[armydoc]

That's because there is only one Church. All Christians are Catholic, whether they accept that fact or not. Those Christians who are members of schismatic sects (denominations, whatever) are still part of the Body of Christ; they are, sadly, its separated members.

But non-Catholic Christians cannot have eternal life, having not eaten the Body and drank the Blood of Jesus, correct?

[B-Chan]

non-Catholic Christians cannot have eternal life, having not eaten the Body and drank the Blood of Jesus, correct

Incorrect. Our Lord can save whomever He wants by whatever means He wants. We here on Earth have no way of knowing who is and is not going to Heaven after death. There are probably going to be a lot of people in Heaven who through no fault of their own have never received Communion at a mass of the Catholic Church. (We know for certain of four: Moses, Elijah, the Repentant Thief aka St. Dismas, and the patriarch Enoch.) Likewise, there are probably going to be quite a few regular mass attendees and regular churchgoers who really never loved Jesus at all and who end up in the Hot Place. May God have mercy on us all!

The point of what we are told about salvation is that all who ARE saved are saved through the Blood of Christ. How exactly each individual person is saved through the Blood of Christ is not our affair; "Strive to Enter". We Christians are not to waste time judging who is and is not saved; nor are we to receive Communion solely out of the fear of Hell. Instead, we are to spread the Gospel to all men and to receive the Sacraments out of love for the Lord. Those who deign to judge the eternal destiny of their fellowmen will find themselves getting judged on the Last Day; those who receive Communion purely on a "fire insurance" basis are probably doing it for the wrong reasons.

[technochick99]

But non-Catholic Christians cannot have eternal life,

Our catechism, which is really the final word, says that they probably can (as best as we can determine God's decisions). If you believe the above, then I invite you to investigate what we really believe.

" There are only a handful of Americans who hate the Catholic Church, though there are millions who hate what they THINK the Church is." Archbishop Fulton Sheen

[technochick99]

Sorry - that quote was not 100% accurate:

"There are not more than 100 people in the world who truly hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they perceive to be the Catholic Church." Archbishop Fulton Sheen

[Mrs. Don-o]

Although Jesus Himself warned very seriously about hell being a hot possibility for any of us (Catholics or non-Catholics), the axiom of Catholic theology is that we cannot say for sure who is damned. That's why the Church canonizes (some) saints whom special divine favor revealed to be in heaven, but the Church never "demonizes" sinners. Even Judas, whom Scripture describes as being "lost," is not dogmatically proclaimed as being in hell.

Here's what the Carechism says:

1058 The Church prays that no one should be lost: "Lord, let me never be parted from you." If it is true that no one can save himself, it is also true that God "desires all men to be saved" (1 Tim 2:4), and that for him "all things are possible" (Mt 19:26).

1281 Those who die for the faith, those who are catechumens, and all those who, without knowing of the Church but acting under the inspiration of grace, seek God sincerely and strive to fulfill his will, can be saved even if they have not been baptized (cf. LG 16).

2005 Since it belongs to the supernatural order, grace escapes our experience and cannot be known except by faith. We cannot therefore rely on our feelings or our works to conclude that we are justified and saved. However, according to the Lord's words "Thus you will know them by their fruits"- reflection on God's blessings in our life and in the lives of the saints offers us a guarantee that grace is at work in us and spurs us on to an ever greater faith and an attitude of trustful poverty.

A pleasing illustration of this attitude is found in the reply of St. Joan of Arc to a question posed as a trap by her ecclesiastical judges: "Asked if she knew that she was in God's grace, she replied: 'If I am not, may it please God to put me in it; if I am, may it please God to keep me there.'"

Assuming that you have a sincere interest in this question, the catechism citations can be read in context here:

http://ccc.scborromeo.org.master.com/texis/master/search/?sufs=0&q=can+be+saved&s=SS