Hell in Catholicism

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Hell in Catholicism is the "state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed"[1] which occurs by the refusal to repent of mortal sin before one's death, since mortal sin deprives one of sanctifying grace.[2]

Definition

In Catholic theology, the term "Hell" – translated from Latin infernus, Greek ᾍδης Hades, and Hebrew שְׁאוֹל Sheol – can most broadly refer any "abode" where souls, after death, reside who "have not obtained the happiness of heaven".[3] These abodes include the following three:

  1. Hell of the Damned, also known as "Gehenna" (Hebrew: גֵּיהִנּוֹם), is Hell strictly speaking, which the Catholic Church defines as the "state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed".[4]
  2. Purgatory is where just souls are cleansed from any defilement before entering Heaven.
  3. Limbo of the Fathers, also known as "Abraham's Bosom", where just souls before Christ awaited Heaven. It is to this abode that the Catholic Church teaches Christ descended.[5]

To these three, theologians historically add a fourth as well: Limbo of the Infants, where souls who die in original sin but without any personal mortal sin reside.[6]

All further references to Hell are to its common designation, i.e., Hell of the Damned.

Catholic Church's Teaching on Hell

Sources of Doctrine

The Catholic Church bases its teaching on Hell primarily on various New Testament passages such as Matthew 5:22, 5:29, 10:28, 13:41-42, and 25:41.[7]

Existence and Eternity of Hell

The Catholic Church affirms "the existence of hell and its eternity",[8] holding that "those who have responded to the love and piety of God [go] to eternal life, those who have refused them to the end [go] to the fire that is not extinguished".[9] The Catholic Church teaches that the existence of Hell began with the rejection of God by the fallen angels or demons.[10] Human beings who die in the state of mortal sin descend to Hell as well; although, it cannot be known now if a particular human person has died in mortal sin.[11] The Catholic Church teaches that the eternity of Hell is due to the "irrevocable character of [the damned's] choice, and not a defect in the infinite divine mercy".[12] The choice to not love God by the angels at their Fall and by human beings at death is a permanent choice so that no future repentance by them is possible.

Church Fathers

In Catholic theology, the writings of the Church Fathers are considered to be sacred tradition.[13]

General agreement

While many Church Fathers taught that eternal hellfire awaits people who do not repent of sin,[14][better source needed] the history of Christian universalism includes prominent patristic theologians such as Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Gregory of Nyssa.

Individual opinions

Some of the Church Fathers listed certain people who go to hell. Ignatius of Antioch said hell awaits "corruptors of families", Clement of Rome neglecters of "his commandments", Justin Martyr "the evildoer, the avaricious, and the treacherous"; Theophilus of Antioch "the unbelievers and [...] the contemptuous and [...] those who do not submit to the truth but assent to iniquity"; Irenaeus "those who do not believe the Word of God and despise his coming"; Hippolytus "lovers of evil"; Lactantius "unrighteous"; and Cyril of Jerusalem "a sinner" who "blaspheme[s] [...] commit[s] fornication [...] [and] rob[s]".[15][better source needed]

Ecumenical councils

The Catholic Church believes an ecumenical council, along with the pope, can under certain circumstances define doctrines infallibly.[16]

Council of Trent

The Council of Trent taught that "those who commit infidelity, [...] fornicators, adulterers, effeminate, liers with mankind, thieves, covetous, drunkards, railers, extortioners, and all others who commit deadly sins" lose sanctifying grace.[17]

Popes

According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Catholics owe the bishops obsequium religiosum when they speak non-infallibly.[18]

Pius X

Pope Pius X taught that the torment of the damned consists in the deprivation of the beatific vision and various punishments, which will afflict the soul before the resurrection of the dead and afflict both body and soul after it, and which will be eternal and terrible for all the damned, but different in degree or measure based on one's sins.[19]

John Paul II

Pope John Paul II taught that hell, which is spoken of symbolically in the Bible, does not just refer to a place, but principally refers to the state of "definitive self-exclusion from God", and that no one can know who is in hell except by special revelation.[20]

Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI's March 25, 2007 homily on hell was interpreted by some journalists as saying that hell is a place.[21]

Catechisms

Catechism of the Council of Trent

According to the Roman Catechism, the damned are eternally deprived of the beatific vision. They will not receive any consolations in hell, escape from the pain of hellfire, or have any company except for the demons that tempted them.[22]

Catechism of the Catholic Church

The catechism goes on to say that no one is predestined to hell, since, for damnation to be even possible, "a willful turning away from God (a mortal sin) is necessary, and persistence in it until the end."[23]

Church doctors

The Catholic Church believes that a doctor of the church is a saint who made significant contributions to theology.[24]

Thomas Aquinas

In the Summa Theologica, Thomas Aquinas taught that hell is reserved for the wicked and the unbaptized immediately after death, but that those who die only in original sin will not suffer in hell.[25] Aquinas also taught that, on Judgment Day, the punishment of hell will consist of fire and of "whatever is ignoble and sordid," since "all the elements conduce to the torture of the damned," who "placed their end in material things." Aquinas further taught that the worm of the damned is a guilty conscience, that the damned will suffer over the fact of having separated themselves from God, that the damned will physically weep on Judgement Day, that hell is so full of darkness that the damned can only see things which will torment them, that the "disposition of hell" is "utmost unhappiness," that the fire of hell is non-physical (before Judgment Day) and physical (at Judgment Day), that the physical fire of hell will not be made of matter, and that whether or not hell is under the earth is unknown.[26] Aquinas taught that the suffering of punishment is according to one's sins, so that some will suffer more, in deeper and darker pits of hell, than others.[27]

Private Visions

Visions by Canonized Saints

In Catholicism, canonized saints are deceased persons who are recognized for holiness on earth and venerated as members in heaven. Some of these individuals have claimed to receive visions about hell.

Columba of Iona

Columba of Iona (521-597) is alleged to have on several occasions even been able to name particular individuals who he said were going to end life in hellfire for their sins and accurately predicted the way they would die before the event had even happened.[28][29]

Catherine of Siena

Catherine of Siena (1347-1380), a Doctor of the Church, claimed that Jesus told her that there are four main torments of hell that the other torments of hell proceed from: the loss of the beatific vision, the worm of a guilty conscience, the vision and company of Satan, and the pain of the eternal flames. She also claimed that Jesus told her that the torments of hell are suffered according to one's sins; for example, the vision of Satan is worst for doers of worst sins.[30]

John Bosco

John Bosco (1815-1888) claimed to have dreamed about hell. He said he was walking down a broad pleasant path that was laden with various traps – traps which prayer could prevent and the sacraments could remedy – and that the path suddenly ended in a chasm of fire, where many of the boys he taught were being tormented for their sins.[31]

Faustina

Faustina Kowalska (1905-1938) claimed to have had visited the "chasms of hell" when her guardian angel took her there, where she saw many people who disbelieved in the existence of hell.[32] Faustina also claimed to have seen Catholic nuns in hell for breaking their vows of silence,[33] as well as souls whom God had marked for great holiness.[34] She further claimed that Jesus told her that, when a sinner repents of sin, Satan flies away to the bottom of hell in fear,[35] and that, when a soul is damned, it plunges Jesus into mortal agony.[36]

Marian Apparitions

In Catholicism, various supernatural appearances by Mary, the mother of Jesus, have been claimed, and some apparitions have been formally approved, such as the famous apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The Catholic Church does not consider approved apparitions, or private revelations, to add anything new to the teaching of Christ and his apostles, or public revelation, and belief in an apparition in never required of the Catholic faithful.[37][38] In some of these approved apparitions, the visionaries have claim to see Hell.

Our Lady of Fatima

Sister Lúcia and Francisco and Jacinta Marto claimed that Our Lady of Fatima showed them a vision of hell while declaring, "You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart."[39]

Our Lady of Kibeho

Alphonsine Mumureke claimed that Our Lady of Kibeho took her to hell, which she described as a "most fearsome hot furnace where the only light was a shade of red."[40][better source needed][41]

See also

References

Citations

  1. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church 1033
  2. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church 1861
  3. ^ Catechism of the Council of Trent (PDF). Translated by McHugh, John A.; Callan, Charles J. p. 59.
  4. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2019. Paragraphs 1033–1034.
  5. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2019. Paragraph 633.
  6. ^ Hontheim 1910.
  7. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2019. Paragraph 1034.
  8. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2019. Paragraph 1035.
  9. ^ "Solemni Hac Liturgia (Credo of the People of God) (June 30, 1968) | Paul VI". www.vatican.va. Paragraph 12. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
  10. ^ "Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church". www.vatican.va. Paragraph 73. Retrieved 2024-06-08.
  11. ^ "28 July 1999 | John Paul II". www.vatican.va. Paragraph 4. Retrieved 2024-06-09.
  12. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2019. Paragraph 393.
  13. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church 77–78
  14. ^ StayCatholic: Early Church Fathers On Hell
  15. ^ StayCatholic: Early Church Fathers On Hell
  16. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church 891–892
  17. ^ Council of Trent, Session 6
  18. ^ "Catechism of the Catholic Church - Christ's Faithful - Hierarchy, Laity, Consecrated Life". www.vatican.va. Archived from the original on 2002-09-10.
  19. ^ Catechism of St. Pius X: The Twelfth Article of the Creed
  20. ^ "28 July 1999 - John Paul II". w2.vatican.va. Retrieved 5 June 2019.
  21. ^ The Times, 27 March 2007, reported "Hell is a place where sinners really do burn in an everlasting fire, and not just a religious symbol designed to galvanise the faithful, the Pope has said" (The Fires of Hell Are Real and Eternal, Pope Warns). Fox News reproduced the article as published on The Times, under the heading: "Pope: Hell Is a Real Place Where Sinners Burn in Everlasting Fire" (Pope: Hell Is a Real Place Where Sinners Burn in Everlasting Fire Archived 2 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine). The Australian published Owen's article on its 28 March 2007 issue (Hell is real and eternal: Pope). The Canadian National Post of 28 March 2007, quoting The Times, reported: "Pope Benedict XVI has been reminding the faithful of some key beliefs of their faith, including the fact hell is a place where sinners burn in an everlasting fire" (Hell 'exists and is eternal, ' Pope warns Archived 11 November 2010 at the Wayback Machine). The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette of 3 April 2007, again referring to The Times, reported: "Pope Benedict XVI has reinstated hell as a real place where the heat is always on." (Playing with fire)
  22. ^ Master Nazareth Catechism, Catechism of the Council of Trent: Sentence of the Wicked
  23. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church 1037
  24. ^ Rice, Fr. Larry (2015). "Doctors of the Church?" (PDF). usccb.org. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Retrieved 9 October 2018.
  25. ^ Summa Theologica Question 69
  26. ^ Summa Theologica Question 97
  27. ^ Summa Theologica Question 69
  28. ^ Adomnan of Iona, Life of St Columba. Penguin Books, 1995
  29. ^ "Life of St. Columba". www.liturgies.net. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  30. ^ Visions of Hell: St. Catherine of Siena
  31. ^ Today's Catholic World: Bosco's Dream of Hell
  32. ^ Divine Mercy In My Soul, 741
  33. ^ Divine Mercy In My Soul, 118
  34. ^ Divine Mercy In My Soul, 1556
  35. ^ Divine Mercy In My Soul, 378
  36. ^ Divine Mercy In My Soul, 580
  37. ^ Catechism of the Catholic Church (2nd ed.). Libreria Editrice Vaticana. 2019. Paragraph 67.
  38. ^ Laurentin, René; Sbalchiero, Patrick (2007). Dictionnaire des «apparitions» de la Vierge Marie (in French). Fayard. p. 12. ISBN 9-782-21363-1011.
  39. ^ Vatican.Va: The Message of Fatima
  40. ^ Mission Magazine: Our Lady of Kibeho: A Message for the World
  41. ^ "Declaration, "Apparitions of Kibeho" | EWTN". EWTN Global Catholic Television Network. Retrieved 2024-06-14. First Alphonsine Mumureke and then Nathalie Mukamazimpaka said to have made a 'mystical journey' together with the Virgin Mary for several hours, travelling through places which they described in a symbolic language, reminding us of realities such as hell, purgatory and heaven, but using vocabulary different from that of the catechism.

Sources

Further reading

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