Limbo to be put out of its misery | World Wide Weird | The Australian
It looks like the Catholic idea of Limbo is to be given the boot. The reasons given in this article are interesting:
The evidence suggests Benedict XVI never believed in limbo anyway. But in the evangelisation zones of Africa and Asia, the Pope - an authority on all things Islamic - is aware Muslims believe the souls of stillborn babies go straight to heaven.
Looking to spread the faith in countries with high infant mortality, now is a good time to make it clear the stillborn babies of Christian mothers go to heaven, too...
Christians hold that heaven is a state of union with God, while hell is separation from God. But they have long wrestled with the fate of unbaptised children, and what happened to those who lived a "good life" but died before the time of Jesus.
Next of the list of possible revisions might be the idea of Purgatory. Personally, I've always favoured the idea that CS Lewis liked, (that Purgatory was just really a part of Hell, with all souls being able to end their self imposed time there, at least until the return of Christ to Earth when the gates would be shut forever.) It's a kinder, gentler Hell. Sort of.
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