The Vatican on Thursday worked to
set the record straight on whether Pope Francis denied the existence of hell in
an interview with a well-known Italian journalist.
The controversy started when
93-year-old journalist Eugenio Scalfari, the founder of La Repubblica
newspaper, publisheda report that he asked Francis where “bad souls” end up
going, USA Today reported.
Francis’ reply, according to the
journalist, was that those who repent could be forgiven but those who do not,
“disappear.” The article, which ran on March 29, reported that Francis said
“hell does not exist.”
"They are not punished,
those who repent obtain the forgiveness of God and enter the rank of souls who
contemplate him, but those who do not repent and cannot therefore be forgiven
disappear," Francis is quoted as saying.
"There is no hell, there is
the disappearance of sinful souls." Scalfari, an atheist, does not usually
use tape recorders during interviews, The USA Today report said.
The Vatican said the story was
the result of the reporter’s “reconstruction.” “What is reported by the author
in today’s article is the result of his reconstruction, in which the literal
words pronounced by the Pope are not quoted,” the Vatican said.
“No quotation of the
aforementioned article must therefore be considered as a faithful transcription
of the words of the Holy Father.” The Catholic News Agency reported that
Scalfari has “misrepresented” the pope in the past.
The agency reported that Scalfari
“aslo falsely reported that Pope Francis had made comments denying the
existence of hell in 2015.” According to Catholic Church teachings, there is a
hell and it is for eternity.
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