Catholics do not believe death is the end, the bishop said. “We believe we have one earthly life. It is unique and is directed towards eternity.”
He writes that “Death was never in God’s original plan,” saying it entered the world through “original sin.” Yet, he said the hope that comes through Christ’s Paschal Mystery: “by dying for us on the Cross, Jesus, the Son of God, opened Heaven for us.”
On what happens after death, Bishop Leahy reiterates Catholic teaching on the separation of body and soul and the final resurrection: “We believe in the resurrection of the body.” He said that while believers face a “particular judgment” at death, the “general judgment” will occur “on the Last Day,” when “the full story of the world will be clarified.”
Speaking about purgatory and hell, he said that purgatory “is a condition or state of being” for those who “still need purification.” While hell, the bishop writes, “is the condition of everlasting separation from God, the absolute absence of love.” He said that “the Church has never declared any specific person to be in hell.”
He said, “Love does not die in death.” Prayer for the dead, he says, continues the bonds of affection, and “by praying for them, we help them on their journey toward God if they are in purgatory.” Describing grief as a “whole person experience,” he encourages the bereaved to remain patient and prayerful, trusting that “God can comfort the broken-hearted.”