VATICAN CITY (LifeSiteNews) — Pope Leo XIV has taught, in accord with the Church’s doctrine, that Judas Iscariot was damned for his betrayal of Our Lord.
During his August 13 weekly audience, while giving a catechesis on Judas’ betrayal of Christ and reflecting on Our Lord’s words, ‘better if he had never been born,’ the pontiff noted that Judas chose to exclude himself from salvation through his betrayal. Pope Leo’s brief statement is in stark contrast to that of his immediate predecessor, Pope Francis, who said that he did not know if Judas went to hell.
“When [God] sees evil, he does not avenge it, but grieves. And that ‘better if he had never been born’ is not a condemnation imposed a priori, but a truth that any of us can recognize: if we deny the love that has generated us, if by betraying we become unfaithful to ourselves, then we truly lose the meaning of our coming into the world, and we exclude ourselves from salvation,” Pope Leo said.
When a pope simply reaffirms some hard truth which the Church has always known that Christ Himself clearly taught, instead of presuming to be more merciful than Him https://t.co/aq2eHPr1x8 pic.twitter.com/eV2PMw3s7M
— Edward Feser (@FeserEdward) August 15, 2025
Pope Leo XIV’s commentary simply affirms the long-held teaching of the Church regarding the fate of Judas Iscariot. Pope St. Leo the Great, St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Catherine of Siena, the Catechism of the Council of Trent, and the Church’s liturgy each agreed that Judas was damned for his sin.
READ: Judas’ betrayal warns us to never supplant our love of God with material goods
Cardinal Avery Dulles once explained the fate of Judas in an article titled ‘The Population of Hell’ :
The New Testament does not tell us in so many words that any particular person is in hell. But several statements about Judas can hardly be interpreted otherwise. Jesus says that he has kept all those whom the Father has given him except the son of perdition (John 17:12). At another point, Jesus calls Judas a devil (John 6:70), and yet again says of him: “It would be better for that man if he had never been born” (Matthew 26:24; Mark 14:21).
“If Judas were among the saved, these statements could hardly be true. Many saints and doctors of the Church, including St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, have taken it as a revealed truth that Judas was reprobated. Some of the Fathers place the name of Nero in the same select company, but they do not give long lists of names, as Dante would do,” he added.
READ: Vatican’s official newspaper again questions Catholic teaching on Judas in Hell
In 2020, Pope Francis notably questioned the Church’s teaching on Judas’ fate during a homily for Spy Wednesday, the Wednesday of Holy Week. While acknowledging the gravity of the apostle’s betrayal, Francis stated that he didn’t know whether Judas had received eternal salvation or been condemned to hell for his unrepentant betrayal because Our Lord had called him a “friend”:
What is the mystery of Judas? I don’t know … Don Primo Mazzolari explains it better than me … Yes, it consoles me to contemplate that capital [of the column] of Vezelay: How did Judas end up? I don’t know.
Jesus threatens forcefully here; he threatens forcefully: “Woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”
But does that mean that Judas is in Hell? I don’t know. I look at that capital. And I listen to the word of Jesus: ‘Friend.’”
