Where do you go when you die non-Catholic?

Answer 1

A:The Catholic view is that anyone can go to heaven if they die perfect, believing in Jesus and repenting of their sins. On this view, non-Catholics have a much harder time of it, as they are without the sacraments, particularly the sacrament of penance, wherein their sins are forgiven, and the sacrament of the Eucharist, wherein Our Blessed Lord gives them the grace and strength through His Own Body, to make our way through this life.

The Catholic view would seem to rue out any possibility of non-Christians, especially atheists and agnostics of entering heaven. However, Cardinal Pell, one of the most senior figures in the Catholic Church, recently expressed the view that even atheists will go to heaven if they have led good lives. Since atheists neither believe in Jesus nor seek forgiveness of their sins, this is a major change of direction if formally adopted by the Catholic Church. Of course, atheists have no expectation of going to either heaven or hell, as they believe they do not exist and therefore no one can ever go to heaven or hell.