinners ‘receive the forgiveness of God and go among the line of souls who contemplate him – the souls of those who are unrepentant and thus cannot be forgiven, disappear,’ La Repubblica reports.
Going on to say:
‘Hell does not exist, the disappearance of sinful souls exists.’
But, The Vatican says that this ‘private meeting’ was not an interview, and therefore cannot be considered a ‘faithful transcription’:
‘The quotes in this article are the result of his reconstruction. The literal words of the Pope are not quotes. And therefore, are not a faithful transcription of the words of the Holy Father.’
What does Catholic teaching say about hell?
Catholic teaching says that after you die:
‘The souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell.’
But, it’s only sinful in the religions eyes to act upon same-sex urges. Gay sex is therefore ‘contrary to the natural law’ and a moral disorder. But, simply being LGBTI, is not a sin.
Moreover, the alleged comments all come on an important weekend for the church, celebrating the Easter festival this weekend.
Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, as described in the New Testament, three days after his crucifixion by the Romans at Calvary.
Speaking to Gay Star News, Reverend Steve Chalke of the LGBTI friendly religious group Oasis says:
‘The reality is that Jesus didn’t talk much about the afterlife. He spent his time trying to bring the principles of heaven – like love and justice – to earth.
‘For what it’s worth, I don’t believe in a literal Hell. However, I do believe that when some Christians tell LGBT people that they are inherently sinful, or encourage them to oppress their sexuality or gender identity, they make their lives a living Hell.’
Read More from Gay Star News:
The secret history of gay saints the Catholic Church doesn’t want you to read
Some saints were ‘probably gay,’ says Vatican’s PR consultant
