Question: Does anyone go to hell? In recent years I have heard people say no one goes there, that a good God couldn’t send anyone to eternal torment. What does the Church say about this?
Answer: You are not the only one confused about the matter. I too have heard many conflicting ideas about the subject. Let us begin by looking at what Jesus himself has to say.
In His description of the Last Judgement He speaks of the Son of man coming in His glory and gathering before Him all the nations, separating them as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. After describing the reward of eternal life to be given to the righteous, He says to those on His left hand, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink … And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life” (Mt 25:31-46).
So it is Jesus Himself, the Son of man, who speaks of eternal punishment. Moreover, He makes it clear that it is not easy to go to heaven: “Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few” (Mt 7:13-14). By these words, Jesus seems to be saying that it is much easier to go to hell, to “destruction”, than to heaven, to “life”. If we think about it, we would all agree. Given the effects of original sin such as pride, self-centredness, laziness, self-indulgence, etc, and the fomes peccati or inclination to sin, we know well that unless we struggle to resist temptation and to do good, it is easy to lapse into a way of life that is grievously sinful and offensive to God. If we died unrepentant, we would go to hell.
Because of Jesus’ preaching in this way, His hearers understood that it was not easy to go to heaven. For that reason, on one occasion someone asked him, “Lord, will those who are saved be few?” (Lk 13:23) Given the widespread notion today that hell does not even exist or, if it does, few go there, people would probably rephrase the question: “Lord, will those who go to hell be few?” Jesus’ teaching, then, is clear. But does the Church still believe in hell? Of course it does. It has always believed in hell. According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity” (CCC 1035).
The Second Vatican Council declared, “Since we know neither the day nor the hour, we should follow the advice of the Lord and watch constantly so that, when the single course of our earthly life is completed, we may merit to enter with Him into the marriage feast and be numbered among the blessed and not, like the wicked and slothful servants, be ordered to depart into the eternal fire, into the outer darkness where men will weep and gnash their teeth” (LG 48).
But, we might ask, how can a good God sentence anyone to eternal punishment? The answer is simple. God doesn’t sentence anyone to hell. Rather, He wants all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (cf 1 Tim 2:4), and he gives everyone sufficient grace to be saved (cf 2 Cor 12:9).
It is the person who sends himself or herself to hell. The Catechism explains: “To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God’s merciful love means remaining separated from him for ever by our own free choice. This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called ‘hell’” (CCC 1033).
But couldn’t God take everyone to heaven if He wanted? He could. But it would mean not respecting the freedom he gave us, and God is too much of a father to do that.
The then Cardinal Ratzinger explains: “God never, in any case, forces anyone to be saved. God accepts man’s freedom. He is no magician, who will in the end wipe out everything that has happened and wheel out His happy ending. He is a true father; a creator who assents to freedom, even when it is used to reject Him. That is why God’s all-embracing desire to save people does not involve the actual salvation of all men. He allows us the power to refuse. God loves us; we need only to summon up the humility to allow ourselves to be loved.” (God is Near Us, Ignatius 2003, pp. 36-37).
If we make use of the graces God gives us through His Church, if we struggle to avoid sin and go frequently to the sacraments of the Eucharist and Penance, we can be very confident of going to heaven. And we do very well to remind others of these important truths.