The large amount of ink being spilled on this forum is not in regards to baptism of desire for catechumens.

What ought to be pounded in everyone's heads is the necessity of the Catholic faith, get that across and this subforum will die down. There would be far less posting.

Pius IX - 1849
Nostis Et Nobiscuм
On the Church in the Pontifical States

https://www.papalencyclicals.net/pius09/p9nostis.htm

10. In particular, ensure that the faithful are deeply and thoroughly convinced of the truth of the doctrine that the Catholic faith is necessary for attaining salvation.

From the letter "Super quibusdam" to the Consolator, the Catholicon of the Armenians, Sept. 20, 1351:

Denzinger 1051 570b

http://www.clerus.org/bibliaclerusonline/en/dw1.htm

In the second place, we ask whether you and the Armenians obedient to you believe that no man of the wayfarers outside the faith of this Church, and outside the obedience of the Pope of Rome, can finally be saved.

Mirari Vos
On Liberalism and Religious Indifferentism
Gregory XVI - 1832

https://www.papalencyclicals.net/greg16/g16mirar.htm

13. Now We consider another abundant source of the evils with which the Church is afflicted at present: indifferentism. This perverse opinion is spread on all sides by the fraud of the wicked who claim that it is possible to obtain the eternal salvation of the soul by the profession of any kind of religion, as long as morality is maintained.

Surely, in so clear a matter, you will drive this deadly error far from the people committed to your care. With the admonition of the apostle that “there is one God, one faith, one baptism”[16] may those fear who contrive the notion that the safe harbor of salvation is open to persons of any religion whatever.

They should consider the testimony of Christ Himself that “those who are not with Christ are against Him,”[17] and that they disperse unhappily who do not gather with Him. Therefore “without a doubt, they will perish forever, unless they hold the Catholic faith whole and inviolate.”

Is a person who is flooded with divine light and grace going to remain invincibly ignorant of the Catholic faith? Are such going to remain sitting in darkness, ignorant of this faith, without which no man can be saved?



Pius IX

On Promotion of False Doctrines, 1863

http://www.papalencyclicals.net/pius09/p9quanto.htm

7. Here, too, our beloved sons and venerable brothers, it is again necessary to mention and censure a very grave error entrapping some Catholics who believe that it is possible to arrive at eternal salvation although living in error and alienated from the true faith and Catholic unity. Such belief is certainly opposed to Catholic teaching. There are, of course, those who are struggling with invincible ignorance about our most holy religion. Sincerely observing the natural law and its precepts inscribed by God on all hearts and ready to obey God, they live honest lives and are able to attain eternal life by the efficacious virtue of divine light and grace. Because God knows, searches and clearly understands the minds, hearts, thoughts, and nature of all, his supreme kindness and clemency do not permit anyone at all who is not guilty of deliberate sin to suffer eternal punishments.

19.

(. . .)

Let us pray that the errant be flooded with the light of his divine grace, may turn back from the path of error into the way of truth and justice and, experiencing the worthy fruit of repentance, may possess perpetual love and fear of his holy name.

Leo XIII

On Mission Societies, 1880

http://www.papalencyclicals.net/leo13/l13mis.htm

6.

(. . .)

Do men like these pour forth their prayers to God that in His mercy he may bring to the Divine light of the Gospel by His victorious grace the people sitting in the darkness?

I absolutely deny that a person whose public profession of faith is their Hinduism, Pharisaical Judaism, Protestantism, Eastern Schism, etc. can be united to the body of the Church by desire, and in fact united to the soul of the Church.

Such a union would destroy the unity of faith. Many claim that such persons in so-called "good faith" are actually Catholics. You tell me, what are they professing in their day to day lives? What faith are they professing? What places of worship do they visit, what faith do they tell their neighbors they belong to? What faith do they practice? Are you going to tell me with a straight face that such souls are to be counted as Catholic? What of all the quotes above? What of divine light and grace? Will they be enlightened or NOT?

http://www.catholictradition.org/Tradition/salvation2-4b.htm

St. Peter Canisius

Outside this communion, as outside the Ark of Noah, there is absolutely no salvation for mortals: not for Jews or pagans who never received the faith of the Church; not for heretics who, having received it, forsook or corrupted it; not for schismatics who left the peace and unity of the Church; and finally, neither for excommunicated persons who for any other serious cause deserved to be put away and separated from the body of the Church like pernicious members. For the rule of Cyprian and Augustine is certain: that man will not have God for his Father who would not have the Church for his Mother.

Saint John Eudes

Man's Contract with God in Baptism, pages 49 - 52


https://archive.org/details/MansContractWithGodInBaptism/page/n45

That you may have a true faith in those things which God has revealed, it is necessary that you should believe in the Catholic Church, in which alone you can learn with certainty what God has revealed. For this reason, after you have been asked if you believe in God, you are also asked if you believe in the Catholic Church.

Certainly those who do not believe in the Catholic Church cannot have divine faith in the mysteries which they believe, but only natural and human faith; a faith of their own fancy, founded on the light of their own judgment, subject to error, and not on the promises of Jesus Christ. The Catholic Church alone possesses these promises, and on her testimony alone rests the foundation of Christian faith. As she possesses the divine promises for all days, even to the end of ages, there can be no reason to doubt whatever she proposes to our belief.

Thank God for having given you the precious gift of faith, and having made you a child of the holy Catholic Church, which is the faithful repository of the truths of salvation, and which all Christians are obliged to acknowledge as the true Church. In saying, “I believe in the holy Catholic Church’ you united yourself inseparably to this holy mother; you believe, without hesitation, all that she proposes, as proposed to you by Jesus Christ himself, who is ever with her in her instructions. Reject, then, with horror, everything at variance with her teachings, and regard it as an error calculated to endanger your faith.

However ignorant you may be, you have the true faith if you believe, without exception, all the holy Catholic Church believes and teaches; on the other hand, however learned you may be, you lose the gift and the virtue of faith if you reject any doctrine which she teaches; for her faith is your rule. “As there is but one faith,” says St. Paul, “to wish to divide it, is to destroy it.” Heretics not only differ from the Church in faith, but they also differ amongst themselves, a proof that they have not the true faith, which is one. The holy Catholic Church never has suffered, and never will suffer, a difference of faith in regard to any article. Her faith is the same in all times, in all places, and in all her true children. Thus her faith is one and the only true faith. You should be most desirous to preserve the faith in all its purity, since without it, it is impossible to do anything which merits Heaven. “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” Those who do not possess it may practice all the moral virtues, justice, sobriety, chastity, alms-deeds, prayers, mortification; and not only is this the case with heretics, but it is a truth which should be borne in mind, that these good actions, unless they have faith for their principle, will never merit Heaven for them. The law of Moses, all holy as it was, could save only those who observed it through faith.

When, therefore, you observe that those who believe not in the Church, practice some good works, offer many prayers, and lead an austere life, do not believe that they are on this account in the way of salvation, unless they have true faith; you commit an ENORMOUS SIN if you believe that they can be saved outside of the Church; that they can have faith without believing in her, or that they can be saved without faith.

Since my last comments on this thread there were many interesting new posts and, for me, useful ones. I would like to discuss these later, this weekend, as soon as I find time. But one quick reply, to Last Tardhican and Praeter:

1) Pius X did not write the catechism
2) The catechism was in Italian, what you are quoting is not in Italian, it is some kind of a translation, we do not know who tampered with it.
3) Throw it away and quote some other sources. If what you say is true, then there would be many real papal decrees, like there are for EENS, of which one would have to discard ALL of them to believe what you are teaching.

The Sacred Congregation of the Propagation of the Faith, under Pope St. Pius X, in 1907, in answer to a question as to whether Confucius could have been saved, wrote:

“It is not allowed to affirm that Confucius was saved. Christians, when interrogated, must answer that those who die as infidels are damned”.

I found an original, Italian version of Pius X catechism that was used especially in Rome and not in all of Italy at the time (so I am told). Praeter's translation is not conform to the original. The booklet also states that it was authored by the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of Faith and the name Pius X seems to be more the mere title of the booklet rather than the name of the author.

I also found, elsewhere, the citation that LT inserted in bold face, made by the same congregation.

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I am but an ignorant newcomer who is still studying and, as such, I appreciate all corrections and thank anyone who invests his time to help me educate me (I am getting really confused on this EENS topic) so, please, forgive me if my next question is really simple and stupid:

Why would God create the church if it was not necessary for salvation?