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The pope, if he believes that unbelief does not lead to damnation and hell, does not believe what God says in His word—that we are all born
1) unrighteous (Romans 1:18)
2) in sin (sinners) (1 John 5:17)
3) ungodly (Romans 1:18)
4) not able to enter the kingdom of heaven (1 Cor. 6:9)
5) under God’s wrath (Romans 1:18)
6) dead in our trespasses and sins, i.e., spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-10)
7) in need of being born again (born from above) in order to see the kingdom of God (John 3:3), same as the kingdom of heaven

Then the pope is giving “non-believers” a false sense of security in their own righteousness, just like the scribes and Pharisees of Jesus’ time had, whom He dealt with on the same issue.

The Jews, who knew the law, trusted in themselves that they were righteous and viewed others with contempt (Luke 18:9-14). The Gentiles didn’t even have the law and were guided by their own sense of right and wrong, or flesh, as they still do today...many with seared consciences. Yet they too, come under God’s perfect justice according to His Word.

I couldn’t agree more, that the Gospel offers us [BOTH JEW AND GENTILE, Romans 1:16] salvation by faith in Christ, and that Jesus didn’t leave room or offer salvation for those who follow their conscience (or whatever else they follow), yet remain in unbelief.

When Jesus spoke to Nicodemus He told him that unless he was born again he could not see the kingdom of God, speaking of spiritual rebirth, since all men come into the world spiritually dead.

Up until that time, all men who believed in God’s promise of the Deliverer went to Hades, to the part called Abraham’s bosom (Luke 16). No man would ascend into heaven until Jesus Himself had been crucified, buried, risen from the dead, and ascended into heaven. When Jesus descended into Hades, He took the spirits of those OT believers into heaven with Him into heaven, as well as the thief on the cross who repented from his sins and asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom. All the rest who are still in Hades, the ungodly, will remain there until He returns and death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire (gehenna, hell).

So, then “Born again” = to have a new spirit, a new heart, the Holy Spirit, and the law written on our hearts; to have a righteousness that exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees (Matthew 5:20); to have the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 3:22); to become the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:21), to be justified and reckoned as righteousness (Romans 4:5-8), to be set free from the bondage of sin and death (Romans 7:25; 8:2-4); to have entrance into the kingdom of heaven, in the presence of our heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus.