I think this is an interesting discussion. There are certainly differing opinions on this issue. I do not see any meaningful difference between Archbishop Lefebvre's position and that of the modernists on EENS. No meaningful difference whatsoever. And trads try to hurl the denial of EENS as one of the problems with Vatican II when their belief on EENS is almost exactly the same. Not exactly the same as the trads might think a hundred million people in the world today who do not believe in Jesus will be saved by BOD and the modernists think that four billion will be saved by BOD who do not believe in Jesus but the principle is the same. And the other difference is that the modernists are honest about it and openly reject EENS while the trads believe as the modernists do but pretend to cling to the dogma and give it lip-service. Perhaps I am guilty of this as well because I believe in some kind of limited BOD. So, Lefebvre here seems to be saying that many people who are not baptized but want to be baptized do not need baptism as they already have the grace within them and he tells them to rely on this an not worry? Okay. And he even gives this grace out to people who do not even believe even those who reject the Church like the Muslims. Okay. I disagree but everyone believes this today. But this belief goes back centuries and is not really new. I am no expert on Saint Thomas Aquinas but at one point I have seen quotes where he suggests that to receive Baptism of Desire one must believe in the central truths of the Catholic faith, but in another point he brings forth the idea that for all unbaptized children when they reach the age of reason their first rational act is to turn towards God and if they do they are justified (basically baptism of desire) or to turn away from God and commit a mortal sin. I always found this idea to be strange. This seems to be a contradiction to me. I wonder if Saint Thomas ever noticed this seeming contradiction and thought about it. It actually shocked me when I first read it because he was proposing BOD on such a large scale that it might even be more common and save more people than actual baptism. Then if every person who has reached the age of reason is offered BOD in their first rational moment, then why would God not give that same opportunity for those who die before the age of reason? Why not make it available to all? And at this point, when we go this far, I don't see how we can continue to claim that the sacraments are necessary for salvation and that EENS is true when more people are saved without the sacraments than with them and more people are saved outside the Church than within her, although we like to play games with words which completely deny their meaning while pretending to believe in them. "Yes, EENS is true but the Church is an invisible body that encompasses all men of good will (whatever that means) whether or not they believe in Jesus even if they deny Jesus and reject the Church outright (which is what is believed because they give BOD to Jews and Muslims) and not just the ignorant savages." But this is a strange argument. If you know me I tend to believe in BOD but think you have to believe in the Catholic faith to receive it and that it is not common so it should not be assumed or relied on.
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