Conservative Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, published a “counter-view” to the teaching that Judas has earned his place in hell on FoxNews.com on Palm Sunday.
Monsignor Barron's main arguments for having hope for Judas' salvation
- Judas shows repentance:
"Judas, the betrayer, deeply regretted what he had done: 'I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.'"
"This is not callous indifference or self-justification. This is a clear and honest admission of guilt."
- The Church has never declared that Judas is in hell:
"St. Pope John Paul II insisted that the Church has never made a definitive statement regarding whether any particular person is in hell."
"Pope Benedict said that we should suspend judgement regarding Judas and commit him to the mercy and justice of God."
- Suicide does not guarantee damnation:
"We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives.'
'By ways known to him alone, God can provide the opportunity for salutary repentance."
- God’s mercy reaches even the darkest state:
"God, in Christ, has gone to the very limits of God-forsakenness precisely to communicate the divine mercy even to the darkest place."
"He has willingly embraced the psychological and spiritual state of the sinner."
The Catholic Teaching
In reality, both Scripture and the Church have declared that Judas is in hell.
According to Holy Scripture, a demon entered Judas. After he committed suicide, his bowels burst open.
Jesus Christ said of him: "Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for him if he had never been born" (Matthew 26:24).
Peter said of Judas that "he went to his own place" (Acts of the Apostles 1:25).
The Roman Catechism of the Council of Trent teaches that Judas "lost soul and body": "Some experience a sorrow that is out of proportion to their crimes. Others abandon all hope of salvation by giving themselves over to melancholy and grief. Such, perhaps, was the condition of Cain. Such was certainly the case with Judas, who, after repenting, hanged himself and thus lost both his soul and his body."
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