3eme trimestre 1991 ISSN 0750-2494
FORTES IN FIDE
Number 9
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THE SALVATION OF NON-CATHOLICS
OBEDIENCE IS THE BEST OF ALL POSSIBLE SACRIFICES
a review of Catholic teaching
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CONTENTS
THE SALVATION OF THOSE OUTSIDE THE CHURCH
What is the Church?
Salvation is from God
The Necessary Conditions which must be fulfilled for
non-Catholics to belong to the Soul of the Church.
A Catholic Response to the Question Raised
The Necessity of Submitting to the Magisterium in
order to Avoid Losing One's Way
OBEDIENCE IS OF GREATER VALUE THAN SACRIFICE.
Appendix: Listing the public activities of Pius XII
With regard to Sacred Music
CORRESPONDENCE
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THE SALVATION OF THOSE OUTSIDE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
"There is only one universal Church, outside of which
absolutely no one can be saved." Gregory XVI gave enunciation
to this dogma which is "one of the most important and most
clearly enunciated" teachings of our religion.
How are we to understand his words?
As they were meant to be understood by the Apostles, the,
Apostolic Fathers and all the Doctors. The word of God can
never change. As our Master said, "The sky and the earth will
pass away, but my words will never pass away" (Mark XIII:31).
Whosoever wishes to be faithful to the Lord should
"absolutely reject the heretical supposition that dogmas
evolve, as a result of which their meaning can change and
become different from that which the Church first imparted to
them" ("Antimodernist Oath", Denzinger 2145,4).
Such being the case, the Church today, as she has always
done, clearly teaches that outside of her, no one can be saved.
In the face of this, must one believe that everyone,
without exception, who does not OFFICIALLY belong to the Church
by means of the reception of Baptism and the public profession
of the Catholic faith, is damned? Not at all. Listen to the
words of Pope Pius IX: "God in his sovereign bounty and mercy
does not allow that a person who is not guilty of a voluntary
fault should be subject to eternal punishment" (Letter "Quanto
conficiamur"). In order to help us understand the possibility
of salvation for "non-Catholics", I shall review the nature of
the Church, and how, by means of her, God in His Mercy
regenerates souls and saves them.
WHAT IS THE CHURCH?
Recalling an expression used by St. Paul (Col. I:24), Pope
Pius XII said that the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ:
"Mystici Corporis Christi quod est Ecclesia", and, in doing so,
confirmed the answer Joan of Arc gave to her judges when she
said: "In my opinion the Church and Christ are one and the same
thing."
"The Church", said dom Grea, "is Christ Himself; the
Church is the "fullness" and the achievement of Christ, "His
Body" and his true and mystical growth: The Church which is His
Body, and the fullness of him who is filled all in all (Eph.
I:22-23). And so it is that the Church occupies among the
works of God the very place of Christ. Christ and the Church
are one and the same work of God" ("L'Eglise et sa constitution
divine", p. 18).
Surely it is clear from this that there can only be one
institution which is the authentic Church of Christ.
HOW ARE WE TO RECOGNIZE THE CHURCH?
Foreseeing that innumerable Churches would claim to be
this unique institution, Christ took great pains to delineate
the nature of His Church and to distinguish it from all the
others. He did this at Caesarea Philippi. After having told
Simon bar Jona that he was Peter, Jesus declared "upon this
rock I will build my Church" (Matt. XVI:18). The Master did
not say "a Church", but "MY Church". This possessive adjective
makes it abundantly clear that of all the religious societies
which claim to belong to Him, only the Roman Catholic Church,
which is built upon the rock of Peter, is the authentic Church
of Christ; the others, which reject this rock, cannot be such.
The dogma in question must therefore be understood in this
manner: "Outside of the Roman Catholic Church, absolutely no
one will be saved".[1]
The Mystical Body of Christ, the true Church, participates
in the mystery of the Incarnation. Just as her Head, that is
Jesus Christ, is both true Man and true God, so also the
Catholic Church is at one and the same time both human and
divine, a material and a spiritual entity.
THE BODY OF THE CHURCH, that which renders her visible and
constitutes as it were "a flag raised over the nations", is
first of all those members of which she is composed. Also
pertaining to the body of the Church is the public profession
of the faith by these members, the sensible signs by means of
which she communicates to them the divine life, and finally,
the entire ensemble of her rites and monuments.
THE MEMBERS OF HER BODY are all those who have received
the laver of regeneration or Baptism. This is the sacrament of
the faith which Jesus instituted in order to bring together all
those whom the Father had called and chosen (John XV:16,
VI:44). As members of a visible body, they publicly profess
the Catholic faith.
OUTSIDE AND SEPARATED FROM THE BODY OF THE CHURCH are all
those who have been so unfortunate as to commit the sin of
heresy, schism or apostasy, as well as those who have been
excluded by legitimate authority.
THE SOUL OF THE CHURCH or her divine aspect is above all
the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus. It is He who gives life
to the Church, who illuminates and directs her. It is also
this divine life which, descending from the Head, vivifies all
the members and binds them together. Finally, the Soul of the
Church consists of "the theological virtues faith, hope and
charity, the gifts of grace from the Holy Spirit, and all the
celestial treasures which are derived from the merits of Christ
the Redeemer, and of the Saints" ("Catechism of Saint Pius X").
BELONGING TO THE SOUL OF THE CHURCH are all those in whom
the Holy Spirit dwells. These are those who have theological
faith, possess the divine life and are in a state of grace.
The primary effect of the Holy Spirit in the soul is to
sanctify it.
While sinners have separated themselves from the Soul of
the Church, they remain always united to her body. Pope Pius
XII recalled this in his encyclical "Mystici Corporis": "It is
necessary to recognize that the infinite mercy of Our Lord
makes it impossible for Him to refuse a place in His Mystical
Body to those whom He had previously not refused a place at his
banquet table (Matt. IX:11). For no fault, not even a most
serious sin - schism, heresy and apostasy apart - can separate
one from the Body of the Church."
SEPARATED FROM THE SOUL OF THE CHURCH are all those who,
as a result of some mortal sin, are no longer in a state of
grace. They have in effect expelled the Holy Spirit from their
souls because He cannot live in a soul that is stained by
mortal sin.
SALVATION COMES FROM GOD
It is a truth of our faith, one that as Catholics we must
believe, that there is no salvation apart from Jesus Christ.
Since the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, it is by means
of her that salvation is of necessity made available to us. In
what way does this happen?
THE ORDINARY MANNER
God bestows His gifts with consummate grace and
generosity. In order to make it possible for men to save
themselves more easily, His Son instituted and made available
to them true sources of grace in the sacraments. God has
obligated Himself to give us graces by these sensible signs,
and He is always faithful to His promises. Each time a
sacrament is properly administered, by one who has the power to
do so, and as long as men do not hinder His action, God is
obliged to provide them with the grace signified. This is the
constant teaching of the Catholic Church.
THE EXTRAORDINARY MANNER
If the Church teaches that the sacraments instituted by
the Son of God made man oblige the Father to give His graces to
whomsoever validly receives them, she has never taught that His
generosity is restricted to this methodology. If the Lord was
obliged to give those who labored the entire day the denarius
he had agreed upon, His Son reminds us that He did no wrong in
giving as much to those to whom He had promised nothing. Who
can be so presumptuous as to pretend that He is not allowed to
do as He wishes? What upright soul can take offense at His
generosity? (Read Matt. XX:1-16). It is then clear that God,
who has promised to give His graces through these ordinary
means of the sacraments, can also give them in an extraordinary
manner. Holy Scripture provides us with numerous examples of
this. Thus, Saint Dismas, the good thief, received the grace
of regeneration without any sacrament, and this with such
efficacy that Our Lord said to him, "This very day you will be
with me in Paradise" (Luke XXIII:43).
Again, it was without the medium of any sacrament that the
Virgin Mary, the Apostles and "the brothers who numbered around
120" (Acts I:15), "all together in one place" (II:1), were
filled with the Holy Spirit and were confirmed.
The centurion Cornelius, his parents, servants and most
intimate friends also received the Holy Spirit and were
gathered into the Soul of the Church before even being Baptized
by Peter. Baptism brought them into the Body of the Church,
but not into her Soul, for they were joined to the latter as
soon as they received the Holy Spirit (Acts X:44-48).
Closer to our own time we can cite the case of Ratisbonne,
a Jєω who was overcome by grace on January 20, 1842 while in
the church of Saint Andrew in Rome. He changed from a state of
complete disbelief and hostility to the Church to one of
complete acceptance of the Catholic faith. At the same time he
received a knowledge of the Christian mysteries that he had
never studied. Like his co-religionist Paul of Tarsus, Baptism
attached Ratisbonne only to the Body of the Church. He
belonged to the Soul of the Church from the moment of his
conversion, thanks to the virtue of theological faith.
These examples show with a certitude which cannot be
denied that it is possible to belong to the Soul of the Church
without belonging to her Body, and that God can bestow His
graces in an extraordinary manner which is independent of the
sacraments.
WHO IS ASSURED OF HIS SALVATION?
It is important that we remember that what saves us from
eternal damnation is not belonging to the Body of the Church,
but rather belonging to the Soul of the Church. The Church has
always taught that the baptized who die in a state of mortal
sin which has not been forgiven, are damned despite their
belonging to the Body of the Church. Without doubt, it is not
possible for those who refuse to attach themselves to the Body
of the Church to belong to her Soul. But is it possible for
those who, without any fault of their own, cannot receive
baptism of water or explicitly formulate an act of Catholic
faith in order to be part of the Body of the Church to belong
to the Soul of the Church and be assured of their salvation?
The response to this question provides us with the solution to
the problem which the salvation of non-Catholics raises.
By means of the letter "Quanto conficiamur" given to the
Italian episcopacy (on August 10, 1863), Pius IX clarified this
matter in a striking manner. "We know", he said, "that those
WHO ARE INVINCIBLY IGNORANT OF OUR MOST HOLY RELIGION, AND WHO
OBSERVE WITH CARE THE NATURAL LAW AND ITS PRECEPTS, written by
God in the hearts of all men, AND WHO ARE DISPOSED TO OBEY GOD,
and who live a life which is honest and upright, can, with the
aid of the light of divine grace, acquire eternal salvation."
If they can acquire eternal life without belonging to the
Body of the Church, it is because they are united to her Soul.
Under what conditions does this occur? The papal text goes on
to explain.
THE NON-CATHOLICS
This phrase is very vague. It designates individuals who
span the spectrum from schismatic Christians to atheists, and
embraces in between a host of religious groups, both Christian
and non-Christian. If all, in so far as they are non-Catholic,
are outside the Ark of Salvation, not all have the same degree
of difficulty in order to overcome the obstacles and enter into
this Ark. The followers of Photius (the Orthodox) need only
accept those dogmas which relate to the primacy and
infallibility of the Pope.[2] The followers of Luther, who
deny almost all the Catholic dogmas, have much greater
obstacles to overcome. As for the Jєωs and Muslims, obstinate
in their opposition to the divine mysteries (the Trinity and
Christology), they are faced with the problem of denying
principles that are fundamental to their religion if they wish
to truly enter into the way of salvation.
With regard to these latter and all those who deny the
mysteries of God, it is necessary to make the following point.
If it is possible that non-Catholics can belong to the Soul of
the Church while in good faith knowing nothing of the divine
Mysteries, this is absolutely impossible for those who
blaspheme against them. Those who imprecate (blaspheme
against) these mysteries clearly manifest that they are not
animated by the good Spirit and that they do not belong to the
Soul of the Church .
NECESSARY CONDITIONS WHICH MUST BE FULFILLED
FOR NON-CATHOLICS TO BELONG TO THE SOUL OF THE CHURCH
INVINCIBLE IGNORANCE
This is the error in which those who without any fault on
their part find themselves. It presumes good faith. It can be
met with among those to whom the true religion has never been
presented, and among those to whom it has been presented and to
whom, despite this, it does not appear to be the truth. Such
is to be found in parts of the world which are completely
adherent to the schismatic churches or some other cult, such as
Islam, Judaism, Protestantism, etc. This ignorance excuses
those involved of all culpability. One calls this invincible
because they are prevented from abandoning their errors
precisely because they believe they are adhering to the truth.
Invincible ignorance only excuses the faults committed
against the existence, the nature and the demands of the one
true religion. It never excuses those faults that go against
the precepts of natural law since such are "written in the
hearts of all men by God Himself".
IT IS NECESSARY TO CAREFULLY OBEY THE NATURAL LAW AND ALL
ITS PRECEPTS.
Among the demands of this law, and in fact of primary
importance, are our duties towards God. Whatever his state or
condition, man is obliged to recognize the existence of God,
His sovereignty, and believe that He rewards man for the good
that he does, and punishes him for the evil that he does.
"Without faith", St. Paul affirms, "it is impossible to please
God. It is necessary for a person who comes to God to believe
that He exists, that He rewards those that seek after Him"
(Heb. XI:6). Such excludes from salvation all those non-
Catholics who are atheists, be they of the militant or
indifferent variety.
We know from St. Paul the reasons for their culpability.
"Because that which is known of God is manifest in them. For
God hath manifested it unto them. For the invisible things of
Him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being
understood by the things that are made; His eternal power also,
and divinity: so that they are inexcusable. Because that, when
they knew God, they have not glorified Him as God, or given
thanks" (Rom. I:19-21). The Church recalled this teaching of
the faith at Vatican I: "If anyone says that the one and true
God, our Creator and Lord, cannot be known with certitude by
means of His works, thanks to the natural light of human
reason, let him be anathema" (Const. "Dei Filius", Denz.
1806).
IT IS NECESSARY TO BE DISPOSED TO OBEY GOD AND IN ALL
THINGS TO DESIRE HIS GOOD PLEASURE.
In his Encyclical "Mystici Corporis Christi", Pope Pius
XII, after having distinguished between those who are actually
incorporated into the Church, and those who are united only by
desire to her soul, adds: "However, one should not think that
any kind of desire to be part of the Church suffices for the
salvation of one's soul. The desire required is one animated
by perfect charity". In so stating, Pius XII was but
reiterating the third condition specified by Pius IX.
The law of love should express itself by action rather
than by words: "It is not all those who say Lord, Lord, but
those who do the will of my Father who will enter into the
kingdom of heaven" (Cf. Matt. VII:21).
This disposition in everything to do the will of God is an
indication of their implicit but true desire to adhere to the
Catholic Church. Their faith in God is not dead because it is
productive of fruit. In essence, they are not content merely
with believing; they make their conduct conform to their
belief, and this concordance of their will with that of God
makes them implicitly, but truly, desire the Baptism that Jesus
instituted in order to incorporate them into His Church if they
are not Christian, and makes them disposed to abjure the errors
which maintain them outside of the Church if they are misled
and are in a schismatical or heretical sect. Unquestionably,
if they were aware of the fact, they would abjure their errors,
as they are well disposed to submit to His will. It is this
disposition, this charity which God has given them, which
inclines them to "do the will of the Father in Heaven", and
which gathers them into the soul of the Church.
ARE YOU NOT SETTING UP IMPOSSIBLE CRITERIA?
Some think that all these conditions cannot be fulfilled,
especially among those souls that have never known the true
religion. As they see it, to demand such criteria is
equivalent to condemning virtually all non-Catholics to eternal
damnation. But they are quite wrong. Those who see things in
this way forget the words of Jesus to His disciples when they
questioned Him precisely on the issue of how it was possible
for anyone to save his soul: "With men it is impossible, but
not with God: for all things are possible with God" (Mark
X:27).
If God helps non-Catholics to save their souls outside of
the norms established by His Son, it is because He would "have
all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth"
(I Tim. II:4). This desire induces the Father to continuously
draw souls (John VI:44) that His Son chooses (John XV:16). In
order to enlighten them, He normally uses the ministers of His
Church. But this habitual disposition in no way hinders Him
from drawing some souls directly and without any minister
whatsoever, and regardless of the situation in which they find
themselves. God, who wishes the salvation of every soul,
provides every soul with the necessary graces. To that degree
that a given soul responds to graces bestowed, it receives yet
further graces, "for it is God that worketh in you, both to
will and to accomplish" (Phil. II:13). It is thus that the
most profound transformations occur little by little in souls
of good will and dispose such souls above all to desire to do
the will of God whom they adore "in truth". Not all these
souls are visited with extraordinary graces which transform
them "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye" (I Cor. XV:52)
as occurred to Saul or Ratisbonne. It is "the wisdom of God
which visits them ... for wisdom is more active than all active
things ... Wisdom is the splendor of the eternal light ...
which renews all things and through the nations conveyeth
herself into holy souls, she maketh the friends of God ... She
reacheth from one end of the world to the other and ordereth
all things sweetly" (Wisdom, VII:24-27, VIII:1). This is that
sweetness "for the forgiveness of their sins"; this is that
"visit of the rising Sun from on high[4] which enlightens those
who are in darkness and in the shadow of death and directs them
in the way of peace" that Zacharias sang of in his "Benedictus"
canticle which was and is in effect "the entrails of the
mercy[5] of our God" (Luke I:78-79).
A CATHOLIC RESPONSE TO THE QUESTION RAISED
We are able, in complete accord with Catholic teaching, to
respond in the affirmative to the question which was raised
above. Yes indeed, through the great mercy of our God, it is
possible that non-Catholics belong to the Soul of the Church by
an implicit desire, by a desire animated by perfect charity,
even though they do not belong to the visible Body of the
Church.
Are there many such? Only God Himself knows. "The works
of man, Ecclesiastes tells us, are in the hands of God, and man
knoweth not whether he be worthy of love or hatred" (IX:1).
Only Jesus, the good pastor "knows His sheep ... even those
that are not yet of His sheepfold" (John X:14&16). As for us,
if we truly love our master, we should hope that the number of
non-Catholics who belong to the soul of the Church will always
increase. And in order to be sure that such a desire is not
void of content, we should work as hard as we can to enlighten
such souls, above all in praying for them and in making
sacrifices in order that God might, by means of His Holy
Spirit, enlighten them so that they might be renewed in their
dispositions with regard to the true religion.
Now, even though these non-Catholics belong to Christ by
means of their union with the Soul of His Church, one should
nevertheless never forget that they are in a state "where no
one can be sure of his eternal salvation; for, as the Pope
assures us, they are deprived of those many and most important
supports and heavenly favors that can only be found within the
bosom of the Catholic Church" ("Mystici Corporis Christi").
Let us consider some of those helps of which they are deprived.
The Roman Catholic Church is HIS Church. It is the Church
to whom Our Lord confided all that He learned of His Father
(John XV:15), and it is the ministers of His Church that He
sent forth as His Father sent Him (John XX:21), to teach all
nations to observe EVERYTHING that He commanded (Matthew
XXVIII:19-20). Outside of this Church souls lack access to ALL
that He taught. Now Jesus warned His own that "if you continue
in my word ... you will know the truth and the truth will make
you free" (John VIII:31-32). Being separated from His Church,
non-Catholics are bound to be in error on one or more points.
Now, just as the truth frees and sanctifies those that accept
it (John XVII:17), so also is error the work of the devil which
enslaves those who follow it (John VIII:44).
It is also to HIS Church that Jesus confided the seven
sacraments; non-Catholics are deprived of this, and this
deprivation can only make their perseverance in the path of
salvation more precarious. While there is no doubt but that
some of the sects have preserved the priestly function intact
and this for them is a source of grace, unfortunately for them,
they use it in a reprehensible manner. For, in effect, it is
to HIS Church that the sacraments were confided, and not to
those who have broken away from her. In conferring on the
ministers that she ordains this inamissible power (i.e., a
power that cannot be lost), the Church is placing her
confidence in them. Never would she have confided this power
to them if she thought they would defect from her. Surely any
honest individual can understand that a person who leaves a
society no longer has the right to use those powers which said
society confided to him. If he does so in spite of this
defection, he is guilty of an abuse for which he will one day
have to answer.
Sacraments conferred under such circuмstances are
productive of [spiritual] life to those who accept them in
perfect good faith and place no obstacle to their reception.
For all others, they are productive of spiritual death.
Another support which is by no means the least of which
non Catholics - schismatics apart - are deprived is that of the
sacrament of penance. If even within the Church where one
enjoys the greatest of possible benefits, one must "work out
one's salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. II:12), how
much more one should tremble for the salvation of those who do
not belong to her body! The ability to commit mortal sin is
not limited to Catholics. Now it is a dogma of our faith that
every mortal sin which is not forgiven merits by its very
nature eternal hell. While it is easy to commit a mortal sin,
it is much more difficult to escape its effects. This is the
reason why Our Lord instituted the sacrament of penance which
the Fathers of the Church call a second baptism and the second
safeguard of salvation. While a Catholic who finds himself
incapable of achieving a state of perfect contrition can still
be forgiven by means of this sacrament of penance, the
non-Catholic who is deprived of this sacrament can only be
forgiven by attaining a state of perfect contrition.[6] From
this fact alone one can see how privileged, with regard to the
matter of salvation, are those who belong to the Body of the
Church and who as a result can so easily enjoy the treasures of
her graces. And as opposed to these, how disadvantaged are
those who are deprived of such favors! Pius XII spoke to us of
those who are in a state "where no one can be sure of his
eternal salvation". One should not be surprised that God
wished these facilities, and His Son has established HIS
Church, precisely to make salvation easier to those who wished
to enter it.
CONCLUSION
It is precisely because the true Church of Christ took
this dogma seriously that she has desired to be a missionary
Church since Apostolic times. In this she is but reflecting
the word of the Master who made her aware of the terrible
danger that those who do not know her to be the only Ark of
Salvation and continue to live in the darkness of idolatry, or
other religions, or in heresy and schism, run with regard to
their eternal salvation. This is why she sends forth so many
thousands of her sons and daughters at the risk of their lives
to enlighten non-believers.
And in so doing the Catholic Church is aware of the fact
that she is responding faithfully to the command of Our Lord:
"Go forth to all the nations and make disciples, baptizing them
in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all those things which I have
commanded you. He who believes and is baptized will be saved;
but he who does not believe will be condemned" (Matt. XXVIII:
19-20; Mark XVI:16).
It is because of her faithfulness to her Lord that this
same Catholic Church has a special Mass entitled "De Progaganda
Fide" in her Missal, a Mass in which she recalls that "her Lord
is great and infinitely worthy of praise; for He is more
powerful than all the other gods. FOR ALL THE GODS OF THE
PEOPLES ARE ONLY DEMONS" (Tractus).
It is again because of her faithfulness to her Lord who
became flesh and offered himself on the Cross for the salvation
of all men that the Catholic Church multiplies her prayers and
beseeches her children to make sacrifices "in order that God
might provide workers for the harvest" (Matt. IX:38), and that
He might send His Holy Spirit to renew the face of the earth
and enlighten those who are "seated in darkness and in the
shadow of death" (Luke I:79). The Apostle strongly recommends
this practice to his dear Timothy: "I desire first of all that
supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made
for all men ... for this is good and acceptable in the sight of
God our Saviour" (I Tim. II:1-3).
*
* * *
THE NEED TO SUBMIT TO THE MAGISTERIUM OF THE CHURCH IN ORDER TO
AVOID FALLING INTO ERROR WITH REGARD TO MATTERS PERTAINING TO
THE FAITH.
Sometimes the simplest dogmas are difficult to interpret.
In order not to fall into error, it is absolutely necessary for
us to submit to the Magisterium instituted by our Lord who
commanded that we listen to this authority as if He were
Himself speaking. The two examples which I am going to provide
will make the danger to our salvation of bypassing this
obligation abundantly clear.
THE FIRST is provided for us by Father Feeney, a brilliant
priest who was inspired by the best of intentions. He was
shocked and confused by the liberals whom he saw as existing
all around him, and even among those who had Magisterial
authority. In order to sustain his rigorist interpretation of
the dogma that "There is no salvation outside the Church", he
preferred to be cast out of her bosom by a true and valid
excommunication rather than accept the infallible teaching of
the Magisterium of the Church.
In 1940, the Saint Benedict Center was founded in
Cambridge, Massachusetts (U.S.A.). Its purpose was to provide
religious instruction for the students of the non-Catholic
universities in that city. In order to avoid any compromise
with the liberal ambiance and in order to teach authentic
Catholic doctrine, the directors and professors at this center
resolved to base their teaching on the Scriptures and writings
of the Fathers, Doctors and Saints of the Church. The success
of this Center was immediate, for it filled a serious void.
In 1942 Father Leonard Feeney was named director of the
Saint Benedict's Center. He was a 45 year old Jesuit, and was,
according to his Provincial Superior, Father McEleney, "by far
the greatest theologian in the United States". Father McEleney
was the future Archbishop of Jamaica.
It was only a matter of time before this Center attacked
the atheists and liberal Christians in Massachusetts. In
September of 1947, Dr. Fedhri Maluf inaugurated a study in
"From the Housetops" (the publication of this Center) entitled
"Sentimental theology" in which religious liberalism was
attacked head-on. This was too much and the atheists and
liberals launched an attack against the center. Among these
were included Bishop John Wright whom Paul VI raised to the
Cardinalate and made prefect of the Congregation for the
Clergy.
In this very liberal climate which reigned in the United
States, the students at the St. Benedict's Center were
particularly upset by the erroneous interpretation given to
certain dogmas, especially among those involved in the
Ecuмenical movement. In their opinion, the false
interpretation which was being given to the dogma that "Outside
the Church there is no salvation" was at the basis of all this
liberal teaching. And in reaction to this they gave the same
dogma a most rigorous interpretation. They were playing into
the hands of the liberals.
This rapidly stirred up a reaction and in April of 1949
Dr. Maluf and three other professors, all members of the St.
Benedict's Center, were expelled from the Jesuit house in
Boston for having taught an erroneous doctrine. They claimed
that all those who were not explicitly members of the visible
Church were damned, and accused all those who denied this of
being heretics.
In order to explain the reasons to the press, the Very
Reverend Wilham L. Keleher, S.J., President of Boston College,
declared: "They persisted in teaching, both in and outside the
classroom, doctrines which contradicted the traditional
teaching of the Catholic Church, ideas that fostered fanaticism
and intolerance."
The affair became a scandal when on April 17, 1949 Father
Leonard Feeney publicly undertook the defense of these
professors and their doctrine.
The following day, Richard J. Cushing, the Archbishop of
Boston, without any warning to the interested parties, declared
to the press that Father Leonard Feeney was suspended "a
divinis"[7] in the archdiocese and the Saint Benedict's Center
placed under interdict.
Considering this double sanction to be against Canon Law,
Father Feeney appealed to Rome.[8] From then on, there was
open war between the priest and the local authorities.
On the 8th of August, 1949, Cardinal
Marchetti-Salvaggiani, Secretary of the Holy Office, wrote to
the Archbishop of Boston and sent him a Declaration of this
Holy Office to be conveyed to Father Feeney, which made clear
the sense in which one should understand the doctrine that
"There is no salvation outside of the Catholic Church". Father
Feeney, refused to adhere to this declaration and wrote with
regard to the matter that "it can be considered as having
established a two-sided policy in order to propagate error".
On October 28th, Father Feeney was expelled from the
Jesuit Order.
Things remained unchanged until September 14, 1952. At
this point the Archbishop of Boston demanded that Father Feeney
retract his false interpretation and make an "explicit
profession of submission" to the Roman Declaration within one
month or suffer the penalty of being reduced to the state of a
layman.
Father Feeney, accompanied by four witnesses, presented
himself before his archbishop. He told him that his only
option was to declare the letter of Marchetti-Salvaggiani
"absolutely scandalous because it was frankly heretical". Then
he asked His Excellency if he was in agreement with the views
expressed by the Roman Declaration. He obtained the following
response: "I am not a theologian. All that I know is what I am
told". Then, in the presence of these witnesses, Father Feeney
accused the archbishop of failing to perform his duty, and
left.
On September 24, 1952, a letter was sent from the Saint
Benedict Center to Pius XII accusing the Archbishop of Boston
of heresy.
In October of 1952, Cardinal Pizzardo summoned Father
Feeney to present himself in Rome for a hearing by the Holy
Office. Father Feeney accepted on condition that they told him
beforehand what the charges against him were. Not receiving
any response, he did not comply.
On February 16, 1953, the "Acta Apostolicae Sedis"
announced the excommunication of Father Leonard Feeney. The
following is an official translation of the Decree:
"Since Father Leonard Feeney remained in Boston (Saint
Benedict Center) and since he has been suspended from
performing his priestly duties for a long time because of his
grave disobedience to the Authority of the Church, in no way
moved by repeated warnings and threats of incurring
excommunication "ipso facto", and has still failed to submit,
the most Eminent and reverend Fathers, charged with the
responsibility of safeguarding faith and morals, during a
plenary session held on February 4, 1953, have declared him
excommunicated with all the effects that this has in law.
"On Thursday, February 12, 1953, Our Most Holy Father Pius
XII, Pope by Divine Providence, has approved and confirmed the
decree of these Most Eminent Fathers, and ordered that this be
made a matter of public record."
Given in Rome in the general quarters of the Holy Office,
February 13, 1953. Marius Crovini, notary.
Since then, and in spite of the sanctions of the Holy
Office, Father Feeney has made the St. Benedict Center the
headquarters of a Society of about one hundred individuals who
call themselves the "Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary",
and who have undertaken to propagate this condemned doctrine
about the salvation of non-Catholics, while accusing the
Archbishop of Boston and all who agree with his interpretation
of being heretics.
* * *
The following is the decision of the Sacred Congregation
of the Holy Office promulgated July 27, 1949, and to which
Father Feeney refused to subscribe. It was only made public in
September of 1952. It was included in the works of Pius XII;
and one can read it in "Denzinger", Nos. 3866-3877. The
translation given below is taken from the "American
Ecclesiastical Review", Vol. CXXVII, October 1952:
" ... We are bound by divine and Catholic faith to
believe all those things contained in the Word of God, be it
Scripture or Tradition, and which are proposed by the Church to
be believed as divinely revealed, not only through solemn
judgement but also through the ordinary and universal teaching
office (magisterium).
"Now, among those things which the Church has always
preached and will never cease to preach, there is also that
infallible statement by which we are taught that there is no
salvation outside the Church.
"However this dogma must be understood in the sense that
the Church itself understands it. For our Saviour gave the
things that are contained in the deposit of faith to be
explained by the ecclesiastical magisterium and not by private
judgements
"Now, in the first place, the Church teaches that in this
matter we are dealing with a most strict precept of Jesus
Christ. For He explicitly ordered His apostles to teach all
nations to observe all things whatsoever He Himself had
commanded.
"Now, not the least important among the commandments of
Christ is that one by which we are commanded to be incorporated
by baptism into the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the
Church, and to remain united to Christ and to His Vicar,
through whom He Himself governs the Church on earth in a
visible manner.
"Therefore, no one will be saved who, knowing the Church
to have been divinely established by Christ, nevertheless
refuses to submit to the Church or withholds obedience from the
Roman Pontiff, the vicar of Christ on earth.
"The Saviour not only gave the precept that all nations
should enter the Church, but He also established the Church aa
a means of salvation, without which no one may be able to enter
the kingdom of eternal glory.
"In His infinite mercy, God has willed that the effect
necessary for one to be saved, of those helps to salvation
which are directed towards man's final end, not by intrinsic
necessity but only by divine institution, can also be obtained
in certain circuмstances when these helps are used only in
intention or desire ("ubi voto solummodo vel desiderio
adhibeantur"). This we see clearly stated in the Sacred
Council of Trent, both with reference to the sacrament of
regeneration and with reference to the sacrament of penance.
"In its own way, the same thing must be said about the
Church, insofar as the Church itself is a general help to
salvation. Therefore, in order that one may obtain eternal
salvation, it is not always required that he be incorporated
into the Church actually as a member, but it is required that
at least he be united to it by intention and desire.
"However, this desire need not always be explicit, as it
is in catechumens; but, when a person is involved in invincible
ignorance, God accepts also an implicit intention ("votum")
which is so called because it is included in that good
disposition of the soul whereby a person wishes his will to be
conformed to the will of God.
"These things are clearly taught in that dogmatic letter
which was issued by the Sovereign Pontiff, Pope Pius XII, on
June 29,1943, on the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ. For in
this letter the Sovereign Pontiff clearly distinguishes between
those who are really ("in re") incorporated into the Church as
members and those who are joined to it only in intention ("in
voto").
Discussing the members of whom the Mystical Body is
composed here on earth, the same August Pontiff says: "Only
those who have received the laver of regeneration, who profess
the true faith, who have not miserably separated themselves
from the fabric of the Church or been expelled by legitimate
authority by reason of very serious offences, are actually to
be counted as members of the Church."
Towards the end of the same encyclical letter, "when most
affectionately inviting to unity those who do not belong to the
body of the Catholic Church ("qui ad Ecclesiae Catholica
compagem non pertinent")", he mentions "those who are ordered
to the Redeemer's Mystical Body by a sort of unconscious
desire and intention", and these he by no means excludes from
eternal salvation, but on the other hand, asserts that "they
are in a condition in which they cannot be secure about their
own eternal salvation, since they still lack so many and such
great heavenly helps to salvation that can be enjoyed only in
the Catholic Church."
"With these wise words he reproves both those who exclude
from eternal salvation all those united to the Church only by
implicit desire and those who falsely assert that men can be
saved equally ("aequaliter") in every religion."
"Nor must we think that any kind of intention of entering
the Church is sufficient in order that one may be saved. It is
requisite that the intention by which one is ordered to the
Church should be informed by perfect charity; and no explicit
intention can produce its effect unless the man have
supernatural faith: "For he who comes to God must believe that
He exists and is a rewarder of those who seek Him" (Hebr.
XI:6). The council of Trent declares: "Faith is the beginning
of man's salvation, the foundation and root of all
justification, without which it is impossible to please God and
attain to the fellowship of His children."
A SECOND EXAMPLE is provided by the present occupant of
the Chair of Peter. Blinded by his modernist faith, John Paul
II takes a stance in direct contradiction to his predecessors
and affirms that it is possible to save one's soul outside of
the Catholic Church. In affirming this he makes himself
anathema, for he blasphemes the holy Spouse of Jesus Christ.[9]
To quote him directly:
"It can be said that those who do not belong to the
visible organism of the Church are [nevertheless] full of a
particular hope of salvation" (General Audience, May 21, 1980).
"The oriental patriarchs who are separated from the
Catholic Church are charged with accomplishing that with which
the apostles were commissioned" (Nairobi, May 7, 1980).
"Christians of different confessions are united in the
Holy Spirit by the bonds of an incomplete communion" (To the
representatives of the non-Catholics of Japan, February 24,
1981).
"Moslems are our brothers, believing in the same unique
God" (Discourse given to Moslems in Paris, May 31, 1980).
"The Holy Spirit is even mysteriously present in the
religions and cultures of non-Christians ... One could say of
the Holy Spirit that, so great and generous is this Spirit,
that each person has part of him, and all have the totality of
him" (To the International Congress of Pneumatology, March 26,
1982).
"The Spirit of Christ does not refuse to use the other
separated Churches and ecclesiastical communities as a means of
salvation" (Apostolic Exhortation, "Catechesi tradendae").
The Holy Spirit not only refuses to use as a means of
salvation those groups established in heresy or schism, but, as
I have shown above, for a non-Catholic to be gathered into the
soul of the Church, it is necessary that he be at least
implicitly detached from schism or heresy, in which states he
is presumed to be in good faith. One should never forget that
the God who saves is never the "father of lies", of error or of
schism. As He Himself explained, "I am the Truth" (John
XIV:6).
cf.
http://www.the-pope.com/fif.html
Topic: Fr. Noel Barbara (RIP) on Salvation (Read 2489 times)