Deidre,
If pope Francis said that there is no Hell, it seems, according to the Bible, he is correct. The term Hell is a corruption of the Greek word Hades. Hades is the same as the Hebrew word Sheol, as can be seen by comparing Psalm 16:10 and Acts 2:27,31. Both of these words actually mean the common grave of mankind. It seems that there was no thought of Sheol or Hades being a place of torment, exceptthe idea of being cut off from life and God. Notice that Job, Who was in great pain because of boils from head to foot, prayed to God to let him go to Sheol, to get out of the pain, Job 14:13. Then verses 14,15, tell about God remembering him and bringing him back to life.
Also, what the Bible says about what death actually is, seems to make it impossible for a person to experience any pain, or anything else, for that matter, Ecclesiastes 9:5,6,10, Psalms 6:5, 115:17, 146:1-4.
If you look up the terms Sheol, Hell, and Hades in a concordance, or a Bible dictionary, you will find that the changes from the Greek word Hades was made by some of the religious leaders, who then put the idea of punishment, or torture, so as to frighten people, to make them listen to their teachings.
The idea of a Hell came from the term Gehenna, which Jesus used several times, to try to shock the people into listening to him.
Gehenna was the valley on the West side of Jerusalem. A Fire was kept burning there, and people threw garbage, and trash, over that Western wall to get rid of it. So this Gehenna became a symbol for everlasting death, distinguished from the common grave of mankind, from which people will be resurrected, John 5:28,29, Matthew 5:21,22. Jesus was trying to show to his listeners that they must listen or they would go to Gehenna, another name for, The Lake of Fire and Sulfur, and not to the place they could be resurrected from, Mark 9:43-48, Matthew 23:29-33, Revelation 20:13-15, Notice that verses 13,14 say that death and Hades will be thrown into The Lake of Fire and Sulfur, showing the Lake of Fire is a symbol of being gone forever, for everything thrown into it, Revelation 21:8.