[blue-duncan]

2 Macc. 12:43-45 flies in the face of Roman Catholic doctrine. Judas Maccabeas is praying for soldiers who were killed because they were idol worshipers. Idolatry was a capital crime in Israel and there was no salvation for one caught worshiping idols. It is a mortal sin in Roman Catholicism. How then can the soldiers be in purgatory which is the place for “believers” to be purified, and how cans any prayer or “good” works save them?

Some Catholics obfuscate. They get away with it because they know most Catholics are simply too lazy or stupid to actually crack open a book (even the Bible!) and look up the truth.

[CTrent1564]

blue-duncan:

Yes, they wore idols around there neck, but in the end they still fought with God’s people and while yes, they had sinned, in the end they did in fact give their lives for God’s cause as they followed Judas Maccabees [the General] to drive out the various groups who had conquered Jerusalem and desecrated the Temple, etc, which of course, is rededicated and is celebrated as the Feast of Dedication that Christ himself celebrated (cf John 10: 22).

[vladimir998]

The sin committed seems to be more one of superstition rather than idol worship. They were not worshipping an idol. They were superstitiously wearing a pagan amulet.

[Petrosius]

It is not our place to presume the salvation or damnation of any soul; that belongs to God alone. Even in the face of outward notorious sin we can have the hope of final repentance before death. It is thus a pious act to pray for the souls of all who have died even if they be known sinners.