There is no hell where the souls of sinners suffer in eternity, Pope Francis was quoted as saying in a Thursday interview with Italian daily La Repubblica, sparking a prompt rebuttal from the Vatican.
After death, the souls of people who repent are pardoned by God and join in his contemplation, "but those who do not repent, and therefore cannot be pardoned, disappear," Francis was quoted as saying.
"Hell does not exist - what exists is the disappearance of sinful souls," he reportedly added.
The Vatican issued a statement after the comments spread on social media, saying they did not properly reflect what the pope had said.
The pope was interviewed by Eugenio Scalfari, a veteran Italian journalist and atheist who regularly muses about faith and religion, and enjoys access to the leader of the Catholic Church.
The Vatican said the pope did not grant him an interview and the article "was the fruit of his reconstruction" not a "faithful transcription of the Holy Father's words."
In the past, the veracity of quotes he attributed to the pope has been called into question, especially after the 93-year-old Scalfari admitted to never using a tape recorder during interviews.
According to Scalfari's article in Thursday's La Repubblica, he asked the pope where "bad souls" go and where they are punished. Scalfari quoted the pope as saying:
"They are not punished. Those who repent obtain God's forgiveness and take their place among the ranks of those who contemplate him, but those who do not repent and cannot be forgiven disappear. A Hell doesn't exist, the disappearance of sinning souls exists."
The universal catechism of the Catholic Church says "The teaching of the Catholic Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity." It speaks of "eternal fire" and adds that "the chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God."
It was at least the third time the Vatican has issued statements distancing itself from Scalfari's articles about the pope, including one in 2014 in which the journalist said the pontiff had abolished sin.