Many assume that ruthless criminals like Hitler, serial killers and mass murderers, are surely in hell. Yet consider this. While the Church has canonized many saints, it has never definitively declared anyone to be in hell.

Yes, the Church affirms that hell exists. But it refrains from naming who resides there, not even Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus. This silence is not an oversight. Rather, the Church chooses to emphasize salvation, not condemnation. Instead of highlighting the exceptions, if there are any, it underscores the boundless grace of redemption that Jesus has obtained through His death and resurrection.

The Catechism for Filipino Catholics is clear on the Church’s teaching on hell: “In contrast to the reality of heaven, the Church teaches the possibility of eternal damnation, following Jesus’s own teaching. The essence of hell is the loss of God suffered by those who have freely chosen to separate themselves from Him.” Centuries earlier, St. Augustine said it even more succinctly: “God created us without us, but He cannot save us without us.”

In the past, frightening images of hell plagued people’s imagination. It is often imagined as a fiery abyss of unending torment. From Dante’s Inferno to the dramatic visions of Michelangelo, Milton, Goethe, and modern filmmakers, hell is portrayed as a vast torture chamber of both body and soul.

Scriptures also have vivid imagery of hell. St. Mark describes it as a place “where the worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched” (Mk. 9:43–48). In Matthew, Jesus warns of “the outer darkness” where there is “wailing and gnashing of teeth” (Mt. 25:30), and of “everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Mt. 25:41).

St. Luke offers a moral dimension through the parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Lk. 16:19–31) as narrated in our Gospel reading today. The rich man’s indifference to the suffering of Lazarus condemns him to hell. Disturbingly, the parable even hints that the joy of heaven may include witnessing the suffering of the damned, which is a chilling commentary on the consequences of moral apathy.

Compared to past centuries, today, hell has nearly vanished from serious conversation. It lingers only in horror movies, Halloween decorations, and verbal outbursts like “Go to hell!” hurled at enemies in anger or sarcasm.

This gradual disappearance reveals more than just a shift in vocabulary. It points to a deeper moral and spiritual malady. At its root is modern culture’s emphasis on personal freedom and autonomy. “Living your truth” has become a popular mantra, often used to justify choices that defy both civil laws and moral norms.

As “hell” disappears from our daily discourse, so too does “sin.” Today, sin is often trivialized in advertisements like, “indulge in these sinfully rich desserts or decadent cakes.” Worse, we try to cancel out sin’s lethal effects by calling it a mere mistake, a weakness, or even a genetic predisposition, as the phrase “I was born this way” boldly argues.

The fear of hell has, indeed, become rare in our time. Convicted criminals, even when caught red-handed, often protest their innocence to the very end. No high-profile government official accused of corruption, plunder, or human rights abuses, has openly admitted their guilt. Instead, they deflect, deny, or distract, often rebranding the cases against them as “political persecution.” Instead of manifesting true contrition, they resort to reputation management and damage control.

This is not surprising in a culture that downplays the eternal consequences of our actions. Without the fear of sin and hell, there is nothing that will restrain us from wrongdoing. If there is no sin, there is no need for repentance. If there is no hell, there is no need for salvation. In discarding these realities, we may unwittingly create a world that resembles the very hell we no longer believe in.