Vatican denies report that says Pope Francis believes hell does not exist

The Vatican denied Thursday an Italian journalist’s report in which he says Pope Francis told him “hell does not exist, the disappearance of sinful souls exists.” The Vatican press office said that although the pope met with La Repubblica co-founder Eugenio Scalfari, Francis did not give an interview to him, said Thomas Rosica, an English-language spokesman for the Vatican.

It’s not the first time that Scalfari, who has said he is an atheist, has made claims about the pope’s views, but the reference to the pope’s views on hell spread on social media during Holy Week.

The Vatican released a statement calling the article by Scalfari “the fruit of his reconstruction,” Rosica said.

Scalfari’s interview, published Thursday, quoted the pope as saying during a meeting that while the souls of repentant sinners “receive the forgiveness of God and go among the line of souls who contemplate him, the souls of those who are unrepentant, and thus cannot be forgiven, disappear.”

According to the National Catholic Reporter, the statement from the Vatican said that the pope and Scalfari had a “private meeting” with an Easter greeting but not an interview. The Catholic News Agency noted that it was their fifth meeting.

“No quotes of the aforementioned article should therefore be considered as a faithful transcription of the Holy Father’s words,” the statement said.