"We know that our commander ascended to the heights and is face-to-face with Christ," Maduro said at a Caracas book fair. "Something influenced the choice of a South American pope, someone new arrived at Christ's side and said to him: 'Well, it seems to us South America's time has come.'" Funny how just last week we heard that Chavez died in the bosom of the Catholic Church, being given a funeral mass presided over by a cardinal, and this week Catholics are saying that he's in Hell, unforgiven.
I wouldn't say he was in hell. It has never been revealed that anyone, specifically by name, was in hell. Not even Hitler. This is why the Church canonizes, but does not demonize.
As for Chavez, I think we should all hope --- all of us --- that he repented of His sins and died in the abundant mercy of God.
Oremus.
Funny how just last week we heard that Chavez died in the bosom of the Catholic Church, being given a funeral mass presided over by a cardinal, and this week Catholics are saying that he's in Hell, unforgiven. Well, one major RC apologist believes that even atheists can be saved: “It’s also possible for a person to die in God’s friendship even if the person didn’t consciously know God during life. Someone could, through no fault of their own, be unaware of God or not have ever been given sufficient evidence that they concluded God is true, through no fault of their own, and if they otherwise cooperated with his grace, then God won’t hold their ignorance of him against them. So, it’s possible for an atheist to be saved, it’s still through Jesus Christ and through God’s grace, but they can still die not knowing God and still be on their way to heaven as long as they otherwise cooperated with his grace.” http://beggarsallreformation.blogspot.com/2013/03/jimmy-akin-on-why-atheist-may-be-in.html
Boniface 8, among others, would disagree than even Prots can be saved, while Akins seems to presume that cooperating with God's grace does not lead to an actual revelation of Christ by which one may trust in Him to save them, as a damned + destitute sinner. Which Acts 10 is one example of.
For it is certain that they cannot be saved by their works, and if souls hypothetically could be saved without even hearing the gospel, they would at least have to forsake their vain gods and faith and trust in the mercy of God in Christ who has somehow been revealed to them.