La Repubblica<\/em>? The Vatican tells us that his quotations of the pope are based on memory and not necessarily what the pope actually said. But the Vatican does not state clearly that \u201cPope Francis affirms the teaching in the Catechism that\u2026\u201d We are left guessing.<\/p>\nSome say if there\u2019s no hell, what\u2019s the point? Who needs Jesus and the Church if there\u2019s no hell to be saved from?<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve heard people in 12-Step recovery programs say that religion is for people who fear hell, but spirituality is for people who have already been there and have no more fear. The saying doesn\u2019t exactly put organized religion in a good light. The inference is that\u00a0organized religion promotes a lower, less mature stage in human development.\u00a0We religious people (including those of us who believe in the reality of hell) should think long and hard about this.<\/p>\n
I suppose fear as a motivator has its place. Jesus seems to have used it \u2013 to the extent that we can discern what his words really mean. But Jesus certainly talked a lot more about how ridiculously merciful his father is.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s possible that Pope Francis doesn\u2019t believe in hell, but I suspect he does. He certainly believes in the Devil and talks about him a good deal.<\/p>\n
Maybe Francis thinks a bit of doubt and confusion is a good thing. He seems to think that traditional Catholics overly certain of church teachings are too rigid and even idolatrous in their attachment to abstract truths.<\/p>\n
Maybe Francis\u2019s intuitions gravitate so much toward divine mercy and forgiveness that he\u2019s simply turned off by talk of\u00a0fire and brimstone. It\u2019s hard to know what a Jesuit is thinking.<\/p>\n
There is a long spiritual tradition in the church that is so taken by the love of God that the reality of hell fades into unimportance.<\/p>\n
The sixteenth-century Carmelite mystic John of the Cross, for example, wrote the text below, as conveyed to us in English verse by Thomas Walsh. St. John doesn\u2019t so much say there is no hell as that he has no interest in it. The text has made a deep impression on me. I wonder if Pope Francis would like it. I suspect he would.<\/p>\n
awr<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
No me mueve
\n<\/em>attr. St. John of \u00c1vila or St. John of the Cross<\/p>\nI am not moved to love you, O my Lord,
\nby any longing for your promised land;
\nnor is the fear of hell my sure command
\nto cease from my transgressing deed or word.<\/p>\n
\u2019Tis you yourself who move me\u2014 your blood poured
\nupon the cross from nailed foot and hand,
\nand all the wounds that did your body brand,
\nand all your shame and bitter death\u2019s award.<\/p>\n
Yea, to my heart am I so deeply stirred
\nthat I would love you, were no heaven on high
\nthat I would fear, were hell a tale absurd.
\nSuch my desire, all questioning grows vain;
\nthough hope deny me hope, I still should sigh,
\nand as my love is now, it should remain.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u00a0– English versification by Thomas Walsh (1875-1928)<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Does Pope Francis believe in hell? Eugenio Scalfari thinks not.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":41753,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_wpcom_ai_launchpad_first_post":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[3116,2224],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-41750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-new-ws","category-pope-francis"],"yoast_head":"\n
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