Where have hell, purgatory and limbo gone?

Several people walk in Saint Peter's Square in the Vatican, on January 12. RICCARDO ANTIMIANI (EFE)

I don't know if Catholics have realized that the Church hasn't spoken for years about what it called the

or

like hell ruled by demons, where those who died in mortal sin went, which inspired the

of Dante Alighieri with the famous cauldrons of boiling fire; purgatory, a waiting place for those who had committed venial sins; the limbo of children who died without being baptized, a place where they neither suffered nor enjoyed, and finally the gardens of heaven where everything was joy. It is a doctrine that, in reality, was never a dogma of faith, but that the Church used, especially in the Middle Ages, to frighten the faithful and keep them away from sin, especially that related to sex.

These very

were the object of the most absurd details, such as the fact that purgatory could last between 36 and 48 hours, while it was difficult for the Church to explain the meaning of the limbo of children who died without baptism, since they could never suffer or enjoy.

Little by little, the last Popes, from the Polish conservative John Paul II to the no less conservative Benedict XVI, the German Ratzinger, emptied content from limbo to hell, which I believe the liberal Francis has never named.

John Paul II began the

process of emptying the content of these very

with a story that few know. He began by removing the limbo from the new post-conciliar Catechism. And it turns out that a dead sister had been born to Wojtyla. His parents were ultra-Catholic. His father was a very rigid military man. We found out about his sister because one day he told us that he had wanted to collect his entire family in a single grave and added: "except my sister who was born dead." In those times, among Catholics, when a child was born dead, being with original sin and without baptism, he could not go to heaven and therefore he was not buried but was thrown in the garbage.

Perhaps for this reason, when he became Pope, John Paul II wanted to get rid of the nightmare that his stillborn sister could be in limbo and he eliminated it.

It was then ironically commented that Wojtyla, already Pope, had wanted revenge and eliminated limbo.

And John Paul II did not stop there, but surprised one day by stating that hell "was not a physical place but a state of mind."

It was a giant step in theology that his successors have maintained to this day.

When it is sometimes criticized that the Church is immobile, that it never renews or modernizes itself, the fact of having begun by demystifying the famous

that would no longer be physical places, is actually a giant step forward and empties the Catholic catechism of the fears that he had created the Church to intimidate his faithful and try to keep them from sin.

Given that first step, it would not be difficult for the modern Pope Francis to integrate, for example, women into the Church by admitting them to the priesthood with all rights.

It can be carried out by his successor, if those who are awaiting his death fail to elect another pontiff who loves the old doctrine of the

.

The truth is that the Catholic Church, although it has always resisted modernizing itself and walking according to the rhythm of the times, will have to understand the world that, with the advances in science and technology, generates freer citizens and Christians, who Today it is impossible for them to accept the remains of the obscurantism of the Church of the Inquisition and they advocate a faith that responds to the world's desire for renewal.

Like all historical processes, that of the ancient Church has also been evolving, albeit slowly, but, as happened in the Second Vatican Council, adapting to the evolution of History. There is, for example, in the texts approved in that Council that revolutionized the Church, an affirmation that centuries ago would have been incredible given the misogyny of religions. It is the text in which it is recognized that sexuality is not directed only to procreation, but that it is a "new form of dialogue" between people.

The Church has always evolved more slowly than civil society, and yet, always behind the scenes, it was more open than appeared on the surface and in official documents. I remember in this regard that when I was studying Theology at the Gregorian University in Rome, whose professors were Jesuits from more than 40 countries and which was always considered to be at the forefront of the new currents of renewal, a professor, with several doctorates behind him, allowed himself one day remind us of a joke about the

that he knew very well that they were not a dogma of faith.

He told us, as if to demystify hell, heaven and purgatory, that an acquaintance of his had lost his best friend who, according to him, was a saint. When he too died, he was curious to find him and went to heaven, surely his friend had gone there directly. Was not. Surprised, he went to see if he was in purgatory, since he could have committed some minor peccadilloes. And his strangeness was that he wasn't there either. That he could be in hell was impossible because he was considered a living saint. Of course, he was an inveterate cold person and could not stand a draft. He knocked, albeit skeptically, at the door of hell with no hope of finding it when he heard a voice shouting: "Close that door, please, the current is coming in." The friend no longer had doubts,it was his chilly friend who had preferred the fire of hell where he would be warm. The famous theologian knew very well even then that the doctrine of hell, purgatory and limbo were not a dogma of faith and he wanted to relativize them to his students.

I did not know that years later it would be a pope, and a conservative one, who would revolutionize the medieval doctrine of the

Subscribe here to the EL PAÍS América

and receive all the key information on current affairs in the region

Sign in to continue reading

Just by having an account you can read this article, it's free

RegisterLogin

Thanks for reading THE COUNTRY