To my Protestant, Jewish, agnostic, and atheist friends: here is how it works.
First, when a Catholic pope speaks infallibly, he does so in a very special way. If the pope says that Popeye’s serves tastier fried chicken than KFC, he may be right or wrong, but he is not speaking infallibly. Here from Catholic Answers is a succinct explanation of how infallibility works:
First, when a Catholic pope speaks infallibly, he does so in a very special way. If the pope says that Popeye’s serves tastier fried chicken than KFC, he may be right or wrong, but he is not speaking infallibly. Here from Catholic Answers is a succinct explanation of how infallibility works:
Infallibility belongs in a special way to the pope as head of the bishops (Matt. 16:17–19; John 21:15–17). As Vatican II remarked, it is a charism the pope "enjoys in virtue of his office, when, as the supreme shepherd and teacher of all the faithful, who confirms his brethren in their faith (Luke 22:32), he proclaims by a definitive act some doctrine of faith or morals. Therefore his definitions, of themselves, and not from the consent of the Church, are justly held irreformable, for they are pronounced with the assistance of the Holy Spirit, an assistance promised to him in blessed Peter."
Now that we’ve gotten infallibility out of the way, let’s look at the current Pope’s most recent blunder, if blunder it was.
On Holy Thursday various online news organizations reported that Pope Francis declared in a private interview that Hell does not exist. Because of the explosions among the Faithful after this news hit the media—you might say that all hell broke loose—the Vatican issued a statement stating that Pope Francis had spoken in a private interview and that “the textual words pronounced by the pope are not quoted. No quotation of the aforementioned article must therefore be considered as a faithful transcription of the words of the Holy Father."
What sort of malarkey is this?
It's true that the interviewer, Eugenio Scalfari, an atheist and a friend of the Pope's, did not use any recording device or take notes during the interview. But it's also true that other interviews with this very same man have caused the Pope and the Vatican to backpedal on what appears in print. Is the Pope a slow learner?
Pope Francis himself should have strongly condemned this interview. That he did not speaks volumes.
Because he was not speaking ex cathedra, that is, with the full authority of his office, Pope Francis was not proclaiming some new doctrine.
But he was uttering a heresy.
Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium all teach and proclaim the reality of hell. To deny that reality for a Catholic is heresy.
Heresy is neither a pretty word nor a popular word. It rings hard on modern ears. But there you are.
(An aside: according to the interview, Pope Francis also said that "those who do not repent and cannot therefore be forgiven disappear. There is no hell, there is the disappearance of sinful souls." Really? The Catechism of the Catholic Church proclaims the soul is immortal. How does something immortal disappear? God is some sort of giant soul-eraser? Who knew?)
Think of the ramifications of this statement. Jesus Christ died on a cross to save souls. If there is no hell, then there was no need of that cross. In the Bible, Christ says, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." In fact, Christ talks about Hell quite a bit in the Bible. Was He mistaken? Was He lying? Was He just yanking our chain?
I think not.
For any Christian to reject the idea of Hell is to reject Christianity itself. Hell may be as empty as the coffee cup at my elbow or as crowded with the damned as the subway at rush hour; no one knows. Hell may be a lake of eternal fire or a desert of eternal separation from God. Again, no one knows. What we do know is that Christ again and again proclaimed the existence of Hell.
On several other occasions this shepherd in the Vatican has left his flock confused by his pronouncements, but this one is surely the most bizarre. If Pope Francis didn’t utter these words, he should, as I say, issue a strong personal denial rather than the soupy explanation offered by the Vatican. If he did utter these words, and if he truly believes them, then he should follow Pope Benedict into retirement.
What Pope Francis may not realize is that I, and millions of other Catholics like me, find some of the doctrines of the Church difficult to practice. (That is putting it mildly.) We fall on our faces, we sin, we disobey the teachings of Christ and His Church, yet we stick with the Church. Why? Because we believe the Church teaches the Truth of Christ. Despite our disobedience, despite our failure to abide by these teachings, we believe. We are like those daughters and sons who stray from the right path, but who still love their parents and treasure their guidance.
A pope, bishop, or priest who strews confusion and discord increases the suffering of people like me. The Church’s doctrines should be kept as clear and polished as a mirror, a looking glass for those of us who have sinned. Otherwise, we who are already struggling with matters of faith and have wandered from the Way become even more disoriented than we already are.
A final note: Were I a member of the inner circle at the Vatican, I would suggest Pope Francis listen several times a day to the 1960 hit recording by Joe Jones.
The song? “You Talk Too Much.”
Now that we’ve gotten infallibility out of the way, let’s look at the current Pope’s most recent blunder, if blunder it was.
On Holy Thursday various online news organizations reported that Pope Francis declared in a private interview that Hell does not exist. Because of the explosions among the Faithful after this news hit the media—you might say that all hell broke loose—the Vatican issued a statement stating that Pope Francis had spoken in a private interview and that “the textual words pronounced by the pope are not quoted. No quotation of the aforementioned article must therefore be considered as a faithful transcription of the words of the Holy Father."
What sort of malarkey is this?
It's true that the interviewer, Eugenio Scalfari, an atheist and a friend of the Pope's, did not use any recording device or take notes during the interview. But it's also true that other interviews with this very same man have caused the Pope and the Vatican to backpedal on what appears in print. Is the Pope a slow learner?
Pope Francis himself should have strongly condemned this interview. That he did not speaks volumes.
Because he was not speaking ex cathedra, that is, with the full authority of his office, Pope Francis was not proclaiming some new doctrine.
But he was uttering a heresy.
Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium all teach and proclaim the reality of hell. To deny that reality for a Catholic is heresy.
Heresy is neither a pretty word nor a popular word. It rings hard on modern ears. But there you are.
(An aside: according to the interview, Pope Francis also said that "those who do not repent and cannot therefore be forgiven disappear. There is no hell, there is the disappearance of sinful souls." Really? The Catechism of the Catholic Church proclaims the soul is immortal. How does something immortal disappear? God is some sort of giant soul-eraser? Who knew?)
Think of the ramifications of this statement. Jesus Christ died on a cross to save souls. If there is no hell, then there was no need of that cross. In the Bible, Christ says, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it." In fact, Christ talks about Hell quite a bit in the Bible. Was He mistaken? Was He lying? Was He just yanking our chain?
I think not.
For any Christian to reject the idea of Hell is to reject Christianity itself. Hell may be as empty as the coffee cup at my elbow or as crowded with the damned as the subway at rush hour; no one knows. Hell may be a lake of eternal fire or a desert of eternal separation from God. Again, no one knows. What we do know is that Christ again and again proclaimed the existence of Hell.
On several other occasions this shepherd in the Vatican has left his flock confused by his pronouncements, but this one is surely the most bizarre. If Pope Francis didn’t utter these words, he should, as I say, issue a strong personal denial rather than the soupy explanation offered by the Vatican. If he did utter these words, and if he truly believes them, then he should follow Pope Benedict into retirement.
What Pope Francis may not realize is that I, and millions of other Catholics like me, find some of the doctrines of the Church difficult to practice. (That is putting it mildly.) We fall on our faces, we sin, we disobey the teachings of Christ and His Church, yet we stick with the Church. Why? Because we believe the Church teaches the Truth of Christ. Despite our disobedience, despite our failure to abide by these teachings, we believe. We are like those daughters and sons who stray from the right path, but who still love their parents and treasure their guidance.
A pope, bishop, or priest who strews confusion and discord increases the suffering of people like me. The Church’s doctrines should be kept as clear and polished as a mirror, a looking glass for those of us who have sinned. Otherwise, we who are already struggling with matters of faith and have wandered from the Way become even more disoriented than we already are.
A final note: Were I a member of the inner circle at the Vatican, I would suggest Pope Francis listen several times a day to the 1960 hit recording by Joe Jones.
The song? “You Talk Too Much.”