THE TRUE APOSTOLIC TEACHING ON BAPTISM, WHICH WAS REVEALED BY JESUS (JOHN 3:5) AND DEFINED BY THE CHURCH, CONTINUED TO BE TAUGHT BY THE MAGISTERIUM EVEN INTO THE MODERN PERIOD, IN THE OFFICIAL TEACHING OF PAPAL ENCYCLICALS; AND ‘BAPTISM OF DESIRE’ WAS NOWHERE TO BE FOUND[/i][/u]

It should also be noted that baptism of desire and blood not only were never taught in any infallible or magisterial proclamation of the Church, but even if you consider the centuries after the Council of Trent leading up to Vatican II, and you consult the official teaching of popes in papal encyclicals to the universal Church, you will discover that never once were the false ideas of baptism of desire and blood taught. Even though papal encyclicals to the entire Church frequently dealt with Baptism, the Church, its necessity, etc. during a period of time when theologians were advancing the false ideas of baptism of desire and blood left and right, the papal encyclicals to the entire Church never taught baptism of desire or blood. The Holy Ghost continued to protect the official teaching of the Church from these false doctrines, even though God permitted the false doctrines to be circulated in fallible sources: the teaching of theologians, catechisms, etc. God permitted these errors to be taught in fallible sources, and He allowed people to misunderstand this issue, simply because, as 1 Corinthians 11:19 says, there must be heresies.

Eventually belief in the false doctrine of baptism of desire grew and expanded to such an extent that everyone who accepted the idea also held that you don’t need to believe in Jesus Christ and the Catholic faith to be saved. That is the position embraced or endorsed by every single proponent of ‘baptism of desire’ in our day. They hold that souls can be saved in false religions by a so-called ‘baptism of desire’. That’s why the problem at the heart of the false doctrine, which we’ve exposed in this article, won’t matter to many of them. They don’t care if their position is inconsistent. They are only concerned with believing something/anything that allows for salvation outside of Jesus Christ, His Church, and His Baptism. They use the false doctrine of baptism of desire simply as a false Christ, which supposedly saves people outside of Him and His faith. That position is completely heretical. It is contrary to the infallible teaching of the Church (see the dogmatic bull Cantate Domino from the Council of Florence). All supporters of baptism of desire in our day either believe in the aforementioned heresy or accept as Catholics people who believe in that heresy. Indeed, the promotion of this false doctrine in our day is the source of countless evils.

PAPAL ENCYCLICALS IN THE MODERN PERIOD MAINTAIN AND TEACH THE TRUE DOCTRINE; THEY CONFIRM OUR POSITION

It’s interesting to note that God not only never allowed the Magisterium to teach baptism of desire or blood, even in the years leading to Vatican II, but the Magisterium in that post-Trent, post-Vatican I period officially taught the same doctrine. It repeated the true doctrine of the Church: that no one can be a member of the Church without the Sacrament of Baptism, and that no one can be saved without it.

Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis Christi (# 22), June 29, 1943, addressed to the universal Church: “Actually only those are to be included as members of the Church who have received the laver of regeneration and profess the true faith…”

Pius XII officially teaches that if you have not received water baptism, you cannot be considered a member of the Catholic Church. That’s the exact same doctrine that we find in the infallible teaching of the councils. We see it repeated in the official teaching of the Magisterium after Trent and Vatican I. We don’t find baptism of desire or blood.

Pope Pius XII Mediator Dei (#47), Nov. 20, 1947, addressed to the universal Church, referring to the Sacrament of Baptism: “… the washing of baptism distinguishes and separates all Christians [christianos omnes] from the rest whom this stream of atonement has not washed and who are not members of Christ…”
Pius XII specifically teaches that the Sacrament of Baptism distinguishes and separates all Christians (christianos omnes) from the rest. It distinguishes the baptized from non-Christians in the same way that the priest is distinguished from the rest of the faithful by the reception of the Sacrament of Order. According to the Magisterium, you cannot be a Christian without the Sacrament of Baptism; and only Christians are saved, as the Church dogmatically teaches. Hence, the exact same doctrine that we find in the infallible teaching of the councils is repeated here, in the official teaching of the Magisterium after Trent and Vatican I. We don’t find baptism of desire or blood.

Pope Pius XI, Quas Primas (#15), Dec. 11, 1925, addressed to the universal Church, concerning entrance into the Kingdom of God: “Which Kingdom indeed is set forth in the Gospels as one into which men prepare to enter by doing penance but are unable to enter except through faith and baptism, which, although it is an external rite, nevertheless signifies and effects an interior regeneration.”

Pius XI specifically teaches that men are unable to enter the Kingdom of God except through (nisi per) faith and baptism, which, he says, is an external rite. Since baptism of desire and blood are not external rites, he’s teaching that men are unable to enter Heaven without faith and the Sacrament or rite of Baptism. That’s the exact same doctrine that we find in the infallible teaching of the councils. We see it repeated in the official teaching of the Magisterium after Trent and Vatican I. We don’t find baptism of desire or blood.
The true doctrine on regeneration and Baptism, that no one at all can be saved without being born again of water and the Spirit, comes from the teaching of Jesus Christ Himself. We read Christ’s own words on this matter in John 3:5 and Mark 16:16. The truth is repeated throughout the epistles of St. Paul, in which, among other things, he declares that receiving water baptism is being saved ‘through the faith’ (Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:8-9; Colossians 2:12; etc.).
“… having been buried with him in baptism, by which you were also raised with him through the faith [??? ??? ???????]…” – Colossians 2:12
“For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through the faith [??? ??? ???????]. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.” – Galatians 3:26-27

This true apostolic doctrine on the Sacrament of Baptism is contained in Scripture. It was taught by the fathers. It was infallibly declared by the ecuмenical councils; and, as we just saw, it was infallibly repeated in the official teaching of the popes and the Magisterium, even in the recent decades and centuries when errors and heresies on this matter were spreading and abounding.

BY THEIR FRUITS YOU SHALL KNOW THEM

“By their fruits you will know them” (Mt. 7:16). Those who pay attention to our material should also be able to recognize that properly understanding and adhering to the apostolic truth about regeneration (being born again) – the importance and necessity of which are explained in this article – is not only what gives one the key to recognizing the fatal flaw in the false doctrine of ‘baptism of desire’. It also gives one the key to understanding the best, most direct, and most powerful way to refute the salvation doctrine of the entire Protestant ‘Reformation’. That was proven in these videos: Docuмentary: Protestantism’s Big Justification Lie (video); ‘Born Again’ Refutes ‘Faith Alone’ & The Demonic Possession of James White.


Understanding this apostolic truth, that regeneration leaves a person in a state completely free from all sin and from all punishment due to sin (‘immaculate’), also gives one the key to understanding the best biblical proofs for Mary’s Immaculate Conception (and her singular manner of being graced with the benefits of New Testament Redemption), which God left in the New Testament and the Bible. That was covered here: Mary’s Sinlessness: A Biblical Docuмentary.

SEVEN OTHER DOGMATIC ARGUMENTS THAT REFUTE ‘BAPTISM OF DESIRE’
The argument explained above, that ‘baptism of desire’ does not regenerate, and that one must be regenerated to be justified, completely refutes ‘baptism of desire’. Here are seven other dogmatic arguments that refute both ‘baptism of desire’ and ‘baptism of blood’. They were summarized at the beginning of our video: The Best Argument Against “Baptism of Desire”. They are expanded upon in our material.

First, in every single dogmatic statement on the matter, the Catholic Church understands the words of Jesus Christ Himself in John 3:5 just as they are written. Jesus declared that unless a man is born again of water and the Holy Ghost he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. He prefaced His statement by saying, “Amen, Amen,” indicating that His words were extremely serious and solemn. By understanding those words of Jesus just as they are written, as it does in every dogmatic statement dealing with John 3:5, the Catholic Church infallibly teaches that no one can enter Heaven without being born again of water and the Holy Ghost, as Jesus Himself declared. That contradicts baptism of desire, which posits salvation without rebirth of water and the Holy Ghost.

Second, the Catholic Church infallibly teaches that it’s absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff (Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam). It also infallibly teaches that the Church and the Roman Pontiff do not and cannot exercise jurisdiction over those who have not received the Sacrament of Baptism (see the Council of Trent. Sess. 14, Chap. 2). Since it’s absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the jurisdiction of the Church and the Roman Pontiff, and a human creature cannot be subject to the Church and the Roman Pontiff without receiving the Sacrament of Baptism, it follows that every human creature must receive the Sacrament of Baptism to be saved. There is simply no way around this argument.

Third, in the first dogmatic definition of Outside the Church There is No Salvation, Pope Innocent III at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 infallibly defined that: “There is indeed one universal Church of the faithful, outside of which no one at all is saved.” The Church is dogmatically defined as the faithful, and any salvation outside of the faithful is emphatically excluded with the words nullus omnino (no one at all). Well, only the water baptized are part of the faithful. That’s clear from Church teaching, Tradition and liturgy. The unbaptized, including unbaptized catechumens, were explicitly excluded from the category of the faithful. Consider, for example, the Mass of the Catechumens (the unbaptized) versus the Mass of the faithful (the baptized). Since only the water baptized are part of the faithful, as we learn from Church teaching, Tradition and liturgy, and it’s infallibly certain that there is no salvation whatsoever outside the faithful, as the Church has defined, it follows that there is absolutely no salvation for those not water baptized.

Fourth, the Catholic Church infallibly teaches that no one can be inside the Catholic Church (the Church outside of which no one is saved) without the Sacrament of Baptism. It also teaches that one cannot be a member of the Catholic Church or part of the Body of the Church without the Sacrament of Baptism (see Mystici Corporis, among other things). The teaching that only the baptized are in the Church or members of the Church presents such problems for supporters of baptism of desire that they’ve been forced to invent ridiculous theories, such as that one can supposedly be inside the Catholic Church without being a member of the Catholic Church, and that one can be part of the Soul of the Church without being part of the Body of the Church. Such theories were of course never taught by the Church, and they are indeed contradicted by its infallible decrees. For example, the Church infallibly teaches that all inside the Church are indeed members of the Catholic Church (see Vatican I, among other things, as covered in our video Baptism of Desire Buried). It is therefore false to assert that one can be inside the Church without being a member of the Church. The Church also teaches that only those in the Body of the Church can be saved (see Cantate Domino at the Council of Florence). It’s therefore incompatible with Catholic teaching to maintain that one who is supposedly in the Soul of the Church, but not in the Body of the Church, can be saved. Infallible Catholic teaching on the necessity of Church unity and membership, and how it is inextricably connected to receiving the Sacrament of Baptism, refutes the theory of ‘baptism of desire’ and related false doctrines.

Fifth, in its Creed and in many other magisterial pronouncements, the Catholic Church infallibly teaches that there is only one baptism, not three. It not only infallibly teaches that there is only one baptism, but that there is only one baptism which is celebrated in water. This argument was discussed above. The dogmatic Council of Vienne specifically declared that this one baptism, which is celebrated in water, is what the members of the Catholic Church must faithfully confess. There is no other baptism, according to infallible Catholic teaching. “Moreover, only one baptism regenerating all baptized in Christ – just as ‘one God and one faith’ – is to be faithfully confessed by all, which, celebrated in water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we believe to be the perfect remedy for salvation for both adults and children.” (Pope Clement V, Council of Vienne, 1311-1312)

The same Council teaches that all in the Church have the same baptism: “… one is the universal Church… outside of which absolutely (omnino) no one (nullus) is saved, one is the Lord, one is the Faith and one is the baptism of all.” Consider the two dogmatic statements from The Council of Vienne on baptism as a unit, as points A and B. A. All in the Church (outside of which no one at all is saved) have one and the same baptism; and B. That one baptism (which all in the Church have) is of water. Baptism of desire is therefore false.

Sixth, Pope St. Leo the Great’s dogmatic tome to Flavian (dated to 449), repeated at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, declares that the water of baptism, the spirit of sanctification, and the blood of Redemption are inseparable in sanctification. The links between the water, the spirit and the blood are such that they cannot be separated in sanctification; whereas the very theories of baptism of desire and blood posit that one can have sanctification separately from water baptism, contradicting that dogmatic teaching of Leo the Great.

Pope St. Leo the Great, dogmatic letter to Flavian, The Council of Chalcedon, 451: “Let him heed what the blessed apostle Peter preaches, that sanctification by the Spirit is effected by the sprinkling of Christ’s blood (1 Pet. 1:2); and let him not skip over the same apostle’s words, knowing that you have been redeemed from the empty way of life you inherited from your fathers, not with corruptible gold and silver but by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, as of a lamb without stain or spot (1 Pet. 1:18). Nor should he withstand the testimony of blessed John the apostle: and the blood of Jesus, the Son of God, purifies us from every sin (1 Jn. 1:7); and again, This is the victory which conquers the world, our faith. Who is there who conquers the world save one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? It is He, Jesus Christ, who has come through water and blood, not in water only, but in water and blood. And because the Spirit is truth, it is the Spirit who testifies. For there are three who give testimony – Spirit and water and blood. And the three are one. (1 Jn. 5:4-8)

 IN OTHER WORDS, THE SPIRIT OF SANCTIFICATION AND THE BLOOD OF REDEMPTION AND THE WATER OF BAPTISM. THESE THREE ARE ONE AND REMAIN INDIVISIBLE. NONE OF THEM IS SEPARABLE FROM ITS LINK WITH THE OTHERS.”

Seventh, the bull Exultate Deo at the Council of Florence infallibly and explicitly taught that men cannot enter Heaven without rebirth of water and the Spirit, as the Truth (Jesus Christ Himself) says in John 3:5. The Council of Florence used its own words to present the teaching of John 3:5 as a truth of divine revelation. Therefore, no one enters Heaven without rebirth of water and the Spirit in the Sacrament of Baptism. That’s the infallible teaching of the Catholic Church, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. That contradicts baptism of desire, which posits salvation without rebirth of water and the Spirit.


Pope Eugene IV, The Council of Florence, “Exultate Deo,” Nov. 22, 1439: “Holy baptism, which is the gateway to the spiritual life, holds the first place among all the sacraments; through it we are made members of Christ and of the body of the Church. And since death entered the universe through the first man, ‘unless we are born again of water and the Spirit, we cannot,’ as the Truth says, ‘enter into the kingdom of heaven’ [John 3:5]. The matter of this sacrament is real and natural water.”

There is also the oldest surviving papal decree in existence. It is the decree of Pope St. Siricius to Himerius. It holds tremendous significance. It constitutes another crushing blow to the false doctrine of ‘baptism of desire’. In his decree, Siricius infallibly teaches that all those who desire water baptism, but die without receiving it, will not be saved. He thus directly denies the concept of ‘baptism of desire’. The pope even speaks of people in danger and necessity who desire water baptism. He teaches that they cannot be saved without water baptism, which he identifies as the unique help of faith. He teaches that being baptized is their only hope of salvation. Pope St. Siricius’ decree is infallible, as our article on it proves. His decree also demonstrates that the Ordinary and Universal Magisterium, in addition to the Solemn Magisterium, directly contradicts the idea of ‘baptism of desire’.
Pope St. Siricius, Decree to Himerius, A.D. 385:
LATIN: “Sicut sacram ergo paschalem reverentiam in nullo dicimus esse minuendam, ita infantibus qui necdum loqui poterunt per aetatem vel his, quibus in qualibet necessitate opus fuerit sacra unda baptismatis, omni volumus celeritate succurri, ne ad nostrarum perniciem tendat animarum, si negato desiderantibus fonte salutari exiens unusquisque de saeculo et regnum perdat et vitam.

“Therefore just as we say that the holy paschal observance is in no way to be diminished, we also say that to infants who will not yet be able to speak on account of their age or to those who in any necessity will need the holy stream of baptism, we wish succor to be brought with all celerity, lest it should tend to the perdition of our souls if the saving font be denied to those desiring it and every single one of them exiting this world lose both the Kingdom and life.”

Quicuмque etiam discrimen naufragii, hostilitatis incursum, obsidionis ambiguum vel cuiuslibet corporalis aegritudinis desperationem inciderint, et sibi unico credulitatis auxilio poposcerint subveniri, eodem quo poscunt momento temporis expetitae regenerationis praemia consequantur. Hactenus erratum in hac parte sufficiat; nunc praefatam regulam omnes teneant sacerdotes, qui nolunt ab apostolicae petrae, super quam Christus universalem construxit Ecclesiam, soliditate divelli.”

Whoever should fall into the peril of shipwreck, the incursion of an enemy, the uncertainty of a siege or the desperation of any bodily sickness, and should beg to be relieved by the unique help of faith, let them obtain the rewards of the much sought-after regeneration in the same moment of time in which they beg for it. Let the previous error in this matter be enough; [but] now let all priests maintain the aforesaid rule, who do not want to be torn from the solidity of the apostolic rock upon which Christ constructed His universal Church.

Read or watch more about Pope St. Siricius’ decree here: The Oldest Surviving Papal Decree (of Pope St. Siricius) Refutes ‘Baptism of Desire’ (article and video)
Outside the Catholic Church There Is Absolutely No Salvation (this is our full book –it refutes all the objections people advance on this issue, and we update it with new points as time permits)
• As these facts prove to anyone of good will, the Catholic Church teaches that no one can be saved without the regeneration of water and the Spirit in the Sacrament of Baptism. To promote the false idea of ‘baptism of desire’ or ‘baptism of blood’ in the face of these facts is simply to deny Catholic teaching and be of bad will.

Pope Clement V, The Council of Vienne, 1311-1312: “Besides, only one baptism regenerating all who are baptized in Christ must be faithfully confessed by all just as ‘one God and one faith’ [Eph. 4:5], which celebrated in water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit we believe to be the perfect remedy for salvation for both adults and children.”


Pope Eugene IV, The Council of Florence, “Exultate Deo,” Nov. 22, 1439: “Holy baptism, which is the gateway to the spiritual life, holds the first place among all the sacraments; through it we are made members of Christ and of the body of the Church. And since death entered the universe through the first man, ‘unless we are born again of water and the Spirit, we cannot,’ as the Truth says, ‘enter into the kingdom of heaven’ [John 3:5]. The matter of this sacrament is real and natural water.”

Pope Paul III, The Council of Trent, Can. 2 on the Sacrament of Baptism, Sess. 7, 1547: “Si quis dixerit, aquam veram et naturalem non esse de necessitate baptismi, atque ideo verba illa Domini nostri Iesu Christi: ‘Nisi quis renatus fuerit ex aqua et Spiritu Sancto’ [Io 3, 5] ad metaphoram aliquam detorserit: A.S.”
“If anyone should say that real and natural water is not necessary for baptism, and on that account should distort those words of Our Lord Jesus Christ: ‘Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit’ [John 3:5], into some metaphor: let him be anathema.”

Pope Paul III, The Council of Trent, Can. 5 on the Sacrament of Baptism, Sess. 7, 1547: “If anyone says that baptism [the sacrament] is optional, that is, not necessary for salvation: let him be anathema.”

                                             From the Book of EENS  by mhfm..