One of the main issues is that people have lost reverance and fear for Almighty God.  They don't respect Him and think they should be able to just do whatever they want when God set rules and groundwork that we must follow to not only have a better life but also to avoid Eternal Hell.  So right away there's a pride involved, when the Almighty God who created our world and everything in it and gave us life has dominion over us and people don't want to accept that.  They look at his rules as too hard and thus come to the conclusion that "He didn't really mean it" or they want to find a belief system that they like and confirms them in their sins,   

From my observations most people reject God and His Religion based on sins of the 6th and 9th that they want to love more than the Almighty Creator.  Or they're emoting and making an idol out of friends and family that they consider more important than Almighty God and reject EENS to make themselves feel better or to try to get everyone and their mom into Heaven because it makes God sound "nicer" when that's just not what happens.  They're always implying "what can God do for me?" instead of what they can do for Almighty God, you know The Creator that could snuff you out with just a thought and who is infinite power and majesty?  He is to be respected and feared not rejected and jeered. 

Most of the "why would God create so many people just so they end up in Hell?" arguments are from people emoting and not using discernment to take things to their logical conclusion.  If people constantly reject God and His rules and ways that He set for us to follow then it follows logically that they would reject Him in Eternity and He gives them a more suitable place that they freely choose to go to due to their constant rejection of Him. 

Sometime people will follow with "what about all those poor babies?!  They didn't have choice?!  Your God is so mean!, etc." Actually they did, we just couldn't see it, but God does, as He is the master of time and space and knows everything everyone would have done no matter how long they lived and He is not subject to time and it's in His Mercy that He allows this to happen although in our finite and limited intelligence we cannot comprehend all the specifics which is where Faith also comes in.   

I've had it shown to me that Vatican II began this process of essentially eliminating references to Hell, though not all references. I have been to many NO "masses" and Hell has not been entirely done away with in the liturgy. But Hell is rarely discussed (if ever?) by the priest in the homily.

Then I run across Mormons who apparently (am I wrong here?) do not believe in an eternal Hell, despite claiming to beliee the Bible where Hell is mentioned many times, often with the word "eternal" attached.. Mt 25:31 and etc.

So how do you deal with people you are talking to about "religion" when they say such things (as I have often heard on internet forums) as "What kind of a God tortures His creatures forever just for being a sinner?"

(I haven't heard that EXACT comment but I'm paraphrasing what I have heard...)

You know.. the old "A good father wouldn't forever punish his child" argument. (That IS verbatim)

I look around and see how, in my own life and in the lives of others, it seems that God does not relieve people of their torments, or at least not quickly (by a long shot). And so.. this is a valid argument, or so it seems.

I do believe exactly as the True Catholic Church has always taught on Hell, so no need to evangelize me or anything.. I do not agree w/ the novus ordo folks.. It's just that I don't know exactly what to tell people, other than God is so far beyond us, we cannot understand Him 100% (and things like that).

Maybe you meant it another way but that's the way it came across.  If you are implying Purgatory (not permanent) then many will have to go there first before they're deemed pure enough for Heaven..........