Since Dante and St. John Damascene say Emperor Trajan was freed from hell, can souls in hell be saved?
Robert Sungenis answers that it is impossible: the Church has never taught and never will teach that a soul in hell can go to heaven, and the idea is in neither Scripture nor tradition. He allows that Dante is one source for the Trajan story but says he would be very surprised to find anything of the sort in St. John Damascene.
A viewer notes that Dante and St. John Damascene claim Emperor Trajan ascended to heaven from hell through Pope St. Gregory's prayers, and asks whether this means souls in hell can be saved.
Answer
That is impossible. The church has never taught, and never will teach, that a soul from hell can go to heaven; it is not in Scripture and not in tradition. So wherever this story is coming from, and Dante is one source, I can see why with him, but as for St. John Damascene, I would be very surprised to find anything of the sort in his writings. You can check that out if you want, but a soul going from hell to heaven would be an impossible thing.