Raoul doesn't know anything about the relationship of Pius XII and Fr. Feeney, Roscoe.
I need to learn to keep my mouth shut when I don't know what I'm talking about. This is a good opportunity.
"My understanding of Fr Feeney's philosophy would be something like this-- DON'T COUNT ON BoD."
I agree with that 100%. My understanding of BoD has never been that if you die as a catechumen, you are saved. After all, not all who are baptized are even saved! BoD means that you MIGHT be saved, that it is POSSIBLE for God to save you, that you are not outside the Church. That's it.
The Neo-Feeneyites who make this into a divisive matter, to the point where they will not attend any sedevacantist chapels, are ignoring over a thousand years of Church history where many people have disagreed on this yet still remained Catholics in communion with each other. Will a catechumen who died be saved? That's like asking if any of us will be saved. None of us knows who is going to heaven. BoD only says that in rare cases it is within the realm of possibility for God to save someone who hasn't had an actual water baptism. Not that he will -- that he CAN.
BoD is just not the explosive issue that the Dimonds and their ilk want it to be. Even if they are right and no unbaptized person gets to heaven, do you think God is going to send those to hell who thought that a catechumen MIGHT get into heaven?
It's as if someone decided to start a schismatic church based on where aborted babies go. They don't like the softies who say that dead unbaptized babies go to limbo. So they start their own "Aborted babies go to HELL" Church.
Proving their own HELLISH spirit. ( I believe limbo is a somewhat more relaxing spot of hell, a sort of not-disagreeable dream state ).
Is it really so harmful to console ourselves that a catechumen might make it to heaven, even if it's not true? Is it harmful to hope that there is a place called limbo for unbaptized dead babies? BoD is only harmful when you take it to extremes like Vatican II, saying that having some vague impression of "God" is enough to get you into heaven, and thus destroying the impetus and urgency people should have to get baptized instantly after they realize that the Catholic Church is the one means of salvation.