Does the Roman Catholic Church condemn specifically named persons to hell?
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I am a member of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod in the USA. I ask the following question not to be quarrelsome or to demean the Roman Catholic Church. I only wish to obtain an authoritative answer to the question.
This question arose [elsewhere](https://christianity.stackexchange.com/questions/113517/what-is-the-current-teaching-of-the-roman-catholic-church-in-regards-to-excommun) in the comments section whether the Roman Catholic Church specifically condemns any particular person to hell. Ken Graham wrote: "For the record, the Church has never declared a person damned, that includes Judas Iscariot." And yet in the Papal Bull [Exsurge Domine](https://www.papalencyclicals.net/leo10/l10exdom.htm) issued by Pope Leo X in 1520 it states:
"Moreover, because the preceding errors and many others are contained in the books or writings of Martin Luther....
"Therefore we can, without any further citation or delay, proceed against him to his condemnation and damnation as one whose faith is notoriously suspect and in fact a true heretic with the full severity of each and all of the above penalties and censures."
This suggests that Pope Leo X condemned Luther to hell. So, if current practice is not to condemn a particular person to hell, when did that practice change and was there an official edict issued that established the new policy?
Asked by dnessett
(81 rep)
Apr 16, 2026, 06:01 PM