Understand Catholicism
Heaven, hell, and purgatory
What the Church actually says about the four last things, and how these teachings have been misused.
Catholic teaching on the afterlife is less lurid and more restrained than most people expect, and it has often been preached badly.
Heaven
Not a reward for performance but full communion with God, described in Catholic teaching as the fulfilment of every longing a person has ever had.
Purgatory
A final purification for those who die in God's friendship but are not yet fully free of the effects of sin. Everyone in purgatory is going to heaven; it is not a second hell, and it is not a sentence.
The abuses of the late medieval period (indulgences sold as though grace were merchandise) were real, and the Church acted against that practice.
Hell
The Church teaches hell exists as the state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God, chosen freely. It has never declared that any particular person is there.
Hell preached as a threat to control behaviour, especially at children, is spiritual abuse. If that is the version you received, it is worth knowing the Church's own emphasis: God desires that everyone be saved.
Suicide
Older popular teaching often stated that suicide meant automatic damnation. The current Catechism says explicitly that grave psychological disturbance, anguish, fear, and suffering can diminish responsibility, that the Church prays for those who have taken their own lives, and that we should not despair of their salvation.
Catholic funerals are held for people who die by suicide.
If you are thinking about ending your life, please contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988 in the US) or your local emergency number. This page is not a substitute for that.
Questions people actually ask
If you want one next step
- If hell was preached to you as a threat aimed at controlling your behavior, it may help to read the Catechism's own words on God's desire that all be saved, rather than the version you were given.
- If you are grieving someone who died by suicide, know that the Church prays for them and does not presume their loss, and a Catholic funeral is appropriate.
- If you are in crisis right now, contact the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (call or text 988 in the US) before reading further.