Vatican City, Mar 29, 2018 / 08:21 am (CNA/EWTN News).- On Thursday the Holy See stated that a reported interview between Pope Francis and an Italian journalist, which claims the Pope denied the existence of hell, should not be considered an accurate depiction of Francis’ words, but the author’s own “reconstruction.”
A recent meeting between Pope Francis and Italian journalist Eugenio Scalfari, 93, was a “private meeting for the occasion of Easter, however without giving him any interview,” the March 29 communique stated.
“What is reported by the author in today’s article is the result of his reconstruction, in which the literal 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.”
Scalfari, a self-proclaimed atheist, is the founder and former editor of Italian leftist newspaper La Repubblica. In an article published on the site March 29, Scalfari claims that Pope Francis told him, “hell doesn’t exist, the disappearance of the souls of sinners exists.”
Scalfari’s fifth meeting with Pope Francis, it is not the first time he has misrepresented the Pope’s words following a private audience.
In November 2013, following intense controversy over quotes the journalist had attributed to Francis, Scalfari admitted that at least some of the words he had published a month prior “were not shared by the Pope himself.”
In a meeting with the journalists of the Foreign Press Association of Rome in 2013, Scalfari maintained that all his interviews have been conducted without a recording device, nor taking notes while the person is speaking.
“I try to understand the person I am interviewing, and after that I write his answers with my own words,” Scalfari explained. He conceded that it is therefore possible that “some of the Pope’s words I reported, were not shared by Pope Francis.”
Scalfari also falsely reported that Pope Francis had made comments denying the existence of hell in 2015.
Vatican spokespersons have dismissed the texts of Scalfari as unofficial. In 2014, Fr. Federico Lombardi, past papal spokesperson, told CNA that “if there are no words published by the Holy See press office and not officially confirmed, the writer takes full responsibility for what he has written.”
Pope Francis has previously spoken about the existence of hell in public speeches, including at a prayer vigil in March 2014.
There he gave an address in which he said that members of the mafia should change their lives, “while there is still time, so that you do not end up in hell. That is what awaits you if you continue on this path.”
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Pope Francis prays during Christmas Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on Dec. 24, 2023. / Vatican Media
Vatican City, Dec 24, 2023 / 18:00 pm (CNA).
Below is the full text of Pope Francis’ homily for the Solemnity of the Nativity of the Lord, delivered on Dec. 24, 2023, in St. Peter’s Basilica.
“A census of the whole earth” (cf. Lk 2:1). This was the context in which Jesus was born, and the Gospel makes a point of it. The census might have been mentioned in passing, but instead is carefully noted. And in this way, a great contrast emerges. While the emperor numbers the world’s inhabitants, God enters it almost surreptitiously. While those who exercise power seek to take their place with the great ones of history, the King of history chooses the way of littleness. None of the powerful take notice of him: only a few shepherds, relegated to the margins of social life.
The census speaks of something else. In the Scriptures, the taking of a census has negative associations. King David, tempted by large numbers and an unhealthy sense of self-sufficiency, sinned gravely by ordering a census of the people. He wanted to know how powerful he was. After some nine months, he knew how many men could wield a sword (cf. 2 Sam 24:1-9). The Lord was angered and the people suffered. On this night, however, Jesus, the “Son of David”, after nine months in Mary’s womb, is born in Bethlehem, the city of David. He does not impose punishment for the census, but humbly allows himself to be registered as one among many. Here we see, not a god of wrath and chastisement, but the God of mercy, who takes flesh and enters the world in weakness, heralded by the announcement: “on earth peace among those whom he favors” (Lk 2:14). Tonight, our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is once more rejected by the futile logic of war, by the clash of arms that even today prevents him from finding room in the world (cf. Lk 2:7).
The census of the whole earth, in a word, manifests the all-too-human thread that runs through history: the quest for worldly power and might, fame and glory, which measures everything in terms of success, results, numbers and figures, a world obsessed with achievement. Yet the census also manifests the way of Jesus, who comes to seek us through enfleshment. He is not the god of accomplishment, but the God of Incarnation. He does not eliminate injustice from above by a show of power, but from below, by a show of love. He does not burst on the scene with limitless power, but descends to the narrow confines of our lives. He does not shun our frailties, but makes them his own.
Christmas Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on the night of Dec. 24, 2023. Vatican Media
Brothers and sisters, tonight we might ask ourselves: Which God do we believe in? In the God of incarnation or the god of achievement? Because there is always a risk that we can celebrate Christmas while thinking of God in pagan terms, as a powerful potentate in the sky; a god linked to power, worldly success, and the idolatry of consumerism. With the false image of a distant and petulant deity who treats the good well and the bad poorly; a deity made in our own image and likeness, handy for resolving our problems and removing our ills. God, on the other hand, waves no magic wand; he is no god of commerce who promises “everything all at once”. He does not save us by pushing a button, but draws near us, in order to change our world from within. Yet how deeply ingrained is the worldly notion of a distant, domineering, unbending, and powerful deity who helps his own to prevail against others! So many times this image is ingrained in us. But that is not the case: our God was born for all, during a census of the whole earth.
Let us look, then, to the “living and true God” (1 Thess 1:9). The God who is beyond all human reckoning and yet allows himself to be numbered by our accounting. The God, who revolutionizes history by becoming a part of history. The God who so respects us as to allow us to reject him; who takes away sin by taking it upon himself; who does not eliminate pain but transforms it; who does not remove problems from our lives but grants us a hope that is greater than all our problems. God so greatly desires to embrace our lives that, infinite though he is, he becomes finite for our sake. In his greatness, he chooses to become small; in his righteousness, he submits to our injustice. Brothers and sisters, this is the wonder of Christmas: not a mixture of sappy emotions and worldly contentment, but the unprecedented tenderness of a God who saves the world by becoming incarnate. Let us contemplate the Child, let us contemplate the manger, his crib, which the angels call “a sign” for us (cf. Lk 2:12). For it truly is the sign that reveals God’s face, a face of compassion and mercy, whose might is shown always and only in love. He makes himself close, tender, and compassionate. This is God’s way: closeness, compassion, tenderness.
Pope Francis brings a figure of the Christ child over to the nativity scene inside of St. Peter’s Basilica at the end of Mass. Vatican Media
Sisters and brothers, let us marvel at the fact that he “became flesh” (Jn 1:14). Flesh: the very word evokes our human frailty. The Gospel uses this word to show us that God completely assumed our human condition. Why did he go to such lengths? Because he cares for us, because he loves us to the point that he considers us more precious than all else. Dear brother, dear sister, to God, who changed history in the course of a census, you are not a number, but a face. Your name is written on his heart. But if you look to your own heart, and think of your own inadequacies and this world that is so judgmental and unforgiving, you may feel it difficult to celebrate this Christmas. You may think things are going badly, or feel dissatisfied with your limitations, your failings, your problems, and your sins. Today, though, please, let Jesus take the initiative. He says to you, “For your sake, I became flesh; for your sake, I became just like you”. So why remain caught up in your troubles? Like the shepherds, who left their flocks, leave behind the prison of your sorrows and embrace the tender love of the God who became a child. Put aside your masks and your armor; cast your cares on him and he will care for you (cf. Ps 55:22). He became flesh; he is looking not for your achievements but for your open and trusting heart. In him, you will rediscover who you truly are: a beloved son or daughter of God. Now you can believe it, for tonight the Lord was born to light up your life; his eyes are alight with love for you. We have difficulty believing in this, that God’s eyes shine with love for us.
Christmas Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica on the night of Dec. 24, 2023. Vatican Media
Christ does not look at numbers, but at faces. However, who looks at him amid the many distractions and mad rush of a bustling and indifferent world? Who is watching? In Bethlehem, as crowds of people were caught up in the excitement of the census, coming and going, filling the inns, and engaged in petty conversation, a few were close to Jesus: Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, and then the Magi.
Let us learn from them. They stood gazing upon Jesus, with their hearts set on him. They did not speak, they worshiped. Tonight, brothers and sisters, is a time of adoration, of worship.
Worship is the way to embrace the Incarnation. For it is in silence that Jesus, the Word of the Father, becomes flesh in our lives. Let us do as they did, in Bethlehem, a town whose name means “House of Bread”. Let us stand before him who is the Bread of Life. Let us rediscover worship, for to worship is not to waste time, but to make our time a dwelling place for God. It is to let the seed of the Incarnation bloom within us; it is to cooperate in the work of the Lord, who, like leaven, changes the world. To worship is to intercede, to make reparation, to allow God to realign history. As a great teller of epic tales once wrote to his son, “I put before you the one great thing to love on earth: the Blessed Sacrament… There you will find romance, glory, honor, fidelity, and the true way of all your loves on earth” (J.R.R. TOLKIEN, Letter 43, March 1941).
Brothers and sisters, tonight love changes history. Make us believe, Lord, in the power of your love, so different from the power of the world. Lord, make us, like Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, and the Magi, gather around you and worship you. As you conform us ever more to yourself, we shall bear witness before the world to the beauty of your countenance.
The Vatican has approved devotion at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Good Health in Vailankanni, India, the site of reported apparitions of the Virgin Mary in the 16th century. / Credit: Sajanj/Wikimedia, CC BY-SA 3.0
Pope Francis celebrates Corpus Christi Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica, June 6, 2021. / Screenshot from Vatican News YouTube channel.
Vatican City, Jun 6, 2021 / 12:35 pm (CNA).
Pope Francis said Sunday that we need to “enlarge our hearts” to truly… […]
6 Comments
Well, here we go again. The pope is the victim again… (yawn how many times will this work?)
Why give interview with someone who keeps misquoting you? or does he?
I expect there will be those who defend him today with that “big bad anti-Francis conspiracy” line… who tomorrow will be saying … ‘you know what… there is no hell, Francis is right’
Dear loving and merciful Father,
We pray for your Son’s earthly guardian
of the deposit of faith.
Grant to your humble servant N. __________
that he may reserve and decline both speech and writing so as to safeguard your tradition that you so lovingly have bestowed on us for thousands years.
May you grant our Vicar the peace and courage needed for earthly solitude and contemplation.
Eternal and loving giver of all that is good, we beseech thee, to guide Him in his duties in living the gospel without words.
We ask this thru Christ Our Lord.
Amen
But does he believe hell is empty since he loves a statue in Europe that has a half smiling Christ carrying Judas on his shoulder. Christ on the other hand said to His Father in prayer, ” Those whom you gave me I guarded and not one of them perished but the son of perdition that the scriptures might be fulfilled.” Christ said this PRIOR to Judas completing the betrayal sin yet Christ used the past tense…”perished”. Justin Martyr said past tense prophecy is unchangeable as in Isaiah 53:5…” But he WAS wounded for our inequities, bruised for our sins..”….said in the past tense hundreds of years prior to Christ suffering. Thus on the Judas issue, Christ always had gravitas whereas Francis has a falsely hopeful levity. Hell is not real if no one is there. Hundreds of thousands of criminals have died trying to kill law enforcement throughout history. It is bizarre to think they all had sanctifying grace and thus reached purgatory…as they died trying to murder law enforcement. Many have been killed in the act of adultery. Again…purgatory is a reward not a default setting for all idiots. I Peter says…” if the just man will scarcely be saved, where will the impious and the sinner appear?”. I think Francis thinks hell is empty most of the time and in a week that forces him into gravitas, he becomes orthodox. It varies. He’s mercurial. Christ was constant….He had the constantia which the Stoics admired.
That sounds like what they used to call a “non-denial denail”
they didn’t say that he didn’t say it, they just said we didn’t say that he said it. OK, so…. What does the pope believe… Who knows? with Francis anything is possible. Don’t hold your breath for the pope to say that there is a hell and sinners are punished there though, because it is soooooooooo beneath him to respond to petty little things like this.
Well, here we go again. The pope is the victim again… (yawn how many times will this work?)
Why give interview with someone who keeps misquoting you? or does he?
I expect there will be those who defend him today with that “big bad anti-Francis conspiracy” line… who tomorrow will be saying … ‘you know what… there is no hell, Francis is right’
Prayer For The Silence of A Pope.
Dear loving and merciful Father,
We pray for your Son’s earthly guardian
of the deposit of faith.
Grant to your humble servant N. __________
that he may reserve and decline both speech and writing so as to safeguard your tradition that you so lovingly have bestowed on us for thousands years.
May you grant our Vicar the peace and courage needed for earthly solitude and contemplation.
Eternal and loving giver of all that is good, we beseech thee, to guide Him in his duties in living the gospel without words.
We ask this thru Christ Our Lord.
Amen
The fact that the Pontiff continues to put himself in this position proves, yet again, that not all members of the Society of Jesus are intellectuals.
But does he believe hell is empty since he loves a statue in Europe that has a half smiling Christ carrying Judas on his shoulder. Christ on the other hand said to His Father in prayer, ” Those whom you gave me I guarded and not one of them perished but the son of perdition that the scriptures might be fulfilled.” Christ said this PRIOR to Judas completing the betrayal sin yet Christ used the past tense…”perished”. Justin Martyr said past tense prophecy is unchangeable as in Isaiah 53:5…” But he WAS wounded for our inequities, bruised for our sins..”….said in the past tense hundreds of years prior to Christ suffering. Thus on the Judas issue, Christ always had gravitas whereas Francis has a falsely hopeful levity. Hell is not real if no one is there. Hundreds of thousands of criminals have died trying to kill law enforcement throughout history. It is bizarre to think they all had sanctifying grace and thus reached purgatory…as they died trying to murder law enforcement. Many have been killed in the act of adultery. Again…purgatory is a reward not a default setting for all idiots. I Peter says…” if the just man will scarcely be saved, where will the impious and the sinner appear?”. I think Francis thinks hell is empty most of the time and in a week that forces him into gravitas, he becomes orthodox. It varies. He’s mercurial. Christ was constant….He had the constantia which the Stoics admired.
“He had the constancy…”
Constantia is a woman’s first name. Auto spell check has a way of frustrating even the most conscientious typists.
That sounds like what they used to call a “non-denial denail”
they didn’t say that he didn’t say it, they just said we didn’t say that he said it. OK, so…. What does the pope believe… Who knows? with Francis anything is possible. Don’t hold your breath for the pope to say that there is a hell and sinners are punished there though, because it is soooooooooo beneath him to respond to petty little things like this.