Non-Christians, by God’s gracious initiative, when they are faithful to their own consciences, can live “justified by the grace of God”, and thus be “associated to the paschal mystery of Jesus Christ”. But due to the sacramental dimension of sanctifying grace, God’s working in them tends to produce signs and rites, sacred expressions which in turn bring others to a communitarian experience of journeying towards God. While these lack the meaning and efficacy of the sacraments instituted by Christ, they can be channels which the Holy Spirit raises up in order to liberate non-Christians from atheistic immanentism or from purely individual religious experiences.
This is even worse than §247, on the Old Covenent still being in effect for Jєωs, because it supports a heretical conception of justification that could be termed "
sola conscientia," reaffirms
Lumen Gentium's "
subsistit in" ecclesiology, and destroys the supernatural order by saying sanctifying grace operates in purely natural religions (
naturalism).
cf. LMS Chairman's "
Evangelium gaudii, 7: Sactifying grace for pagans"
Topic: Evangelii Gaudium 254 (Read 450 times)