The Last Things

At death the soul leaves the body, but the resurrection of the body comes only at the end of time. What is the soul's existence like in between? Here is what the Church teaches about the 'intermediate state', the controversy that settled it, and why the soul still longs for its body.

Jesus was asked directly whether only a few would be saved. Here is what He answered, the long list of Fathers, saints and Doctors of the Church who held that most people are lost, and why this teaching is a call to repentance, not to despair.

The Church has defined that purgatory exists, but very little about what it is like. Here is what is defined and what is not, the two ways theology explains purgatory, what the 'fire' might be, and how indulgences fit in.

The Catholic teaching on heaven — what it is, what it is not, and why it matters more than anything else you will ever think about.

The ultimate destiny of every human being — seeing God face to face, without any barrier, forever. What the Church teaches about the most extraordinary experience that awaits you.

The Church teaches that hell is real and eternal, yet she has never declared that any particular person is there. So may Catholics hope that everyone will be saved? Here is what is defined, what is not, and the debate that has divided theologians since the 1980s.