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A:In addition to accepting the states of heaven and hell, Catholicism envisages a third state before being admitted to heaven, although most Protestant denominations reject the concept. According to Catholic doctrine, some souls are not sufficiently free from the temporal effects of sin and its consequences to enter the state of heaven immediately, nor are they so sinful as to be destined for hell. This third state is purgatory.

In early times, heaven was thought of as above the earth, while hell was down below. Purgatory was an ill-defined place, since it could neither be above nor below the earth. With modern scientific knowledge, it is no longer possible to think of these as physical places, that we could discover scientifically, so they are now defined as spiritual states. Pope John Paul II stated in 1999 that the term Purgatory does not indicate a place, but "a condition of existence".

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14y ago

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