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Universal Salvation and Pope John Paul II - Updated

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JMJ

Reblogged / Updated: I found an mistake in one of the links, which has now been rectified.

 While following the comings and goings in the blogosphere (ie following the blogs that I link - but abstaining from commenting), I came across a couple of articles that I believe require some commentary - but not because of the contents but the references.

I was reading the Remnant's latest online article  and noticed the following reference:
Eternal damnation remains a possibility, but we are not granted, without special divine revelation, the knowledge of whether or which human beings are effectively involved in it.
I found the same reference in another article in reply to the 'radtrad' accusations by various online personalities.


I have read this particular phrase many times, linked with the assertion that Pope John Paul II believed in Universal Salvation.

Today I decided to follow the reference to explore the context. That was when I discovered that the online version of the text did not agree with that quoted above. 

Instead it read:
Damnation remains a real possibility, but it is not granted to us, without special divine revelation, to know which human beings are effectively involved in it. 
Needless to say, I was stunned that the Remnant could have made such an error.  

As I dug further (google was invaluable) I discovered that there are two versions of the text of the 28 July 1999 audience on the Vatican website.  One that is accessed via the main vatican.va website by navigating to the audiences of Bl. Pope John Paul II.The other which appears in some searches with the correct keywords.  

It is the latter version that agrees with the quotations provided by the 'radtrads' of the Remnant, SSPX etc.

Version 1


Eternal damnation remains a real possibility, but we are not granted, without special divine revelation, the knowledge of whether or which human beings are effectively involved in it.
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_28071999_en.html

La dannazione rimane una reale possibilità, ma non ci è dato di conoscere, senza speciale rivelazione divina, se e quali esseri umani vi siano effettivamente coinvolti.
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_28071999_it.htm

Version 2


Damnation remains a real possibility, but it is not granted to us, without special divine revelation, to know which human beings are effectively involved in it.
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_28071999_en.html

La dannazione rimane una reale possibilità, ma non ci è dato di conoscere, senza speciale rivelazione divina, quali esseri umani vi siano effettivamente coinvolti.
http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/audiences/1999/documents/hf_jp-ii_aud_28071999_it.html

When I noticed the difference, I was reminded that history is written by the victor.  

I am confident that the conspiracy minded will launch into orbit over this 'discovery' drawing conclusions that are not supported by the evidence.

What we do know is that there is a difference between the two translations.

The question that needs to be answered is whether or not it is merely a correction to bring the words into line with what Pope John Paul II actually said, or is it an attempt to scrub something from his record.

There is no point in arguing the issue. All that is required is to produce a recording of the audience, which I assume was given in Italian, and verify the actual words.

Perhaps someone will be able to do such a service in the near future.

Wishing you a Holy and Happy Lent!

Tradical
P^3
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