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To: Legatus
From the trusty Catholic Encyclopedia: "it may confidently be said that, as the result of centuries of speculation on the subject, we ought to believe that these souls enjoy and will eternally enjoy a state of perfect natural happiness; and this is what Catholics usually mean when they speak of the limbus infantium, the "children's limbo."

Didn't someone quote this source earlier in this thread? I remember it also said something to the effect that they would enjoy a state of perfect happiness BUT that it was not the full "beatific" experience of heaven in the presence of God Almighty. Does it really say that?

5,719 posted on 09/16/2010 8:06:58 PM PDT by boatbums (God is ready to assume full responsibility for the life wholly yielded to him.)
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To: boatbums
Didn't someone quote this source earlier in this thread?

I sure don't know, I can't keep track of half the stuff that makes up these frankenthreads.

The belief is that unbaptized infants will enjoy perfect "natural" happiness. By definition that means it will not be the beatific vision. You'll notice the choice of words though, "speculation" and "usually". The complete lack of "this is the way it's gonna be doubters may pick up their stakes on the way to the place of execution" type language shows that "infant limbo" is pretty far down the ladder in the hierarchy of truth. It certainly wasn't doctrine and I don't think it qualified as common teaching. Anytime it was discussed in an educational environment there should have been lots of "but we don't know" and "probably/maybe" qualifications.

So limbo of the infants has been downgraded from "maybe" to "probably not". It's all meh to me.

5,723 posted on 09/16/2010 8:15:37 PM PDT by Legatus (Keep calm and carry on)
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