It is not permissible to assert that any individual is in hell

Three recent events have brought to mind the notion of hell.

First, during a Senate hearing on Oct. 28, former president Rodrigo Duterte expressed his frustrations, stating, “I don’t care which hell the criminals choose to go to … They can head there, and that’s where we’ll meet.” In a calm yet pointed response, Sen. Risa Hontiveros remarked: “The Senate has no jurisdiction in hell.” The former president quickly retorted, “We will all go there.” Hontiveros asserted she “has no intention of going to hell.” As is often the case, the former president had the final word: “I will drag you to hell, Madame!”

Second, during her two-hour press conference on Oct. 18, Vice President Sara Duterte reiterated her stance on why she believes the administration of President Marcos has led the Philippines “on the road to hell.” “It’s not my fault we find ourselves on this road to hell. It’s not my fault he lacks the competence to lead. If you are aware of your shortcomings, you should strive to work harder to catch up,” the Vice President remarked, in a mix of Filipino and English. She also urged Mr. Marcos to refrain from discussing their rift, saying, “Tell him not to mention my name, because if he does, it will only resurrect this ‘drag me to hell’ press conference once again.”

She declared that starting that day, the Office of the Vice President would adopt the tagline “drag me to hell.”

Third, alleged victims of the self-proclaimed “appointed son of God” Apollo Quiboloy testified before a Senate committee investigating his purported misdeeds. A former member accused Quiboloy of coercing her into sexual relations with him, stating, “If you say you do not want to, he will respond that you have not overcome your flesh. If you do not comply, you will go to hell.”

The period of the year, characterized by the interconnectedness of the living and the deceased within the framework of Catholic tradition, invites a thoughtful engagement with themes of eschatology, a branch of Theology that deals with the so-called “last things,” namely, death, heaven, purgatory and hell.

The concept of hell is affirmed by three major world religions—Judaism, Christianity, and Islam—which each provide distinct theological frameworks for understanding this notion while sharing common foundational elements. Heaven, which Pope Francis says is a homeland for everyone, can be explained as a state of communion with God, often understood as a reward for the righteous. In contrast, purgatory serves as a process of divine purification for souls who require further sanctification before entering into the fullness of God’s presence.

Hell, conversely, may be interpreted as a state of separation from God, signifying a profound loss of the divine connection. Christianity, in particular, teaches that hell is real and eternal and is often depicted as a place of eternal separation from God and punishment for the wicked. In contrast to heaven and purgatory, hell is seen as a state or realm where unrepentant sinners experience eternal separation from God and punishment for rejecting God’s grace and forgiveness.

Hell is described as a place where “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matthew 13:42). Those who radically and definitively reject God are consigned immediately at death to the state of hell. The essential pain of hell is that of eternal separation from God.

According to Catholic teaching, it is not permissible to assert that any individual is in hell. This is because we cannot know whether they repented or converted in their final moments, nor can we comprehend the full extent of God’s mercy, even toward the gravest sinners.

Noel Asiones,
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