Pope Francis, the Bishop of Rome and leader of the Catholic church, made waves this week by saying that hell does not exist.
During an interview, the Pope was asked about recent comments he made about “good souls” receiving repentance from God as well as what happens to “bad souls.”
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“They are not punished, those who repent obtain the forgiveness of God and enter the rank of souls who contemplate him, but those who do not repent and cannot therefore be forgiven disappear,” The Pope replied, as reported by Yahoo.
“There is no hell, there is the disappearance of sinful souls,” he then added.
The Pope’s comments sent a jolt of surprise through communities both religious and non-religious, prompting the Vatican to issue a statement claiming that his words were misinterpreted.
“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,” the statement read.
Interestingly, Pope Francis is not the only religious leader making headlines lately over controversial views on the afterlife.
Megyn Kelly recently sat down for an interview with Bishop Carlton Pearson, a former Pentecostal preacher who was excommunicated from his belief system for changing his perspective on the concept of hell.
Pearson spent the majority of his life teaching the traditional concept of heaven and hell, standing alongside other Christian leaders such as Oral Roberts and Billy Graham. He also spent time as a spiritual adviser to President George H.W. Bush, during the early 90s.
Pearson eventually had what he calls “a revelation from God” that hell did not exist, which caused an uproar and caused him to be labeled a “heretic.”
Now, Netflix has picked a up a film titled Come Sunday, which is a biographical drama of Pearson’s life at that time. The film was written by Marcus Hinchey, writer of the 2010 Ryan Gosling crime thriller All Good Things, and directed by Joshua Marston, who helmed the 2004 Oscar-nominated film Maria Full of Grace.
It stars Oscar-nominee Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave, Doctor Strange) as Bishop Pearson, as well as Condola Rashad (Billions) as his wife Gina. The cast also includes Jason Segel (How I Met Your Mother), Danny Glover (Lethal Weapon), Lakeith Stanfield (Get Out), and Martin Sheen (Grace and Frankie) as Dr. Oral Roberts.
Come Sunday lands on Netflix on April 13.
