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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
Who is in Hell	Joe	Sunday, August 26, 2012
Question: I briefly read the book "Begone Satan";the telling of a demonic possession suffered by an American woman in the early 20th century. During the exorcism we learn that her deceased father was damned and is still trying to torment her from hell. I thought that God never revealed to us the names (or identity) of anyone in hell. However, according to this account, some identities have been revealed. Am I misunderstanding the text, or are there particular circumstances when the names of those in hell will be revealed? Again, I know that the devil and his demons lie as well as disguise themselves but it seemed sure to me that specific human identities were given without question. Can you please clarify this for me? Thank you very much for your time and I have been really enjoying your website; God Bless
Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r) Dear Joe: The case of the possessed woman in Earling, Iowa, only one hour drive where I used to live, and now a four hour drive across Iowa, was the most famous case of exorcism until the case from which the movie, "The Exorcist" was based. It is true that the exorcist reported that the girl's father was possessing her, along with several demons. It is also true that the exorcist discovered that one of the evil spirits "claimed" to be Judas. We must remember, however, that the very nature of demons is to lie. Their father, Satan, is the father of all lies. Thus, we must take with a grain of salt these revelations that run counter to light of the Holy Spirit through the Church. The Church does not declare anyone in hell. We have no idea who is in hell. This is not information that God gives us. In similar fashion, we do not know who is in heaven, except those individuals whom the Church honors and venerates as Saints. Even such persons as Judas and Hitler could theoretically be in heaven, for all we know. If either of these men were in psychological distress or illness to the point that it impaired their free will, to make a fully culpable decisions, or if either of them repented at the last nanosecond of their life, then they could be heaven bound (after a long stay in Purgatory). One's eternal destiny depends on the person's state of soul at the moment of death, no matter what he has done throughout his life. Hitler could have repented as the bullet was entering his brain. We do not know. The Bible says that Judas "despaired." That could be a clue that Judas' mental state precluded his culpability for suicide. We do not know. The Bottomline is that we do not know who is in hell. The Church has never declared anyone in hell. This information is known to God alone. As for the possibility of a human spirit possessing a person, if such a phenomenon happens, then I beleive that the human spirit cannot be on his own mucking about in people's lives; the human spirit will be escorted by a demon. That is my own speculation based on the theology of the Church and Saints. Bottomline: The Church says nothing official or unofficial about this as far as I am aware.. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

Who is in Hell

Joe

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Question:

I briefly read the book "Begone Satan";the telling of a demonic possession suffered by an American woman in the early 20th century. During the exorcism we learn that her deceased father was damned and is still trying to torment her from hell.

I thought that God never revealed to us the names (or identity) of anyone in hell. However, according to this account, some identities have been revealed.

Am I misunderstanding the text, or are there particular circumstances when the names of those in hell will be revealed?

Again, I know that the devil and his demons lie as well as disguise themselves but it seemed sure to me that specific human identities were given without question. Can you please clarify this for me?

Thank you very much for your time and I have been really enjoying your website; God Bless

Question Answered by Bro. Ignatius Mary, OMSM(r)

Dear Joe:

The case of the possessed woman in Earling, Iowa, only one hour drive where I used to live, and now a four hour drive across Iowa, was the most famous case of exorcism until the case from which the movie, "The Exorcist" was based.

It is true that the exorcist reported that the girl's father was possessing her, along with several demons. It is also true that the exorcist discovered that one of the evil spirits "claimed" to be Judas.

We must remember, however, that the very nature of demons is to lie. Their father, Satan, is the father of all lies. Thus, we must take with a grain of salt these revelations that run counter to light of the Holy Spirit through the Church.

The Church does not declare anyone in hell. We have no idea who is in hell. This is not information that God gives us. In similar fashion, we do not know who is in heaven, except those individuals whom the Church honors and venerates as Saints.

Even such persons as Judas and Hitler could theoretically be in heaven, for all we know. If either of these men were in psychological distress or illness to the point that it impaired their free will, to make a fully culpable decisions, or if either of them repented at the last nanosecond of their life, then they could be heaven bound (after a long stay in Purgatory).

One's eternal destiny depends on the person's state of soul at the moment of death, no matter what he has done throughout his life. Hitler could have repented as the bullet was entering his brain. We do not know. The Bible says that Judas "despaired." That could be a clue that Judas' mental state precluded his culpability for suicide. We do not know.

The Bottomline is that we do not know who is in hell. The Church has never declared anyone in hell. This information is known to God alone.

As for the possibility of a human spirit possessing a person, if such a phenomenon happens, then I beleive that the human spirit cannot be on his own mucking about in people's lives; the human spirit will be escorted by a demon. That is my own speculation based on the theology of the Church and Saints.

Bottomline: The Church says nothing official or unofficial about this as far as I am aware..

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary