The Vatican has scrambled to clarify comments made by Pope Francis to a well-known Italian journalist that appeared to deny the existence of hell. During the meeting Scalfari asked the pope where “bad souls” go, to which he was quoted as responding: “They are not punished. But this is not the first time he has been accused of misrepresenting the pope: in 2014 he was rebuked by the Vatican for an article saying Francis had abolished sin. The Catholic church’s teachings affirm the existence of hell and its eternity, saying “the chief punishment of hell is eternal separation of God”. Pope faces indigenous Canadians' anger over refusal to apologize for past abuse Read moreThe controversy came as Pope Francis washed the feet of 12 prisoners at Rome’s Regina Coeli prison on Holy Thursday.

Source: The Guardian March 30, 2018 11:47 UTC