During his General Audience on Wednesday, 13 August 2025, Pope Leo XIV reaffirmed the traditional understanding that Judas Iscariot, through his betrayal and lack of final repentance, excluded himself from salvation. His reflections, delivered as part of the Jubilee Year catechesis on “Jesus Christ Our Hope,” highlighted the gravity of Judas’s actions while offering a sobering reminder of the human capacity for self-exclusion from divine mercy.
In his address, the Holy Father turned to the Passover scene recounted in Mark 14, emphasising that Christ’s words, though spoken without raised voice or accusatory gesture, were deeply penetrating. He explained that Jesus spoke not to condemn but to call to truth, in the hope of awakening conversion in listening hearts.
