Pope Francis defended his 2015 appointment of Chilean bishop Juan Barros Madrid, accused of covering-up sexual abuse perpetrated by a fellow priest in the 1980s and '90s, calling the charges against the prelate "calumny." Barros resigned on June 11, 2018.

Eugenio Scalfari of La Repubblica claimed that Pope Francis had said that Hell does not exist and that condemned souls just "disappear". The Vatican issued a statement saying that Scalfari's claims were not a quote but a reconstruction, and should not be considered a "faithful transcription" of the Pope's words.