Home / AOV / Vatican Slams Interviewer for Reporting ‘Pope Says Hell Doesn’t Exist’

Vatican Slams Interviewer for Reporting ‘Pope Says Hell Doesn’t Exist’

Pope Francis was at the centre of sensational claims yesterday about the afterlife after he was quoted as saying that hell does not exist. The Vatican swiftly acted to deny the comments, which spread quickly on social media, and issued a statement saying no such interview was granted with the elderly Italian journalist behind the “scoop”. The Vatican disputed Francis said anything of the sort that appeared in the article, saying it was the fruit of his reconstruction” and not a “faithful transcription of the Holy Father’s words”.

 

Eugenio Scalfari, 93, an avowed atheist who has struck up an intellectual friendship with Francis, met the pope recently and wrote up a long story that included a question-and-answer section at the end. Scalfari, the founder of Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper, has prided himself on not taking notes and not using tape recorders during his encounters with leaders and later reconstructing the meetings to create lengthy articles.

 

According to Scalfari’s article in Thursday’s La Repubblica, he asked the pope where “bad souls” go and where they are punished. Scalfari quoted the pope as saying: “They are not punished. Those who repent obtain God’s forgiveness and take their place among the ranks of those who contemplate him, but those who do not repent and cannot be forgiven disappear. A Hell doesn’t exist, the disappearance of sinning souls exists.”

The universal catechism of the Catholic Church says “The teaching of the Catholic Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity.” It speaks of “eternal fire” and adds that “the chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God”.

 

The Vatican disputed Francis said anything of the sort that appeared in the article, saying it was the fruit of his reconstruction” and not a “faithful transcription of the Holy Father’s words”.

 

It was at least the third time the Vatican has issued statements distancing itself from Scalfari’s articles about the pope, including one in 2014 in which the journalist said the pontiff had abolished sin.

About kuulvibes

A Vibrant Platform Poised in Delivering Trendy & Classy Vibes #teamKuulvibes ~ ...we vibb'n!

Check Also

Glovo and 7 other businesses that have exited the Ghanaian market

Ghana’s economic climate has been a subject of increasing concern both domestically and internationally as …