James —

Somebody told you wrong. The Church has never taught that. The Church has taught that outside the Church there is no salvation, which means that those who willfully leave what they know to be the true Church cannot be saved, and that the Church is necessary for the salvation of all, because She is the presence of Christ in the world.

Through His Presence and action in Her, He saves whoever is going to be saved, including all men who follow the Light God gives them, and the Light is Christ, whether they know it or not.

Mary Ann

Hi, James —

Thanks for the question.

My colleague Mary Ann is correct; we have written extensively on this topic.

You can:

• Search our knowledge base
• Read postings from our "No Salvation Outside the Church" section, or
• Read postings from our Justification and Salvation section

Reading some of these postings should give you a good understanding of what the Catholic Church
teaches and why.

Mike