Pope Francis was asked how he imagines hell if he really believes God forgives everyone who asks.
“It’s difficult to imagine it,” the pope said. “What I would say is not a dogma of faith, but my personal thought: I like to think hell is empty; I hope it is.”
One interpretation of the Empty Hell Theory is that because (or if) humans do not have free will then they cannot be held responsible for their behaviours nor should they be judged into hell by a merciful God. So hell must remain empty.
This interpretation would be supported by current neuroscience which cannot find any neurons in the human brain that can support the claim of ‘free will’ (Sapolsky).
There may be other interpretations.
WBG: Do a WBG on this proposition:
Pope Francis wonders, “What I would say is not a dogma of faith, but my personal thought: I like to think hell is empty; I hope it is.”
Pope Luciani School of Catholic Science Thinking 