Appearing on a talk show in Italy, Pope Francis said he hopes that hell is “empty.”

That would be nice. But it would make Jesus’ statement that it would’ve been better for Judas to never have been born a little weird. It would also make Mary’s apparition at Fatima a bit suspect.

CNA: When asked by the interviewer, Fabio Fazio, how he “imagines hell,” Pope Francis gave a short response.

“What I am going to say is not a dogma of faith but my own personal view: I like to think of hell as empty; I hope it is,” Pope Francis said.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church says that Catholic teaching “affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, ‘eternal fire.’ The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs.”

The catechism also says: “In hope, the Church prays for ‘all men to be saved.’”

Me again: Anytime the pope has to say that his opinion differs from Catholic teaching I get a little nervous. But I digress.

When the Virgin Mary appeared to the three children at Fatima she gave them a vision of Hell. Lucia recounted it this way:

“As Our Lady spoke these last words, she opened her hands once more, as she had done during the two previous months. The rays of light seemed to penetrate the earth, and we saw as it were a sea of fire. Plunged in this fire were demons and souls in human form, like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, floating about in the conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames that issued from within themselves together with great clouds of smoke now falling back on every side like sparks in huge fires, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fear. (It must have been this sight which caused me to cry out, as people say they heard me). The demons could be distinguished by their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals. Terrified and as if to plead for succour, we looked up at Our Lady, who said to us, so kindly and so sadly: You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace.”

Was the Virgin Mary lying? Pranking the children? Scaring them for no reason?

Look. I get it. Hell is a very difficult concept to wrap one’s mind around. Everlasting torment boggles the mind and frightens the soul. I would also “hope” that such a place would be empty but I’ve read the Bible, I know what Jesus said, and I’ve paid attention to the words of the Virgin Mary.

It might help people sleep at night to think Hell is empty but many of these people who espouse this belief are supposed to be acting as our shepherds. A shepherd who fears for his sheep is ever vigilant while one who “hopes” there is no real danger may fall asleep.

How many of our shepherds are fast asleep while the wolves prowl about?