Pope Leo affirms Church teaching that Judas excluded himself from salvation– www.lifesitenews.com Pope Leo XIV has taught, in accord with the Church’s doctrine, that Judas Iscariot was damned for his betrayal of Our Lord. During his August 13 weekly audience, while giving a catechesis on Judas’ betrayal of Christ and reflecting on Our Lord’s words, ‘better if he had never been born,’ the pontiff noted that Judas chose to exclude himself from salvation through his betrayal. Pope Leo’s brief statement is in stark contrast to that of his immediate predecessor, Pope Francis, who said that he did not know if Judas went to hell. “When [God] sees evil, he does not avenge it, but grieves. And that ‘better if he had never been born’ is not a condemnation imposed a priori, but a truth that any of us can recognize: if we deny the love that has generated us, if by betraying we become unfaithful to ourselves, then we truly lose the meaning of our coming into the world, and we exclude ourselves from salvation,” Pope Leo said.
