Father Jean Galot, S.I.

The doctrine of the Second Vatican Council

Considering eschatology from the Church’s point of view, the Second Vatican Council expounded an eschatological doctrine that encouraged a renewal of the Treatise entitled De novissimis (Of recent affairs).

In the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, the Council states that the Church finds its fulfillment in the glory of heaven, and that this fulfillment implies the restoration in Christ of all things, of mankind but also of the world. The promised restoration that we await and "has already begun with Christ, is carried forward by the sending of the Holy Ghost and through Him it continues through the Church"(48). The renovation of the world is therefore irrevocably determined and in a certain realistic sense anticipated by the Church that lives on earth. Having the offerings of firstlings of the Spirit, we weep within ourselves in the hope that we shall join the Nuptial Banquet together with Christ, but before reigning with Christ glorious, we shall be judged, and we must be vigilant.

The Council places the accent on the communion of mercy between those who are in Christ and who, alive or dead, form only one Church. "The union of those giving the Last Sacraments with those brothers who have died in the peace of Christ, is not remotely broken, on the contrary, according to the everlasting faith of the Church, it is strengthened by the communication of spiritual goods"(49). Those who are blessed in heaven do not stop interceding for us with the Father. The cult of the Saints stimulates the wandering Church by resorting to their prayers and helps the Church to follow their example.

In the Pastoral Constitution Gaudium et Spes, The Second Vatican Council dedicates more specific special attention to the mystery of death, with a philosophical thought that is illuminated by faith(18), It also highlights the cosmic aspect of Eschatology, with the expectancy of a new heaven and a new earth (39), identified in the eternal and universal kingdom that Christ will consign to the Father.

Starting with this issue, we wish to follow the route of reflection examining the various themes of eschatology. We have received help for this reflection from a Letter from the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (May 17^th 1979) and from a study carried out by the International Theological Commission (1992).

I - Parousia

Eschatology is first of all Christology as it allows the discovery of its last development in the life of mankind. The centrality of Christ is essential. It is recognized in greater detail when the affirmation of the parousia turns our minds towards the future. Parousia means the coming. Jesus has already announced his coming as the great event with which his presence would have in a mysterious manner procured mankind.

Many have thought of a visible return to earth by Jesus. We know that in the primitive Church this expectation, which was very strong, resulted in disappointment (1). The fact that Jesus gave another meaning to the announcement of his coming is yet another signal.

We must remember the words pronounced in the trial held in the presence of the Sanhedrim. The high priest interrogated Jesus, asking if he was the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus was not content with simply supplying an affirmative answer; he added that he would provide evidence that his opponents would be able to observe: "You will see the Son of Man again when he is seated at the right hand of God, and when He comes on the clouds of heaven"(Mt 26,64). With these words, Jesus does not announce a coming referred to the end of the world, but a coming that is very near: "From now on" (Le 22,69: "As from now"). The coming is imminent, and it is destined to last.

It is the coming of the Son of the man seated at the Father’s right, meaning the Christ who rose to heaven, who shares the sovereign power of the Father. He will come "on the clouds of heaven"; the word cloud must not be understood in a material manner: since it is a mark of theophany, it indicates a coming of a divine nature. After the coming which was visibly manifest in human flesh and ended with life on earth, there will be another coming of Christ, which will take place with His divine power.

It is the coming that became manifest from the moment of the Pentecost, a coming commentated by Peter: once risen, Jesus, "and now exalted at God’s right hand, he has claimed from his Father his promise to bestow the Holy Spirit; and he has poured out that spirit and you can see and hear for yourselves"(Acts 2,32). Peter is a witness of the accomplishment of the announcement made to the Sanhedrim. The coming on clouds, inaugurated at Pentecost, is the coming enacted by the Holy Ghost so as to allow Christ to be present during the entire future development of the Church. (2)

This coming is the parousia announced by Jesus, a parousia that lasts for the entire period of evangelization throughout the centuries and the millenniums, until the end of the world: "This Gospel of the Kingdom will be preached all over the world, so that all nations may here; only after that will the end come"(Mt 24,14). When the spiritual coming of Christ into the world will have reached its historical fullness with the accomplishment of universal evangelization, the parousia will be complete and the earthly world will vanish before the universe of the afterlife. (3)

2- Death

Death is a necessity inherent to human nature: mankind is mortal, because the flesh has a necessary limited life. A necessity of a superior order, founded on the divine design of salvation, also makes a mystery of death. Since the death of Christ our death has received a higher meaning. This meaning is linked to the drama of sin. In death one acknowledges a consequence of sin; in fact death would have been the fundamental punishment for sin if the Son of God had not personally chosen death as the way for redemption (4). An innocent, Christ transformed death and turned it into an offering of love for the salvation of mankind. Therefore death is given to us as a divine gift that unites us in the offering of Christ and that, with its painful, distressing characteristics, allows us to participate in the redeeming work. This is the last source of fruitfulness at the end of human existence.

Christ has mentioned the abundant fruit of the kernel of grain that dies (Jn 12,24). He is committed to his destiny of death with all His love so as to perform the will of the Father, and He reproaches Peter who would rather spare him this torment: "Am I not to drink that cup which my Father himself has appointed for me?"(Jn 18,11) It is a gift of paternal love; and He returns this gift with abandonment filled with trust: "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit"(Lk 23,46) .

The Father disposes of our lives and with sovereignty determines the hour of our death, so as to welcome us in His home. We cannot decide this hour (5).

A number of theologians have proposed the hypothesis of a final option, indicating a spiritual illumination at the hour of our death, that allows a fully truthful and freely undertaken decision, because of the fact that the very last moment of present life is also this first moment of an angelic life (6). However there is really only one moment that puts an end to our present life and it is not an angelic life. The final option, stimulated by grace, takes place in the conditions established by our earthly life. The conversion of the good thief supplies us with an example of a final option that corrects the prior life and expresses a new last disposition for entering eternal life (Le 23,42) .

Jesus himself recommended continuous vigilance in the course of life on this earth, while awaiting His coming, often unexpected, at the hour of death (7). "When the master returns and knocks, blessed are those servants whom their master will find watching when he comes. Returning from the wedding feast, he will gird himself and make them sit down to meat, and minister to them (Lk 12,35-37). The parable of the ten virgins, with five who find the doors closed and cannot enter with the bridegroom, contains the same teachings: "Be on watch, then, the day of it and the hour of it are unknown to you" (Mt 25,13).

3- The Judgment

Immediately after death comes judgment. Jesus often presented himself as the supreme judge. In the ancient alliance, God was recognized as the only judge. In sending his Son on earth, the Father entrusted Him with this power in view of the fact that he was the "Son of man"(Jn 5,27) (8). The Son Incarnate personally lived a human life, he knows, thanks to His personal experience, its difficulties and appreciates in real terms the merits of each person. His decisive role in the work of salvation allows Him to judge distinguishing with generous love between those who are worthy of being saved. He proceeds to judge as the "Bridegroom", with the intention of revealing in His manner of judging the immense love that binds Him to the whole of humanity. The title of Bridegroom does not prevent judgment according to the principles of justice, but it is a case of justice integrated in a vast work of love. Christ, who came to help the immense misery of humanity, also proved to be very sensitive to compassion, compassion He received from the Father and in real terms practiced in a touching environment with numerous wounds. (9) With Jesus as a judge, the judgment assumes a reassuring benevolent aspect. It always involves sovereign authority and concern for the recognition of the truth, but is always guided by eyes filled with sympathy and understanding.

The most ample description of the final judgment, in Mt 25(31-46), is set against an apocalyptic background. This setting must not be interpreted literally but according to the truth that has been taught. Judgment is universal: all men will be judged but not all at the same time, because the judgment that allows one to enter heaven or condemns to hell takes place at the moment of death. On the other hand this judgment is also particular, because each will be judged according to his personal behavior, receiving rewards or punishment. Universal and individual judgment coincide.

This judgment is unique and definite. It is the Last Judgment for each, but it is not postponed to the end of time.

Judgment includes man’s overall behavior. In Matthew 25, it concerns help given to the wretched. But there are other Evangelical texts that refer to other topics regarding judgment: for example bearing witness to the faith (Lk 9,26;etc.); the exploitation of talents (Mt 25,14-30).

It cannot be forgotten that the essential intention of this judgment is salvation. "God did not send His Son to reject the world, but so that the world might find salvation through Him"(Jn 3,17). Christ is essentially the Savior and cannot be presented in this judgment simply as He who condemns. (10)

Judgment does not intend to underline the offenses committed by mankind, offenses removed by divine pardon, but rather to show up the wonders of grace and of victories obtained over the forces of evil (11).

4- Destiny of the immortal soul

What is man’s destiny following judgment? In recent times, a trend has developed concentrated on the resurrection of mankind, leaving aside the assertion concerning the immortality of the soul.(12). Some were opposed to the concept of a soul that is separate from the body, a concept that is considered as Greek, the concept, known as Semitic, of a more Unitarian human being. And yet the distinction between the soul and the body appears in the Bible and is explicitly stated by Jesus (Matthew 10,28) (13). The immortality of the soul, already underlined in the Book of Knowledge (3,l;5,15), is not an obstacle to survival thanks to the resurrection of Christ. This Resurrection, transmitted to mankind, has two different effects: spiritualization of the soul and the reanimation of the body.

As stated by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (ÀAS 71 (1979) 941), "resurrection is referred to man in his entireness", but there is also survival and existence, after death, of a spiritual element endowed with conscience and freedom, (14) "A human being" that survives without the complementation of the body; and so as to describe this element the Church uses the word "soul". The existence of this "rational and intellective" soul had been defined by the Council of Vienna (DS 902).

The problem of a reward for the souls of the dead, a reward prior to the final resurrection of the flesh, caused a doctrinal crisis during the Middle Ages. Pope John XXII, in numerous sermons between 1331 and 1334, had stated that before the end of the world the souls of saints would not see the divine essence and the damned would not be sent to hell. However, a short time before his death, he himself changed his attitude. His successor Benedict XII published the Constitution Benedictus Deus in 1336, which defined the doctrine of faith: the souls of all the saints, immediately after their death – and after the purification of those in need – are in heaven and after the passion and the death of Christ they see the divine essence with intuitive and also facial vision: "the divine essence becomes manifest to them immediately, directly, clearly and openly" (DS 1000). Therefore the soul separated from the body receives, with this beatific vision, the benefit of the life of the risen Christ.

5- Eternal life: heaven

According to the Constitution published by Benedict XII, glorious life in heaven has the distinctive characteristic of the immediate vision of God: "to be in heaven" means to see the divine essence. This vision expresses a complete intimacy: God hides nothing of his being; he allows the soul of the saint to penetrate His divine mystery completely. The four adverbs used manifest the intention of total transparency: immediately, directly, clearly and openly. During our earthly existence we are unable to understand the value of this kind of vision, because we can know God only through His creatures and we do not know what it means to see God without resorting to this intercession. Therefore access to this beatific vision is always an immense surprise for the chosen.

The intuitive vision causes a total transformation of the soul. John says that: "We know that when he comes we shall be like him, we shall see Him then as He is"( 1 Jn 3,2).

Paul underlines the distance between the knowledge of Faith and face to face vision: "At present we are looking at a confused reflection in a mirror, then we shall see face to face. I have only glimpses of knowledge, then I shall recognize God as He has recognized me" (1 Cor 13,12). This is perfect knowledge, similar to the knowledge that belongs to God himself.

Jesus had established a relationship between purity of the heart and the vision: "Blessed are the clean of heart, they shall see God" (Mt 5,8). A pure heart makes the eyes clear.

Contemplation is not the only characteristic of celestial life (15). Recently, a number of theologians have observed that other aspects must also be considered. Heaven means first of all a new life, life that springs from the risen Christ. Jesus attributes to faith the possession of this life, a possession that is inaugurated on earth and destined to develop fully in the after-life: "He who believes in the Son possesses eternal life"(Jn 3,36). More in detail, the Eucharist supplies this life: "The man who eats my flesh and drinks my blood enjoys eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day"(Jn 6,54).

Another important aspect consists in the union of intimacy with Christ. Jesus promises his disciples a life with Him: "I will take you to myself, so that you may be where I am" (Jn 14, 3). He offered the good thief the same unity: "Today, you will be with Me in heaven"(Lk 23,43). The words said by Paul are of great importance: "And we shall be with the Lord forever"( 1 Ts 4,17) and the supreme desire: "I long to have done with it and be with Christ" (Phil 1,23).

To say: "there are many dwelling places in my Father’s house" (Jn 14,2) is an invitation for the disciples to enter a complete familiarity with the Father. In heaven, there is not simply the issue of seeing the Father, but of living in constant contact with Him, sharing together the filial love of Jesus.

The image represented by the nuptial banquet shows that eternal life is a feast of love. The Bridegroom is Christ (Mt 22,1-14; 25,1-13). He is the source of happiness, spreading the joy of his love and creating an environment filled with brotherly love.

"Many are called" to this banquet, meaning the invited who are present, after a refusal by some of those who had been "chosen". The Father reacted with more than universal generosity to this refusal, issuing the invitation to everyone. (16)

Generosity appears also in the fact that there are "many dwelling-places": many different routes to saintliness that all converge towards the house of the Father, and everyone may find a place according to their spirituality. This explains why every saint is so different from all the others and why the vision and possession of God may assume many different shapes and models of behavior.

A diversity in the degrees of the beatific vision was stated by the Council of Florence (1439), even though the object of this vision is the same for everyone: pure and purified souls "are welcomed immediately in heaven and openly may contemplate God as He is, one and trine, although one more perfectly than the other, according to their merits "(DS 1305). The perfection of the vision is hence proportionate to the measure of the merits.

An assertion of these proportions cannot however obscure a more essential truth. Divine generosity bestows upon all of us happiness that is far greater than the limitations of personal merit, as is proven by the words of the master to the servant who had made a profit with five talents: "Well done my good and faithful servant, since thou hast been faithful over little things, I have great things to commit to thy charge, come and share the joy of thy Lord" (Mt 25, 25, 21). (17)

6- Hell: eternal death

In contrast to heaven and eternal life, there is hell and eternal death. The concept of hell finds its origins in the Hebrew Sheol, which primitively described the place for all those who had died, later it referred more specifically to the place identified for the punishment of the impious. The image representing eternal fire is also expressed by the word "geènna". Jesus emphasizes the separation of the good and the evil and refers to eternal punishment: "the angels will go out and separate the wicked from the just and will cast them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Mt 13,49).

The Constitution Benedictus Deus formulates a definition of faith for hell that runs parallel to the one concerning heaven: "Let us define once again that according to the great plan of God the souls of those who die in mortal sin will descend to hell immediately after their death, where they are tormented by infernal sanctions" (DS 1002). These infernal punishments are not specified. Some have understood them as forms of punishment that are distinct from the punishment derived from the absence of God, but only this painful separation is clearly asserted: it is the punishment itself of hell. (18)

Over the centuries there have been a number of attempts to avoid the threat of hell. As early as the Third century, Origenes had proposed a doctrine of a hell that was not eternal, with pedagogical threats; according to this doctrine, the damned, repentant and purified, could take part in the total restoration of all God’s creations. But the Second Council of Constantinople, in 543, had excluded this interpretation (DS 411).

In recent times, other attempts have appeared following this trend, with the idea for example of a surgical type of hell, that assures God’s victory over the forces of evil (19). The surgical interpretation is also discarded by the declaration that condemns those who say or think that "the punishment of demons or of the impious is temporary and one day will come to an end" (DS 411).

Another way of eliminating the difficulties that arose from the affirmation regarding hell resulted in yet another proposition: hell exists as a possibility but in reality there is nobody who as seriously been condemned. This hypothesis allows the existence of demons to subsist. It also removes all effectiveness from the warnings issued by Jesus, repeatedly expressed in the Gospels. We must take these evangelical warnings seriously.

7- Final purification or Purgatory

Among those who die in the grace of God, some are in need of purification after death, so as to enter celestial happiness. They have received from the risen Christ the gift of salvation and of divine life, but they must acquire a deeper saintliness because they are not ready, in their personal dispositions, for a complete intimacy with Christ and with God.

The doctrine that states this concept of purification, called purgatory, was expounded during the Council of Florence. The confrontation with the Orthodox was beneficial for the elimination of two imaginative elements: following objections by the Orientals, the doctrine remained silent as far as the words "place" and "fire" were concerned. Like heaven and hell, purgatory is not a place but a state of being; and it does not consist in sensitive fire.

It is a question of the purification of those who, having repented, die in the grace of God before having paid in a satisfactory repentant manner for their sins by commission or by omission: "their souls, after death, are purified through the pains of purgatory; and so as to be freed from this pain, they are helped by the prayers of the living faithful" (DS 1304).

At times the state of purgatory has been understood following the model of the state of hell, but the divergence is a radical one: salvation and saintliness are present in the souls that are purified, and it is not a case of chastisement or of punishment. It is a painful condition, but for the reason that it is a purification that imposes a deep change in the person.

This is not an inflicted punishment because the soul that is purified is being saved and in a state of grace and has obtained divine forgiveness, forgiveness that is complete and that excludes all punishment. This soul is engaged in friendly relations with God. The fact that the soul may receive effective help from the prayers and the offering of the eucharistic sacrifice confirms the divine benevolence that follows and also proves the responsibility of the faithful for the state of these souls.

8- The resurrection of the bodies

When discussing the power that the Father had bestowed on His Son, the power to have life in himself and the power to judge, Jesus announced the general resurrection of the flesh as a manifestation of his sovereign power: "Do not be surprised at that: the time is coming when all those who are in their graves will hear His voice and will come out of them, those whose actions have been good rising to a new life, and those whose doings have been evil, rising to meet their sentence"(Jn 5,28-29). Hence the voice of the Son of God allows the dead to rise from their graves.

On other occasions, when announcing the Eucharist, Jesus also presents himself as the author of the resurrection at the end of time (Jn 6,54), but this is the resurrection of those who have taken part in the Eucharist, without the assertion of a general resurrection concerning the good and the evil.

This general resurrection manifests the divine intention to allow a full participation of the flesh in the destiny of each individual, a destiny of happiness or of damnation. The flesh having been used in good and in evil during earthly life, and this use is found once again at the resurrection at the end of time.

According to the divine plan the risen body is identical to the earthly body. This identity creates no problems for the body of the risen Christ nor for the body of Mary, who both resurrected after their death. But for all other bodies the way to explain identity can be discussed; divine sovereignty guarantees this in a mysterious manner.

With the resurrection of the flesh survival in the material world is assured, survival that is fundamentally linked to the spiritual world of souls.

In recent times the number of those attempting to substitute the faith in resurrection with the doctrine of reincarnation has increased. According to this doctrine, mankind, at the end of his life, is supposed to be reincarnated in another being, human or animal, so as to free himself of the his own sins and so as to begin a better life (21). It is a doctrine that debases earthly life and searches another personal identity, while the truth of resurrection strengthens this identity filling it with the life of the risen Christ.

(1) Among those who experienced this delusion there was also St. Paul. He waited in vain a visible returning of Christ on earth. But within this delusion, he understood more and more that he must wait for another meeting with Christ, the moment of death. Many authors stop at the description of the parousia in 1 Ts 4,14-18, but this perspective was progressively abandoned by Paul: Ref. J.GALOT, La parusia nell'epistolario paolino.in Civiltà Cattolica 151(2000) IV 431-443. (The parousia in St. Paul’s Epistles in Civiltà Cattolica)

(2) It is not therefore the case of a visible return to earth. Jesus does not speak of a return but of a coming, and at the time of the Ascension, the Angels allow the Apostles to understand that this return is excluded and that the coming of Christ will take place in the same manner they observed when he ascended to heaven, meaning through the departure towards the heavenly state of being (At 1,11). Christ visibly disappears to become spiritual.

(3) As it is a spiritual coming ("on clouds"), the parousia is always present for the further development of the growth of the Church. With the end of evangelization, which coincides with the end of time, the parousia reaches a definite summit. It is important to take note that the parousia is not a "theatrical" manifestation for the end of the world, but the great spiritual force that performs within humanity so as to transform it and fill it with the life of Christ through the Holy Spirit.

(4) It is not sin, but God’s redeeming intention that determines the meaning of death. Jesus has clearly protested against the interpretations of death as a punishment for sin. To the Judeans who were tempted to perceive in a massacre in Galilee the sign of divine punishment He answered in an extremely categorical manner: "Do you suppose that because this befell them, that these men were worse sinners than all else in Galilee? I tell you it is not so..."(Lk 13,2)

(5) In itself the gesture of suicide implies the pretension to determine the hour of death and the desire to exercise total power over human life, power that belongs only to God. Even without the intention of committing suicide, the will to be the master of the hour of our death indicates rivalry with the divine power. Christ remains for us, in the hour of our death, a model of humility and trusting abandonment.

(6) During the 16^th Century, Gaetano expressed the theory of a last instant with a dual aspect, both earthly and angelical. This theory was taken up once again in the 19^th Century by H. Klee and in the 20^th Century by P. Glorieux. The writings of L. Boros have contributed to the spreading of this interpretation. Ref. a more ample exposition in POZO, Teologia nell'aldilà, (Theology in the after-life) Rome 1983, 446-458.

(7) Exhortations to be vigilant are made considering the perspective of the coming of Christ for entering the afterlife. In addition to the coming of the Son to earth in the Incarnation and the coming of the Son of Man on clouds that are a reference to His spiritual presence in the development of the Church, there is a coming of Christ at the moment of our death. Ref.. J.GALOT, Christ viene nel mondo? Introduzione all'Avvento, (Christ comes to the world? An introduction to Advent) 137(1986) IV 323-337.

(8) The reason for the designation of Christ as judge: "because He is the Son of Man", manifests the will of the Father that mankind should be judged by a man. This human condition allows the judge to express the deepest solidarity and liking. He who judges is God, but He judges as a man. The accent is placed on understanding and not on strictness.

(9) Jesus defines mercy as the essential disposition that explains entirely His redeeming action: "Go home and find out what the words mean: it is Mercy that wins favors with me, not sacrifice ( Os 6,6). I have come to call sinners, not the just" (Mt 9,13). This shows us why the judgment is not only fair, but also merciful. In other circumstances, Jesus perceives the supreme source of this mercy on the Father, more specifically in the parable of the prodigal son (Le 15,11-32).

(10) To represent Christ essentially as a judge that condemns, as Michelangelo did in the masterpiece of the Sistine Chapel, does not conform with the figure of Christ revealed in the Gospels.

(11) The words pronounced by Jesus in view of persecutions must be interpreted according to their context, in the sense that also under difficult circumstances, the truth of the Gospels will make itself known: "Do not then be afraid of them, what is veiled will all be revealed, what is hidden will all be known. What I have said to you under cover of darkness, you are to utter in the light of day, what has been whispered in your ears you are to proclaim on the house-tops." (Mt 10,26-27). These are not intended as evil secret things that are destined to be revealed, but truths concerning the Christian message that are destined to appear in full light.

(12) Diffidence regarding the immortality of the soul had been expressed in the work of the protestant theologian Oscar Cullmann, published in 1956: Immortalità dell'anima o risurrezione dei morti? (Immortality of the soul or resurrection of the dead?) The already simple title of this book was biased, inviting a choice between immortality and resurrection, as if such an option was necessary. Regarding this problem consult POZO, Aldilà,(The afterlife) 166-307.

(13) "Do not be afraid of those who kill the flesh but do not have the power to kill the soul; rather be fearful of He who has the power to cast into the flames of the Geènna both the souls and the flesh". It is a question of fearing God, the only One who has the power over the soul and the flesh. The difference between the soul and the body is intentionally stressed.

(14) The permanence of this spiritual element assures the existence of what is known as intermediate eschatology, meaning the eschatology that concerns the period that goes from the moment of death to the resurrection of the flesh. It is the eschatology of the immortal soul.

(15) The habitual manner of identifying celestial life as a beatific vision might lead one to think that this life consists simply in seeing. But celestial life is far more ample than the act of seeing or the gift of a vision. It is necessary to turn to different expressions so as to explain all the aspects of a happiness that comes from a perfect communion of life with God, or that implies the possession of God and of all his spiritual richness. In view of the fact that the union is with an infinite God, it is impossible for a limited being to seize all its reality and its depth. But the light which comes from above allows us to enter the mystery.

(16) The affirmation: "many are called, few are chosen" (Mt 22,14) has too often been interpreted as an indication of the small number of those saved. In realty in the parable, the elected who refused the invitation to the wedding were the Judeans, the members of the elected people. As they do not wish to enter the Church, the Father extends the invitation to the marriage banquet to all the others. Therefore in the banqueting hall many have been "called", meaning invited, from all kinds of people, and a few Judeans.

(17) The doctrine of merits can explain a diversity in degrees of happiness among the saved, but it cannot hide the overabundance of the divine gifts that are distributed in reply to the merits of each person. Mankind’s limited efforts are exceeded by immense divine generosity.

(18) The fundamental punishment for the damned consists in their separation from God. It is a punishment that involves much pain, because it affects their entire person and after the universal resurrection their bodies too.

(19) Recently the idea of a surgical hell has been presented by Jean Elluin in the book :"Which hell?", a book that was published with the encouragement of the two theologians, Y. Congar and G. Martelet. The surgical hell is one that can obtain a more radical application of divine mercy, with forgiveness for all wrongs and the total purification of the individual. This way hell would be totally abolished, but this type of hell would in fact be a Purgatory, does not correspond to the truth revealed by Christ in the Gospels nor to the faith enunciated in the Constitution by Benedict XII.

(20)H. Urs von Balthasar tried to follow this route which allows the hope that there are no condemned. We can understand the efforts undertaken so as to affirm that all men are saved, because it is in this direction that our hope leads us. But we cannot ignore Jesus’ warnings regarding the existence of eternal punishment inflicted on demons and on men who refuse divine grace. We cannot diminish the value of these warnings, formulated in an explicit manner; we must accept them in their truthfulness and seriously consider the dangers expressed. An empty hell could not be a threat and vigilance would become less necessary. And yet it is true that we must above all welcome in our lives the promises of eternal happiness and live according to this hope, but all worlds pronounced by Jesus have a definitive value.

(21) Buddhism, which teaches reincarnation destined to obtain a more complete liberation from the weight of all sins committed, has encouraged the spreading of this idea also in western environments.

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