Ten Years of Pope Francis: “A Disaster, a Catastrophe”
Ten years later, recently deceased George Cardinal Pell stated that this pontificate “is a disaster in many or most respects; a catastrophe.” He added: “Roma locuta. Causa Finita est” (Rome has spoken; the issue is settled), “today it is: ‘Roma loquitur. Confusio augetur’” (Rome has spoken; confusion grows).1
If God Accepts Sin, There Is No Hell
Sin is an offense against God for refusing to fulfill His will, as manifested in the Commandments. A serious and voluntary offense constitutes a mortal sin, which deprives man of sanctifying grace and keeps him away from God’s friendship, putting him on the road to hell. Saint Thomas says that “whatever sinsturn man away from God, so as to destroy charity, considered in themselves, incur a debt of eternal punishment.”16
In the new conception of God and the Church, there is never any punishment for sin since the Creator, displaying love without wisdom, would not mind being offended; his mercy would disregard his justice. Instead, Saint Thomas states, “Mercy without justice is the mother of dissolution; [and] justice without mercy is cruelty.”17
But if there is no punishment for a sinner who dies impenitent, hell — a place of eternal atonement for an offense against the eternal God—is nonexistent.
In a recent interview, consistent with his doctrine of mercy without justice, Pope Francis denied that hell is a place: “Hell is not a place … Hell is a state, there are people who live continuously in a hell. … Hell is a state, a state of the heart, of the soul, a posture in the face of life…” One already lives in this “state” here on earth. He asks: “And who goes to hell, to that hell, to that state?” And answers, “One already starts living [hell] here.”18
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