Vatican City, Feb 8, 2008 / 08:18 am
In a meeting held yesterday in the Vatican's Hall of Blessings with priests of the diocese of Rome, the Holy Father participated in a question and answer session on wide range of issues, including the reality of Heaven and Hell.
The exchange between Pope Benedict and the Roman priests involved ten questions covering the youth, evangelization, education and the four last things: death, judgment, Heaven and Hell.
On the topic of the Final Judgment, the Holy Father said that in the Church today there is perhaps too little reference to sin, Paradise and Hell. “Also for this reason", he said, "I chose to mention the Last Judgment in my Encyclical 'Spe Salvi'". Anyone who does not recognize the Final Judgment, he added, does not recognize the possibility of failure and the need for redemption. Anyone who does not labor for heaven does not work for the good of mankind on earth. In this context he noted that Nazism and Communism, which were concerned only with this world, ended up by destroying it.
On the topic of young people, the Holy Father noted the difficulties they encounter while trying to live a Christian life, in the face of the prevailing lifestyles. For this reason, it is important for priests to bear witness to the fact that we really can know God, that we can be His friends and walk with Him.