Do Roman Catholics believe the pope has the power to condemn people to hell?
Actually no, Catholics don’t believe that. They believe that the Pope has the power to excommunicate people, but that’s not the same as automatically condemning them to Hell. Here’s why. First of all, it’s assumed that excommunication would be pronounced because of an evil act, with the idea being that that evil act itself would endanger that person’s soul, and that the excommunication was more of a formal way of saying “what you’re doing isn’t okay and other Catholics shouldn’t be exposed to it.” Also, being excommunicated doesn’t carry the assumption of going to Hell. It removes the guarantee of salvation. Granted, Catholics often take a rather pessimistic view of this, seeming to think there’s not much chance of salvation if you don’t have the guarantee. But Catholics believe that you can’t truly say with 100% accuracy whether any person goes to Hell. Not saying I approve of the practice of excommunication or the reasons for it, but it’s not the same as saying with certainty that so
No, the Pope may warn a person that their path is leading them away fro God and the Church but it is the person who chooses. The only way a person will go to hell is if they want to. God in His (or Her) unlimited love has given us free will to choose. Our most important choice is to freely decide to accept or reject God’s constant offer of spending eternity with Him in heaven. God will respect the choice to reject Him. “You can check out any time you like but you can never leave.” — Hotel California by Don Felder, Don Henley, and Glenn Lewis Frey + Excommunication + Excommunication is a severe penalty resulting from grave crimes against the Catholic religion. It is imposed by church authority or incurred as a direct result of the commission of an offense. Excommunication excludes the offender from taking part in the Eucharist or other sacraments and from the exercise of any ecclesiastical office, ministry, or function. Excommunication does not mean a loss of salvation. However, the cr
Are you searching for truth or just trying to see how many agree with you. First off the Pope sends no one to Hell and yes just like all Bishops in the Church they can excommunicate you and if you fail to repent and return to full communion with the Church your soul is in serious danger but that will be decided upon your death just like all the actions of your life. To james who claimed we buy indulgences so we can sin is so stupid it hardly deserves to be responded to .But for your sake i will.A indulgence is a act of sacrifice made in this life time to help our transition from purgatory to heaven.It has nothing to do with granting anyone the freedom to sin. If your genuinely wanting to at least understand Catholic teaching then go to this site as it is easy to understand……. http://www.catholicscomehome.org Also the wise guy who remarked about Pedophile Priest trust me Christ answered that question 2,000 yrs ago when he
