Envisioning hell as a dungeon of fire with Satan dancing around seems too bizarre, impossible and ungodly, to many men and women. “After all,” many people think, “why would a loving God create such a source of anguish for the deceased? So maybe hell does not really exist after all; it’s just a social metaphor for bad behavior.”  

If you are one of the multitudes who doubts hell really exists, you must read The Hell There Is: An Exploration of an Often-Rejected Doctrine of the Church, written by Msgr. Charles Pope, pastor of Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian Roman Catholic Church in Washington, D.C., and a frequent Register contributor.  

Msgr. Pope discussed with the Register the erroneous tendency for modern Catholics and Christians to downgrade the real presence of hell. “I would say we reduce love to mere kindness and at the heart of it; love does not force people to do something unkind. God sending people to hell is not kind. … Anybody who goes there is really evil,” this thinking goes. His comments to the Register follow those on EWTN. 

Msgr. Pope details human freedom and how people abuse it so readily. “A loving God is respectful of our freedom,” he said. “He doesn’t want slaves, and he frees men and women to choose the kingdom of heaven. Why do so many abuse, or maybe misconstrue, original sin?” ...  

“It started as kids,” he continued, “and we wanted Twinkies and not green beans … so we prefer things of this world.” And he underscored that people wanting to go to heaven must choose chastity, forgiveness and generosity rather than greed and the many temptations of this world.  

“It seems that people prefer all the pleasures of daily life,” he added.  

As for heresies against Church teachings and tradition, Msgr. Pope wrote in his book that the most pernicious is people’s denial of hell.  

“With respect to the teaching on hell and judgment, the ‘heretic’ cannot reconcile God’s love and mercy with the reality of hell and eternal separation from Him,” he wrote. “The Church teachings on hell and the drama of the judgment that awaits us are largely taken from the very words of Jesus. He combines a keen sense of the need to repent or to risk hell with His love and desire to save us.” 

Msgr. Pope also addressed Jesus’ teachings through the 38 parables cited in the Bible in his book, noting that 21of the parables deal with the reality of heaven and where sins lead. As he wrote, “Jesus consistently taught and warned of the coming judgment faced by all and warned that many, not few, would be lost and excluded from the kingdom of heaven.”  

One of the parables cited is Matthew 24:36-51 (Parable of the Unknown Day and Hour) that urges mankind to live life charitably and honorably, for no one knows the day or the hour that the Lord is coming.  

Msgr. Pope’s book also underscores what hell is really like. “The fiery consequences of sin — hatred and vengeance represented by wailing and grinding of teeth, the devouring worms of debauchery and dissipation, and the outer darkness of deep confusion — are already well-known in this world of sin,” Msgr. Pope wrote. “For those who die unrepentant, who prefer the darkness to the light of the kingdom of heaven, things will only get worse.” 

Msgr. Pope stressed to the Register that people must understand that hell is eternal, not a setting that will vanish over time — and we get there not because of God, but because of us.  

“We have to understand a certain mystery,” he said. “At our death, our decision for God is forever fixed. Our decision builds over our life either toward or against God. A moment comes when our decision becomes our destiny.”