There have, unfortunately, been some rather serious misinterpretations of the second and third lessons contained in that portion of the encyclicalQuanto Conficiamur Moerore that deals with the necessity of the Catholic Church for the attainment of eternal salvation. The second lesson is to be found in the teaching of Pope Pius IX on the distinction between the Church's necessity of means and its necessity of precept. This lesson is brought out in a rather long and complicated sentence in the text. The encyclical tells us that "it is a perfectly well known Catholic dogma that no one can be saved outside the Catholic Church, and that those who are contumacious against the authority of that same Church, and who are contumaciously separated from the unity of that Church and from Peter's successor, the Roman Pontiff, to whom the custody of the vineyard has been entrusted by the Savior, cannot obtain eternal salvation." Fenton
Topic: The Encyclical Quanto Conficiamur Moerore (Read 1767 times)