Does the pope preach ‘universal reconciliation’?

This week, it was reported in the news that the pope recently stated on Italian television that he hoped hell would be empty. The Nederlands Dagblad (Dutch newspaper) reported:

‘What I am going to say is not a dogma of faith,’ said Francis when the well-known television journalist Fabio Fazio asked him about hell. ‘It is something personal: I like to think of hell as being empty,’ said the pope. ‘I hope that this is the reality.’

The aforementioned newspaper added the following remark:

The statement about hell is not in conflict with the teaching of the Catholic Church. The pope, who since the beginning of his pontificate has strongly emphasized God’s mercy, did not deny the existence of hell.

The RC catechism

It is striking how cautiously the pope expresses himself. He is treading on thin ice. For the Church teaches not only that there is a hell, but also who will be there, and furthermore, that their fate there is irreversible. Thus, paragraph 1035 of the Roman Catholic Catechism states:

“The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God. The state of those who die in mortal sin without repenting is eternal. There is no turning back.”

Annihilation

What the pope cautiously suggests is certainly not that God will save all people, for that would be absolutely contrary to Church doctrine. What he says he hopes, as shown in earlier interviews as well, is that those who end up in hell will disappear there. The pope is defending what in theology is called ‘the doctrine of annihilation’, or the doctrine of destruction. The ungodly will be definitively (=irreversibly) destroyed. He speaks openly about a view on which Church doctrine remains silent. Yet the pope, even if perhaps on the edge, still colours within the dogmatic lines. That is also what he is judged on. For it is not what the Bible says that is the standard and decisive factor, but what is acceptable within ecclesiastical boundaries.

The second death

Not only the pope, but also many other theologians and Bible interpreters nowadays think along these lines. The doctrine of eternal hell punishment remains essentially intact, but has become far less terrifying. The traditional depiction of never-ending torment has been replaced by total disappearance. This view, in a certain sense, comes close to what the Bible calls “the second death.”

The resurrected dead before the great white throne, whose names are not written in the book of life, will be cast into “the lake of fire, which is the second death” (Rev. 20:14). These people die a second time, and that is why this state is called “the second death.” And just as the dead in general know nothing (Eccl. 9:5), so also are these dead aware of nothing. Is it this state that the pope cautiously hopes for…?

Paul did not preach an empty hell

With cautious detours, Pope Francis explores the boundaries of what is dogmatically permissible. But even if he were not merely hoping, but were also certain that hell would be empty, he would still be miles removed from the Gospel that Paul was permitted to proclaim to the world.

Paul did not preach an empty hell. He did not even know the entire concept of ‘hell’! Nor did he speak of an ‘endless eternity’, but of “the coming eons” in which God’s plan will be brought to completion. All of humanity, both the living and the dead, will be judged—certainly. But that judgment aims to set everything right and to bring all back. Right through judgment, justice, and death. In this way, “the living God is the Saviour of all men” (1 Tim. 4:10). Note: not merely for all men, but of all men. This message is not an offer, but a proclamation. A good proclamation! And it is also “the (certain) hope of the Gospel” as Colossians 1 argues. All creatures who were ever hostile or alienated from God, will become lovers of God! God reconciles all to Himself “through the blood of the cross,” as we read in Colossians 1:20. Indeed, it is from this verse that the concept of ‘universal reconciliation’ is derived—a concept which, within ‘the church’ (Roman Catholic and beyond), is to this day regarded as heresy. According to Paul, however, it is “a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance.”

For to this end we both labour and suffer reproach, because we have hope on the living God, who is a Saviour of all men—especially of those believing; charge these things, and teach.
1 Timothy 4:9-11

Read more on annihilation.

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