Posted on 01/29/2006 5:25:55 AM PST by NYer
It's a stark sentence. Some Catholics even love its shock value, waving the doctrine like a flag in the face of their enemies. Other Catholics flatly refuse to believe it, and claim that this teaching was repudiated by the Second Vatican Council. Both groups are wrong.
Despite what some may think, this dogma is infallible, and all Catholics are required to believe it. This was repeated clearly at Vatican II, which said: "Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation."
At the same time, this dogma was never meant to be a sectarian battle cry, as if only Catholics may go to heaven.
So what is the correct interpretation of this sentence? What does the Catholic Church mean when she proclaims that Outside the Church there is no salvation?
OUTSIDE THE EARTH THERE IS NO LIFE
Saying that the Church is necessary for salvation is like saying that the earth is necessary for human life. Outside the Church there is no salvation, and outside the earth there is no life.
It's true, of course. The earth is our God-given home. If you leave here, you will die.
But if this is so, how do you explain the 445 astronauts who have flown into space and returned safely? If "outside the earth there is no life", how did Neil Armstrong ever walk on the moon?
The answer, of course, is simple: They didn't leave the earth; they just brought it with them. While they slept and walked on the moon, they were eating earth's food and breathing earth's air. Everything they had came from back home.
So when we say "outside the earth there is no life," we are saying that all of the means for survival are found on this planet. And when we say "outside the Church there is no salvation," we mean that all of the means of salvation -- doctrines, sacraments, and so on -- are found here, uncorrupted by error.
Some of these means can exist outside the visible bounds of the Church. For example, Protestants have most of the Bible, along with two of the seven sacraments. Nevertheless, these things are like the food and water on the Space Shuttle: they're life-giving, but they came from a place where they're far richer, more abundant and complete.
WHAT IT ALL MEANS
We may draw several conclusions from this.
First, if a person even suspects that the Church is necessary for salvation, but refuses to act on it before he dies, he will go to hell. As Vatican II stated, "They could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it."
Second, if a person fails to enter or stay in the Church through no fault of his own, he may still be saved. Pope Pius IX said: "By Faith it is to be firmly held that outside the Apostolic Roman Church none can achieve salvation. This is the only ark of salvation. He who does not enter into it will perish in the flood. Nevertheless equally certainly it is to be held that those who suffer from invincible ignorance of the true religion are not for this reason guilty in the eyes of the Lord."
Finally, it's not enough simply to call yourself Catholic. There is nothing magic about registering at a parish. To go to heaven, you have to take advantages of the means offered by the Church. This includes praying often, giving alms to the poor, spreading the Gospel, going to Confession and believing in all of her teachings -- even the hard ones.
Pope John Paul II summed it up best: "People are saved through the Church, they are saved in the Church, but they always are saved by the grace of Christ. . . . This is the authentic meaning of the well-known statement Outside the Church there is no salvation."
Cool. I lived in Mass once about 20 years ago, for about 8 months. I don't remember there being any churches except for Catholic ones, and nobody I knew went to them. Of course, I wasn't exactly hanging with a real spiritual group back then, except for the new-agers.
By the way, the best Chinese restaurant that I ever went to was in Birmingham. Go figure?
It's not a sacrament - it's a practice.
We have only seven sacraments.
Hi Joe,
Good to see and read your posts....in fine form as usual.
Diego
Yes, I know. My original question was, why isn't it?
But anyway, thank you for the condescending attitude, my dear FR colleague.
I consider your posting of this article to be divisive and hateful. Defend yourself, if you can.
It's best to be subtle ~ Protestant to Catholic and Catholic to Protestant. That's how we can get along and not find some resorting to violence. It's worked for a long time.
>Extra ecclesiam - Outside the Church there is no salvation.
True.
18 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven. -Matthew 16:18-19
I would also like to say that this is one of the most interesting threads I've run across in a long time. Catholics, Protestants and Eastern Orthodox contributing to The Greatest Dialogue in History. Thanks to all of you.
Sorry, forgot my netiquette requiring you to be pinged when your name is mentioned.
No they don't if you are going by the 7 sacraments of the Catholic and Orthodox churches. Most Protestant churches only have 2. Baptism and The Lord's Supper.
The validity of the sacrament does not depend on the conduct of the priest. There is a theological term for this but it escapes me. But if the grace of Christ which is imparted through the sacrament depended on the " purity" of the priest what Catholic could ever have assurance of Christ's promises. Indeed since it is Christ Himself who acts through the priest to administer the sacrament we have no reason to fear the priest's lack of purity will block Christ's grace.
I don't know why it should mess with anyone's theology. The Bible tells many stories of dreams giving revealations from God. And since it is the desire of God that all men should come to know Him and it is the desire of our hearts to find Him, it makes sense that our inner most conscience sould be most open to His truth.
I would also argue that the term church of God is a descriptive term and not the same as Church of God a proper name.
Hi, I am a Southern Catholic ( Florida) who takes her faith seriously. Lots of us around here.
Theological labels simply do not matter to me at all; I immediately recognize my brothers and sisters in Christ with as much certainty as if we grew up together.
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