Pope to "abolish" Limbo?

One of the stranger moments in Dante's "Divine Comedy" is his piece on Limbo - the highest circle of Hell and the destination of the righteous pagans. The idea is that before Christ there was no way to get into Heaven, but that a man who lived a good life without God (like Socrates) would still not be in for any big punishment for dying in their sins. This has long been part of Catholic theology taught to the masses, though there was never any real evidence for it in scripture.

Well, apparently the new Pope is ready to drop Limbo altogether. The Times suggests it is a "marketing decision" to persuade uncommitted pagans in Africa to go with Christianity, versus Islam which promises infants and others before the age of consent go straight to heaven. Somehow, I have to as much wonder if it is more that the current Pope is one of the most educated theologians of the last few centuries, who might not want to retain ideas with no scriptural basis.