Victor R. Claveau, MJ
“I follow no leader but Christ and join in communion with none but your blessedness, that is, with the Chair of Peter. St. Jerome: Letter of Jerome to Pope Damasus. Inter AD 374/379.
There is a grave obligation to seek out Divine Revelation, when there is a serious probability of its existence. Both the law of God and the end of man establish this necessity.
There are several documents issued by the Church’s Magisterium which deal with the revealed doctrine that there is no salvation outside the Church. The latest editions of Denzinger’s Enchiridion Symbolorum carry more than twenty citations directly pertaining to this dogma, taken from different official documents issued by the Holy See and by Ecumenical Councils. If a person wants to learn exactly how the Catholic Church understands and teaches this revealed truth, one can best obtain this information by reading and studying these documents.
However, it is not necessary to study each of these documents individually. There are eight documents that should suffice for a thorough understanding, which, taken together, reveal the Catholic teaching on the subject.
The eight documents are:
- A profession of the Catholic faith issued by the Fourth Lateran Council, Session 12, in 1215.
- The Bull Unam sanctum, published by Pope Boniface VIII, November 18, 1302.
- The decree for the Jacobites, the Bull Cantate Domino, published by Pope Eugenius IV, February 4, 1442, and included in the Acta of the Council of Florence, 1442.
- The allocution Singulari Quadam, delivered on December 9, 1854, the day after the solemn definition of Our Lady’s Immaculate Conception, by Pope Pius IX, to the Cardinals, Archbishops, and bishops gathered in Rome for that definition.
- The Encyclical Quanto Conficiamur Moerore, addressed by Pope Pius IX to the Bishops of Italy on August 10, 1863.
- The encyclical letter Mystici Corporis Christi,published on June 29, 1943 by Pope Pius XII.
- The letter Suprema Haec Sacra, sent by the Holy Office, at the command of Pope Pius XII, to His Excellency the Most Reverend Archbishop of Boston, on August 8, 1949.
- The encyclical letter Huamani Generis, issued by Pope Pius XII on August 12, 1950.
As authoritative statements of the Church, each of these documents must be accepted with true internal consent by all Catholics.
Since the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 defined that “The universal Church of the faithful is one, outside of which no one is saved,” there have been two solemn definitions of the same doctrine, by Pope Boniface VIII in 1302 and at the Council of Florence in 1442.
According to God’s universal salvific will, we believe that somehow, he gives all persons the opportunity of salvation. There is such a thing as baptism of desire, as defined by the Council of Trent; and it was this Tridentine teaching that supported all subsequent recognition that actual membership in the Church is not required to reach one’s eternal destiny.
“In these words, a description of the justification of a sinner is given as being a translation from that state in which man is born a child of the first Adam to the state of grace and of the “adoption of the sons” [Rom. 8:15] of God through the second Adam, Jesus Christ, our Savior; and this translation after the promulgation of the Gospel cannot be effected except through the laver of regeneration [can. 5 de bapt.], or a desire for it, as it is written: “Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” [John 3:5] (Council of Trent, Session VI, Decree on Justification, (Jan. 13, 1547).
The Catechism of the Council of Trent recommends that the baptism of adults be delayed to ensure that those who approach the Sacrament are properly disposed.
“On Adults, however the Church has not been accustomed to confer the Sacrament of Baptism at once, but has ordained that it be deferred for a certain time. The delay is not attended with the same danger as in the case of infants, which we have already mentioned; should any unforeseen accident make it impossible for adults to be washed in the salutary waters, their intention and determination to receive Baptism and their repentance for past sins, will avail them to grace and righteousness” (Marian Publications, 1972, p. 179).
In 1949 the Holy See taught, and backed its teaching with an excommunication of those who obstinately reject it, that the saving desire can be merely implicit, but that it must be informed by perfect charity and have with it supernatural faith, “If anyone shall say that the sacraments of the New Law are not necessary for salvation, but are superfluous, and that, although all are not necessary for every individual, without them or without the desire of them through faith alone men obtain from God the grace of justification; let him be anathema” (Sources of Catholic Dogma, 847 Can. 4.).
Vatican II teaches that God welcomes all who fear him and does what is right (see Lumen Gentium 9). To be saved one must be converted to the Lord Jesus, for there is no salvation except in him. Nevertheless, “God in ways known to himself can lead those inculpably ignorant of the gospel to that faith without which it is impossible to please him” (Ad gentes 7). No one can be saved outside the Church, but obviously some can be saved who are ignorant of the gospel and so who would not consider themselves Christians or be counted as such (see Lumen gentium 16).
‘The universal salvific power of Jesus corresponds to the all-embracing salvific will of the Father, who “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 2.4-5). God wants everyone to know Jesus, but his redemptive love comes to some even before they enjoy this great blessing, if they do what is right as God enlightens them to know what is right.
We must say with the Church that, “There are people who are in ignorance of Christ’s Gospel and of his Church through no fault of their own, and who search for God in sincerity of heart; they attempt to put into practice the recognition of his will that they have reached through the dictate of conscience. They do so under the influence of divine grace; they can attain everlasting salvation” (Pius XII, encyclical Mediator Dei, II, 80, August 12, 1950). By implication, children who die before the age of reason can also be saved.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church summarizes this topic as follows:
“The Church has always held the firm conviction that those who suffer death for the sake of the faith without having received Baptism are baptized by their death for and with Christ. This Baptism of blood, like the desire for Baptism, brings about the fruits of Baptism without being a sacrament.”[1]
“For catechumens who die before their Baptism, their explicit desire to receive it, together with repentance for their sins, and charity, assures them the salvation that they were not able to receive through the sacrament.”[2]
“Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery. Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church, but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it, can be saved. It may be supposed that such persons would have desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity.”[3]
The 2000 declaration Dominus Iesus of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith states that “it must be firmly believed that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and baptism (cf. Mk 16:16; Jn 3:5), and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through baptism as through a door.” It then adds that “for those who are not formally and visibly members of the Church, salvation in Christ is accessible by virtue of a grace which, while having a mysterious relationship to the Church, does not make them formally part of the Church, but enlightens them in a way which is accommodated to their spiritual and material situation. This grace comes from Christ; it is the result of his sacrifice and is communicated by the Holy Spirit; it has a relationship with the Church, which, according to the plan of the Father, has her origin in the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
Clarifying, “There is No Salvation Outside the Church”
“Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Second Vatican Council teaches that the Church is necessary for salvation. Christ is the mediator and way of salvation. He is present to us in His body, which is the Church. He explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and baptism. By doing so, He affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church, which people enter through baptism. Because of that, there are people who 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 remain in it.”[4]
The Catholic Church has also, always and everywhere, taught that baptism is necessary for salvation. Still, that necessity is not strictly absolute, as we learn from the Council of Trent, which declared that “since the promulgation of the Gospel there is no translation from the state of Old Adam to the state of grace… without the laver of regeneration, or the desire of it…”[5] So Baptism of water is not, the only Baptism.
This brings us once again to the important point of Baptism of desire. In case of necessity this baptism will suffice for salvation. (But only Baptism by water can confer the baptismal character and render a person capable of receiving the other sacraments.) Saints Augustine and Ambrose taught that perfect love of God and sorrow for sin surely includes the desire to fulfill Christ’s every command. This is Baptism of desire. Baptism of blood or martyrdom is also equivalent to Baptism of water.
The Catholic Church is the one society for man’s salvation instituted by Jesus and therefore a person must be affiliated with the Church in some way to be saved. That is what Saint Cyprian meant when he said: “No one can have God for his Father, who has not the Church for his Mother.”[6] But many souls, apparently outside the Church are really within her fold in the sight of God. While not united with her in fact, they are in communion with her in desire.
The Catholic Churches teaches that God gives sufficient grace to all men to be saved; that unbelief is never sinful unless it is voluntary. Intelligent people often recognize the boundless charity of the Catholic Church, which condemns only those who freely and deliberately sin against God.
The Church has always taught that no person is lost except through his own fault; that God holds no one responsible for an obligation that he cannot fulfill because of his invincible ignorance. How could God condemn a person for not entering a Church of whose very existence he is unaware? Pope Pius IX stated the Catholic Doctrine clearly when he said, “Far be it from us to dare set bounds to the boundless mercy of God; far be it from us to desire to search the depths of the hidden counsels and judgments of God, an abyss that the mind of man cannot explore… We must hold as of faith, that out of the Apostolic Roman Church there is no salvation; that she is the only ark of safety, and whosoever is not in her perishes in the deluge; we must also, on the other hand, recognize with certainty that those who are in invincible ignorance of the true religion are not guilty for this in the eye of the Lord. And who will presume to mark out the limits of this ignorance, according to the character and diversity of peoples, countries, minds and the rest.”[7]
In his Encyclical to the Italian Bishops, August 10, 1863, he wrote:
“It is known to us and to you that those who are in invincible ignorance or our most holy religion, but who observe carefully the natural law, and the precepts graven by God upon the hearts of all men, and who being disposed to obey God lead an honest and upright life, may, aided by the light of divine grace, attain to eternal life; for God who sees clearly, searches and knows the heart, the disposition, the thoughts and intentions of each, in His supreme mercy and goodness by no means permits that anyone suffer eternal punishment, who has not of his own free will fallen into sin.”
This is a hot-button issue for many, who are quick to criticize the Church, but there is a more fundamental issue involved in this debate, and that is the issue of authority.
Would a Good God, “who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”,[8] fail to provide His revelation with a living infallible witness? Would a just God command us to believe under penalty of hell,[9] and at the same time leave us to the mercy of every false prophet[10] and lying teacher,[11] preaching a Gospel opposed to His?[12]
No, the Catholic Church is spoken of in the New Testament as a divine, infallible teaching authority. Jesus said that His Church is like a city built firmly upon a foundation of rock, which can never be destroyed by Satan and the power of evil.[13]
Throughout the Gospels the mission of the Apostles and their successors is said to be identical to the mission of Jesus and His Heavenly Father. “As the Father sends me (to bear witness to the truth)[14] I send you.”[15] “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who receives any one whom I send receives me; and he who receives me receives him who sent me”.[16] “He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me.”[17]
When Jesus gave to the Apostles the divine commission for all nations until the end of the world,[18] He promised: “I am with you always.” This phrase is used at least 90 times in the Bible, and usually signifies that God will ensure the success of the person’s undertaking. If the Apostles are to be successful in their divine mission of teaching for all time, they and their successors must have divine infallibility.
In His last discourse to the Apostles, Jesus promised to send them the Holy Spirit, who would live with them forever, and teach them all things that He had taught them.[19] He is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world of unbelievers[20] cannot receive.[21] The Church that witnesses to Jesus[22] must be infallible.
The Apostles always declare that their teaching is the Word of God,[23] which they voice infallibly by the assistance of the Holy Spirit,[24] who confirms their witness by miracles.[25] All other teaching is false and blasphemous, even if it were to come from an angel of God.[26]
The Catholic Church, with Saint Paul says to her children: “For our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction.”[27] The Church is “the pillar and bulwark of the truth.”[28]
Catholic theologians maintain that communion with the Church is necessary for salvation; and likewise claim that it is not necessary to be united with her in fact, but that it is sufficient to be in communion with her in desire, if actual union is impossible.
While Saint Thomas Aquinas stated the constant teaching about the general necessity of membership in the Church for salvation, he also conceded that a person may be saved extra sacramentally by a baptism of desire and therefore without actual membership by reason of his at least implicit desire to belong to the Church:
“Consequently, apart from Baptism by water, a person may obtain the grace of baptism from Christ’s passion because he is made like to Christ in his sufferings.…For a similar reason a person who is baptized neither by water nor by blood may obtain the grace of baptism through the power of the Holy Spirit, because the Spirit moves his heart to believe God and love Him and be contrite for his sins. This is called the baptism of penitence [or desire].”[29]
“Man receives the forgiveness of sins before Baptism in so far as he has Baptism of desire, explicitly or implicitly; and yet when he actually receives Baptism, he receives a fuller remission, as to the remission of the entire punishment. So also before Baptism Cornelius and others like him receive grace and virtues through their faith in Christ and their desire for Baptism, implicit or explicit: but afterwards when baptized, they receive a yet greater fullness of grace and virtues.”[30]
This distinction between union with the Church in act and union in desire dates even further back into Christian antiquity. St Ambrose employed it in his treatise on Valentinian who died a catechumen (and therefore, without the Sacrament of Baptism). His whole line of argument tends to show that in his mind Valentinian was really baptized because he had the desire for baptism.
“But I hear that you grieve because he did not receive the sacrament of baptism. Tell me now what else have we if not desire and will? He in very truth had this wish that, before he came to Italy, he should be initiated into the Church and immediately baptized by me…Had he not then the grace he demanded? Certainly, for he who demands receives. Why did not he who had your spirit, receive your grace? But if it is a fact that because the sacraments are not solemnly celebrated, they have no value, then the martyrs if they were only catechumens would not receive the crown of glory; for no one is crowned who is not initiated. But if people are absolved in their own blood, then this man’s piety and will absolved him.”[31]
If you study the writings of the early Fathers of the Church, the various creeds, and the Councils ofthe Church from Jerusalem to Vatican Council II, you must admit that the Church has always considered herself infallible, condemning as a heretic anyone who denied even one dogma of the Faith. As Saint Irenaeus said in the second century: “Where the Church is, there is the Spirit of God, and where the Spirit of God is, there is the Church and all grace, For the Spirit is the Truth.”[32]
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “The task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whether in its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been entrusted to the living, teaching office of the Church alone. Its authority in this matter is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ.”[33] This means that the task of interpretation has been entrusted to the bishops in communion with the successor of Peter, the Bishop of Rome.[34]
“Yet this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it. At the divine command and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it listens to this devotedly, guards it with dedication, and expounds it faithfully. All that it proposes for belief as being divinely revealed is drawn from this single deposit of faith.”[35]
“The Church’s Magisterium exercises the authority it holds from Christ to the fullest extent when it defines dogmas, that is, when it proposes, in a form obliging the Christian people to an irrevocable adherence of faith, truths contained in divine Revelation or also when it proposes, in a definitive way, truths having a necessary connection with these.”[36]
The authority required by the moral order derives from God: “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore, he who resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.”[37]
To reject the legitimate authority of the Church is to fundamentally reject Christ. Rejection of Christ may ultimately lead to loss of salvation.
- The Church teaches infallibly when she speaks through the Pope and bishops united in general council, or through the Pope alone when he proclaims to all the faithful a doctrine of faith or morals. All Catholics are required to give assent.
(2) Ignorance is invincible (from the Latin meaning “unconquerable”) when it is present indeed but there is no reasonable way, here and now, of correcting it so that the person cannot be held responsible for doing what he does not know is wrong.
In summary, this dogma teaches that if a person is a member of the Church and understands that the Church is the one, true Church established by Christ for the salvation of souls, he forfeits salvation by separating himself. A rejection of Christ’s Church is a rejection of Christ Himself.
On the other hand, if a person recognizes that the Catholic Church is the one, true Church established by Christ for the salvation of souls, he forfeits salvation by failing to become a member.
[1] §1258.
[2] §1259.
[3] §1260.
[4] §846.
[5] Sixth Session, Decree concerning Justification, Ch. 4, January 13, 1547.
[6] On the Unity of the Church, 6.
[7] Allocution, Dec. 9, 1854.
[8] 1 Timothy 2:4.
[9] Mark 16:6.
[10] Matthew 13:21
[11] 2 Peter 2:1.
[12] Galatians 1:8
[13] Matthew 7:24; 16:18
[14] John 18:37.
[15] Jn 20:21.
[16] John 13:20.
[17] Matthew 10:40.
[18] Ibid. 27:20
[19] John 14:26
[21] Ibid. 14:13-17, 25-26; 15:26; 16:13.
[22] Luke 24:28; Acts 1:9.
[23] Acts 4:31; 8:14; 12:24; 13:44; 15:35; 1 Corinthians 14:35; 2 Timothy 2:9.
[24] Acts 2:4; 4:31; 15:25-28; 1 Corinthians 2:4-16.
[25] Acts 3:16; 4:29-31; 5:12, 16; 9:32-42.
[26] Acts 13:18; Galatians 1:8-9.
[27] 1 Thessalonians 1:5.
[28] 1 Timothy 3:15.
[29] St. Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologica, 3, 66, 11.
[30] Ibid. Question 69, article 4, Reply OBJ 2.
[31] De obitu Valentinani, Consolatio, n.51-53.
[32] Against Heresies, 3:24.
[33] §85.
[34] §85.
[35] §86.
[36] §88.
[37] Romans 13: 1-2; 1 Peter 2:13-17. Catechism of the Catholic Church §1899.