Vatican shuts down report that Pope Francis denies existence of hell

The Vatican on Thursday worked to set the record straight on whether Pope Francis denied the existence of hell in an interview with a well-known Italian journalist.

The controversy started when 93-year-old journalist Eugenio Scalfari, the founder of La Repubblica newspaper, publisheda report that he asked Francis where “bad souls” end up going, USA Today reported.

Francis’ reply, according to the journalist, was that those who repent could be forgiven but those who do not, “disappear.” The article, which ran on March 29, reported that Francis said “hell does not exist.”

"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," Francis is quoted as saying.

"There is no hell, there is the disappearance of sinful souls." Scalfari, an atheist, does not usually use tape recorders during interviews, The USA Today report said.

The Vatican said the story was the result of the reporter’s “reconstruction.” “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,” the Vatican said.

“No quotation of the aforementioned article must therefore be considered as a faithful transcription of the words of the Holy Father.” The Catholic News Agency reported that Scalfari has “misrepresented” the pope in the past.

The agency reported that Scalfari “aslo falsely reported that Pope Francis had made comments denying the existence of hell in 2015.” According to Catholic Church teachings, there is a hell and it is for eternity.