Can you point to Scripture that states that hell is the total absence of God?
Do Catholics not believe that God is omnipresent?
If there’s somewhere where God is not, then He is not omnipresent.
You're a Catholic, how do you interpret this enigma???
“hell is the total absence of God”
There is no such thing as the “total absence of God.” Hell is created by the illusion or belief that you are separate from God and that the “Light of His Love” shining upon you will kill your soul.
This is why in Matthew 13 Tares in the Wheat parable, the weeds were planted “while we were asleep.” The perception that we are separate from God is being asleep.