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To: xzins

No. First of all, only those who "consciously" reject the pope and his authority, after completely understanding the correctness of the catholic position, would find themselves in a predicament, just as anyone else would. But the Orthodox have convinced themselves that the papal authority is different than what the Catholic Church declares. People in this circumstance, especially after nearly 1000 years of separation, we could not hold to culpability in this area. They may "knowingly" reject papal authority, but they do so because they disagree with it, or better, what they think it is, not because they are simply being willful or contrary. Protestants "knowingly" disagree with Catholicism on this issue and many more, but, they too, "knowingly" disagree in the sense that they think they understand the issues as presented from a Catholic POV, and disagree with them. They are in the same situation. Good-faith disagreement is different from willful rejection.

Aside from that, the Orthodox are in a much better position than Protestants. All of their Sacraments are just as legitimate as ours. True forgiveness is available to them via the confession of sins, thus they do not have to deal with the seemingly problematic question of how salvation may be attained even after post-baptismal sins have been committed. Essentially, their faith is the same as a Catholic's; nuances of interpretation exist, and sometimes the same conclusion may be reached by different avenues, but Catholicism sees Orthodoxy merely as being in a state of schism, not heresy. They most certainly are not "all lost."


380 posted on 12/02/2005 12:50:05 PM PST by magisterium
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To: magisterium
They are in the same situation. Good-faith disagreement is different from willful rejection.

My 1952 Catechism pretty much says the same thing. But, practically what does it mean to willfully reject? Near as I can figure, it is a person who knows or suspects something to be true, but rejects it nonetheless. But, who would do that even with a simple truth, let alone one that salvation may depend upon? I've never fully understood how we can know who isn't saved in the aggregate, if we can't know who is saved in the particular or singular.

385 posted on 12/02/2005 1:22:23 PM PST by AlbionGirl
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