Pope Francis has stirred the minds of millions of Italians by presenting his extraordinary vision of hell during a live interview on the television show Che Tempo Che Fa, reports catholicnewsagency.com.
When interviewer Fabio Fazio asked him how he “imagines hell,” Pope Francis gave a short answer.
“What I am going to say is not a dogma of faith, but my own personal view: I like to think of hell as empty; I hope it is so,” Pope Francis said.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that Catholic teaching “affirms the existence of hell and its eternity.
Immediately after death, the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend to hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, “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 was created and longs for.”
The Catechism also says: “In hope the Church prays that ‘all men may be saved.’”
Theologians such as Hans Urs von Balthasar in his book “Dare We Hope That All Men Be Saved?” have raised the possibility that one could “hope” that hell would be empty because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross, distinguishing between universal salvation as hope and universal salvation as doctrine, which he rejects.
