I received this in an e-mail. Thoughts?

Question:
What about all those millions of sincere Christians all over the world who do NOT believe in the Eucharist? Can they be saved? And what if they DO believe it is His body and blood ala John chapter six, but that the Bible says nothing about any priest having  to consecrate it?


God doesn't hold us responsible for what we can't know or can't do.
It is the fault of Catholics that the teaching on the Eucharist is not better understood and taught.

Christians who don't have the information they need won't be held accountable for it. We Catholics might, for having failed to explain it, and having failed to fast and pray for our brothers so that they have the grace  necessary to understand it - for that, WE will be held accountable, but they won't.

Now, it would be easier for them if they DID know it, but their lack of knowledge on this point won't stop them from being able to enter heaven.

The same goes for those who don't understand that Christ instituted TWO sacraments in   the same sentence at the Last Supper, they won't be held accountable  for that lack of knowledge. Indeed, they may have what's called 'invincible ignorance.'

Assume you were a Baptist who actively avoided everything Catholic precisely BECAUSE it was the Whore of Babylon, the tool of satan, and you wanted to avoid all evil and cling only to God. Thus, whenever anyone tried to explain the Eucharist to you, you would hold fingers in your ears and shout loudly.

When you heard a Catholic quote Scripture, you would instantly remember the devil doing that to Christ and reject it out of hand, lest you be taken in.

Can such a person get into heaven?
Most assuredly YES!

Precisely because you were doing your best to stick close to God, you would - in this situation - be unable to access the truth. Consequently, you wouldn't be held responsible for the truths you COULD NOT KNOW and the truths YOU COULD NOT LEARN.

You would be invincibly ignorant of those truths (just as there are other truths
about God that we are undoubtedly unable to comprehend).

So it isn't a question of truth fighting against truth.
It's more a question of our weakness, fallibility and limitations fighting against
truth.

This is where God's mercy triumphs over His justice.

In justice, we would be held accountable, but in mercy, we are not.
Now, our ignorance makes it harder for us to achieve sanctity, but God takes all that into account when He looks at us in love, with merciful justice.

What are your thoughts SS?

Assume you were a Baptist who actively avoided everything Catholic precisely BECAUSE it was the Whore of Babylon, the tool of satan, and you wanted to avoid all evil and cling only to God. Thus, whenever anyone tried to explain the Eucharist to you, you would hold fingers in your ears and shout loudly.

When you heard a Catholic quote Scripture, you would instantly remember the devil doing that to Christ and reject it out of hand, lest you be taken in.

Can such a person get into heaven?
Most assuredly YES!

Precisely because you were doing your best to stick close to God, you would - in this situation - be unable to access the truth. Consequently, you wouldn't be held responsible for the truths you COULD NOT KNOW and the truths YOU COULD NOT LEARN.

This sounds ridiculous to me. So when God desires to save a particular Protestant, and He sends a Catholic person to witness to that Protestant, and the Protestant responds by shouting "la-la-la" and shoving his fingers in his ears, God will still save that Protestant based on his stubborn adherence to an heretical sect and his refusal to listen to the Gospel, as if the Protestant's own voluntaristic efforts were enough to merit him salvation? That is patently absurd.

What a strange and confusing manner for God to behave in! Surely, if He wanted to save the Protestant, He could have just given him the grace to see that the Catholic faith was the true faith. Why all the slight of hand, especially when we consider that even if the Protestant could merit salvation by rejecting the true Church, he would still be saved in and through the true Church, and his prayers would have efficacy only through the Mass and the Eucharist that he belittles? Such a bizarre display would only serve to weaken the Church's witness and exalt personalistic efforts as the real path to salvation.

I also agree with stevusmagnus that it strains the bounds of credibility to suggest that Catholics will be damned for not effectively teaching the Eucharist to the Protestants, but the Protestants will be saved by their steadfast rejection of this doctrine. That's a real jaw-dropper.

Quote from: Augustinian

This is what EENS-denial leads to. Why bother bringing light to the world when everyone is saved in darkness? Ignorance = salvation. What a diabolical perversion.

Yes you're right. Good thing most trads don't deny EENS; at least CMRI and SSPX don't. Unfortunately , you have the american heresy of Feeneyism which is the opposite extreme.

SSPX believes in EENS?

Benedict XVI says: Pagans, Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, and Protestants can be saved in their false religions, by their false religions.

SSPX says: Pagans, Jews, Buddhists, Muslims, and Protestants can be saved in their false religions, but not by their false religions.

It's the same abominable heresy with a slight twist.

Every sainted missionary was a "Feeneyite".

What are your thoughts SS?

Not sure if you are refering to me or Santo, but I'll give my thoughts either way. :)

Man of the West and stevusmagnus have already provided good responses, so to sort of add to what they said, the Church teaches that those who deny the Presence of Christ in the Eucharist are heretics. The Church also says that heretics cannot be saved. Thus, those who do not believe Christ is present in the Holy Eucharist cannot be saved unless they repent before death.
Yet the Vatican II church, like stevus noted, says you're ok as long as you're not "one of those Traditionalists".

Are you a Bishop or something?

 :rolleyes:


s2rea did not write anything here that would make a reasonable person ask that question.

But yes he is something - he is a Catholic.