POPE Francis has started another fierce debate within the Catholic Church by stating that the concept of a burning hell where people burn eternally cannot be Christian as it goes against the concept of a loving and passionate God. 

Over recent months, Pope Francis has been speaking a lot about how Christianity should be loving and caring, challenging a lot of the orthodox views held by the church establishment. Only last week, he challenged weapons manufacturers who claim they are Christians, saying that their work clashed with their faith and as such they cannot call themselves Christian. 

Recently named Man of The Year by Time Magazine, Pope Francis has sparked off another debate with controversial remarks at the Third Vatican Council that just held. In what was the largest and most important Catholic gathering of priests since the Second Vatican Council in 1962, Pope Francis also challenged the concept of Adam and Eve. 

Pope Francis said: “Through humility, soul searching, and prayerful contemplation we have gained a new understanding of certain dogmas. The church no longer believes in a literal hell where people suffer as this doctrine is incompatible with the infinite love of God. 

"God is not a judge but a friend and a lover of humanity and God seeks not to condemn but only to embrace. Like the fable of Adam and Eve, we see hell as a literary device and hell is merely a metaphor for the isolated soul, which like all souls ultimately will be united in love with God.”
In a shocking speech that is reverberating across the world, Pope Francis declared that all religions are true because they are true in the hearts of all those who believe in them. He added that in the past, the church has been harsh on those it deemed morally wrong or sinful but it can no longer judge people today. 

"Like a loving father, we never condemn our children. Our church is big enough for heterosexuals and homosexuals, for the pro-life and the pro-choice. 

"For conservatives and liberals, even communists are welcome and have joined us. We all love and worship the same God,” Pope Francis added.

Over the last six months, Catholic cardinals, bishops and theologians have been deliberating in the Vatican City, in discussing the future of the church and redefining long-held Catholic doctrines and dogmas. A few cardinals in the Catholic Church are against Pope Francis’ latest declarations that has split opinion within the faith.