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I was intrigued by the above phrase quoted
on the C-PATS web site.
What is the story?
Being a converted Protestant, I'm not overly
interested in political issues.
I would rather get on with my relationship with
Jesus and the Church but I have heard the
word Separated Brethren used several times.
Is this, or was this, ever a doctrine of the
Church?
Best Regards,
God bless and keep up the good work,
Perry
{ Was "Outside the Church there is no salvation." ever a Catholic doctrine?; is it?; what's the story? }
Eric
replied:
Hi, Perry —
Thanks for your inquiry. The doctrine
of "Outside the Church there
is no salvation" is one that must
be carefully understood in context,
and it has, in recent years, been
subject to much misinterpretation.
The first place I would point you
to is the recent Catechism of the
Catholic Church, which you can trust
as an authoritative statement of
Catholic doctrine:
846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers? (cf. Cyprian, Ep. 73.21:PL 3,1169; De unit.:PL 4,509-536.)
Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:
Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.
847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:
Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience - those too may achieve eternal salvation.
848 "Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men."
22. Recognizing also the existence,
outside the organism of the Church
of Christ, of numerous elements
of truth and sanctification which
belong to her as her own and tend
to Catholic unity, and believing
in the action of the Holy Spirit
who stirs up in the heart of the
disciples of Christ love of this
unity, we entertain the hope that
Christians who are not yet in
the full communion of the one
only Church will one day be reunited
in one flock with one only Shepherd.
23. We believe that the Church
is necessary for salvation, because
Christ who is the sole Mediator
and Way of salvation, renders
Himself present for us in His
Body which is the Church. But
the divine design of salvation
embraces all men; and those who
without fault on their part do
not know the Gospel of Christ
and His Church, but seek God sincerely,
and under the influence of grace
endeavor to do His will as recognized
through the promptings of their
conscience, they, in a number
known only to God, can obtain
salvation.
On the other hand, it must not be
interpreted too strictly. In 1949,
a priest by the name of Leonard Feeney
was rebuked by the predecessor to
the Congregation for the Doctrine
of the Faith, the chief guardian
of doctrine at the Holy See, for
holding that no one who wasn't literally
a member of a Catholic parish could
be saved:
Letter Of The Holy Office To The Archbishop Of Boston, August 8, 1949.
This letter, proposed on July
27 and approved the next day by
the Supreme Pontiff, is directed
against that rigorism by which
certain members of the institutions "St.
Benedict's Center" and "Boston
College" interpret the saying "Outside
the Church there is no salvation" to
mean that all non-Catholics — catechumens
having the explicit intention
of entering the Catholic Church
excepted — are excluded from eternal
salvation. One of these rigorists,
Leonard Feeney, unmoved by the
warning of Church authority, was
excommunicated on February 4, 1953.
3866.......Among those things
which the Church has always proclaimed
and never leaves off proclaiming
is contained in the infallible proposition
by which we are taught that "outside
the Church there is no salvation."
3868 Nevertheless, this dogma
must be understood in the sense
in which the Church itself understands
it. For our Savior did not give
the contents of the deposit of
faith to private judgments, but
to the magisterium of the Church. The
Church does in fact teach how
this most severe precept of Jesus
Christ is to be interpreted. For
He Himself charged His apostles
to teach all nations to carry
out all the things which He had
commanded. Moreover, not the least
among the commandments of Christ
is that by which Christ orders
us to be incorporated by baptism
into the mystical body of Christ,
that is, the Church, and to cling
fast to Christ and to His vicar,
through whom He governs the Church
on earth in a visible manner.
Therefore no one will be saved, who
knowing the Church to be divinely
instituted by Christ, nevertheless
refuses to subject himself to
the Church or denies obedience
to the Roman Pontiff, the vicar
of Christ on Earth.
3868 Indeed, Christ did not simply
command that all nations should
enter the Church, but He also
set up the Church as the means
of salvation, without which no
one is able to enter the kingdom
of Heavenly glory.
3869 Concerning the aids given
for salvation, which are ordered
to the ultimate end by divine
institution alone and not by any
intrinsic necessity, God in his
infinite mercy willed that in
certain circumstances the effects
necessary for salvation may be
obtained when these aids are clung
to only by a wish or desire. In
the most holy Council of Trent,
we see this enunciated in clear
words first concerning the sacrament
of regeneration and then concerning
the sacrament of penance.
3870 The same can be said about
the Church, since she herself
is a general aid to salvation.
Thus for a person to obtain eternal
salvation, it is not always demanded
that he really be incorporated
as a member of the Church, but
it is at least required that he
adhere to it by wish and desire.
It is proper that this wish not
always be explicit, as happens
with catechumens. On the contrary,
when man labors under invincible
ignorance God also accepts an
implicit wish, called by this
name, because it is found in that
good disposition of the soul by
which man wishes to conform his
will to the will of God.
3871 These things are clearly
taught in Pius
XII's encyclical letter on the
mystical body of Jesus Christ: Mystici Corporis Christi.
In this letter the Supreme Pontiff
distinguishes clearly between
those who are really incorporated
as members of the Church, and
those who adhere to the Church
by wish alone. . . ."Among
the members of the Church those
alone must be numbered who have
received the washing of regeneration
and profess the true faith, and
have neither separated themselves
miserably from the structure of
the Body nor, on account of a
most serious crime, have been
severed from it by legitimate
authority."
Near the end
of the same encyclical letter,
inviting to unity with a most
loving spirit those who do not
belong to the structure of the
Catholic Church, he remembers
those "who by an ignorant
desire or wish may be ordered
towards the Mystical Body of the
Redeemer," whom he excludes
not at all from eternal salvation,
although he asserts that in such
a state they are tossed about
from every side, "and cannot
be sure of their own eternal salvation
. . . for they lack so many and
so great heavenly gifts and aids,
of which one may have the benefit
only in the Catholic Church."
3872 With these wise words he
reproves as much those
who exclude from eternal
salvation all who adhere to
the Church by an implicit wish
only, as those who falsely
claim that men can be saved
in every religion equally.
Nor
must it be thought that
any wish whatsoever of entering
the Church suffices for the
salvation of man. For it is
required that a wish, by which
someone is ordered toward the
Church, be formed in perfect
charity; nor can an implicit
wish have effect unless a man
has supernatural faith.
I hope this helps you to understand
this doctrine in the correct light!
Yours in Christ,
Eric Ewanco
Mike
replied:
Hi, Perry —
I have to preface my comments with
a personal bias. For years on end, I made weekly visits and
annual Holy Week retreats at the
Abbey. I was very close to the fathers,
brothers and monks who knew Father
Leonard very well.
Two objective facts must be made
known to anyone familiar with the Father Feeney case:
Father Leonard was not excommunicated
for doctrinal reasons,
but for discipline
or lack of obedience, like
Archbishop Lefebvre.
Before passing away to his particular
judgment, Father Feeney was [exonerated|vindicated] by Rome.
These two points usually don't get
mentioned when this matter is
talked about.
At the time, the newspapers were
confusing the issue, so Rome requested
that Father Leonard go to Rome to
explain his views.
Sadly, he did not. When Peter calls
from Rome, we should listen and act!
Although, as my colleague Eric stated,
one has to interpret this Teaching
correctly, the heading that precedes
paragraph 846 of the Catechism of
the Catholic Church, is a testament
to the importance of this teaching
of the Church.
The Church thinks this teaching is just as important today, as it did during the start of the Church; read the quotes from the Early Church Father below for more.
Separated Brethren describes our relationship with many, many believers who call themselves Christian, but are not Catholic Christian. They are Brethren by a valid Trinitarian Baptism in Christ, but Separated due to are different body of beliefs.
"Be not deceived, my brethren:
If anyone follows a maker of schism
(i.e., is a schismatic), he does
not inherit the kingdom of God;
if anyone walks in strange doctrine
(i.e., is a heretic), he has no
part in the passion {of Christ).
Take care, then, to use one Eucharist,
so that whatever you do, you do
according to God: For there is
one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and one cup in the union of his
blood; one altar, as there is
one bishop, with the presbytery
and my fellow servants, the deacons."
"We have been taught that
Christ is the first-begotten of
God, and we have declared him
to be the Logos of which all mankind
partakes (John 1:9). Those, therefore,
who lived according to reason
(Greek, logos) were really Christians,
even though they were thought
to be atheists, such as, among
the Greeks, Socrates, Heraclitus,
and others like them. . . . Those
who lived before Christ but did
not live according to reason (logos)
were wicked men, and enemies of
Christ, and murderers of those
who did live according to reason (logos), whereas those who lived
then or who live now according
to reason (logos) are Christians.
Such as these can be confident
and unafraid."
"In the Church God has placed
Apostles, Prophets, Teachers,
and every other working of the
Spirit, of whom none of those
are sharers who do not conform
to the Church, but who defraud
themselves of life by an evil
mind and even worse way of acting.
Where the Church is, there is
the Spirit of God; where the Spirit
of God is, there is the Church
and all grace."
"[The spiritual man] shall
also judge those who give rise
to schisms, who are destitute
of the love of God, and who look
to their own special advantage
rather than to the unity of the
Church; and who for trifling reasons,
or any kind of reason which occurs
to them, cut in pieces and divide
the great and glorious body of
Christ, and so far as in them
lies, destroy it—men who
prate of peace while they give
rise to war, and do in truth strain
out a gnat, but swallow a camel.
For they can bring about no ‘reformation' of
enough importance to compensate
for the evil arising from their
schism. . . . True knowledge is
that which consists in the doctrine
of the Apostles, and the ancient
constitution of the Church throughout
all the world, and the distinctive
manifestation of the body of Christ
according to the successions of
the bishops, by which they have
handed down that Church which
exists in every place (i.e., the
Catholic Church)."
"Before the coming of the
Lord, philosophy was necessary
for justification to the Greeks;
now it is useful for piety . .
. for it brought the Greeks to
Christ as the law did the Hebrews."
"[T]here was never a time
when God did not want men to be
just; he was always concerned
about that. Indeed, he always
provided beings endowed with reason
with occasions for practicing
virtue and doing what is right.
In every generation the wisdom
of God descended into those souls
which he found holy and made them
to be prophets and friends of
God."
"If someone from this people
wants to be saved, let him come
into this house so that he may
be able to attain his salvation.
. . . Let no one, then, be persuaded
otherwise, nor let anyone deceive
himself: Outside of this house,
that is, outside of the Church,
no one is saved; for, if anyone
should go out of it, he is guilty
of his own death."
"Whoever is separated from
the Church and is joined to an
adulteress (a schismatic church)
is separated from the promises
of the Church, nor will he that
forsakes the Church of Christ
attain to the rewards of Christ.
He is an alien, a worldling, and
an enemy. He cannot have God for
his Father who has not the Church
for his mother."
"Let them not think that
the way of life or salvation exists
for them, if they have refused
to obey the bishops and priests,
since the Lord says in the book
of Deuteronomy: ‘And any
man who has the insolence to refuse
to listen to the priest or judge,
whoever he may be in those days,
that man shall die' (Deuteronomy 17:12). And then, indeed, they
were killed with the sword . .
. but now the proud and insolent
are killed with the sword of the
Spirit, when they are cast out
from the Church. For they cannot
live outside, since there is only
one house of God, and there can
be no salvation for anyone except
in the Church."
"When we say, ‘Do you
believe in eternal life and the
remission of sins through the
holy Church?' we mean that
remission of sins is not granted
except in the Church."
"Peter himself, showing and
vindicating the unity, has commanded
and warned us that we cannot be
saved except by the one only Baptism
of the one Church. He says, ‘In
the ark of Noah a few, that is,
eight souls, were saved by water.
Similarly, Baptism will in like
manner save you" (1 Peter 3:20-21). In how short and spiritual
a summary has he set forth the
sacrament of unity! In that Baptism
of the world in which its ancient
wickedness was washed away, he
who was not in the ark of Noah
could not be saved by water. Likewise,
neither can he be saved by Baptism
who has not been baptized in the
Church which is established in
the unity of the Lord according
to the sacrament of the one ark."
"[O]utside the Church there
is no Holy Spirit, sound faith
moreover cannot exist, not alone
among heretics, but even among
those who are established in schism."
"It is, therefore, the Catholic
Church alone which retains true
worship. This is the fountain
of truth; this, the domicile of
faith; this, the temple of God.
Whoever does not enter there or
whoever does not go out from there,
he is a stranger to the hope of
life and salvation. . . . Because,
however, all the various groups
of heretics are confident that
they are the Christians and think
that theirs is the Catholic Church,
let it be known that this is the
true Church, in which there is
confession and penance and which takes a health-promoting care
of the sins and wounds to which
the weak flesh is subject."
"Heretics bring sentence
upon themselves since they by
their own choice withdraw from
the Church, a withdrawal which,
since they are aware of it, constitutes
damnation. Between heresy and
schism there is this difference:
that heresy involves perverse
doctrine, while schism separates
one from the Church on account
of disagreement with the bishop.
Nevertheless, there is no schism
which does not trump up a heresy
to justify its departure from
the Church."
"We believe also in the holy
Church, that is, the Catholic
Church. For heretics violate the
faith itself by a false opinion
about God; schismatics, however,
withdraw from fraternal love by
hostile separations, although
they believe the same things we
do. Consequently, neither heretics
nor schismatics belong to the
Catholic Church; not heretics,
because the Church loves God;
and not schismatics, because the
Church loves neighbor."
"[J]ust as Baptism is of
no profit to the man who renounces
the world in words and not in
deeds, so it is of no profit to
him who is baptized in heresy
or schism; but each of them, when
he amends his ways, begins to
receive profit from that which
before was not profitable, but
was yet already in him."
"I do not hesitate to put
the Catholic catechumen, burning
with divine love, before a baptized
heretic. Even within the Catholic
Church herself we put the good
catechumen ahead of the wicked
baptized person . . . For Cornelius,
even before his Baptism, was filled
up with the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:44–48), while Simon [Magus],
even after his Baptism, was puffed
up with an unclean spirit (Acts 8:13–19)."
(ibid., 4:21[28])
"The apostle Paul said, ‘As
for a man that is a heretic, after
admonishing him once or twice,
have nothing more to do with him' (Titus 3:10). But those who maintain
their own opinion, however false
and perverted, without obstinate
ill will, especially those who
have not originated the error
of bold presumption, but have
received it from parents who had
been led astray and had lapsed
. . . those who seek the truth
with careful industry and are
ready to be corrected when they
have found it, are not to be rated among heretics."
"Whoever is separated from
this Catholic Church, by this
single sin of being separated
from the unity of Christ, no matter
how estimable a life he may imagine
he is living, shall not have life,
but the wrath of God rests upon
him."
"Anyone who receives the
sacrament of Baptism, whether
in the Catholic Church or in a
heretical or schismatic one, receives
the whole sacrament; but salvation,
which is the strength of the sacrament,
he will not have, if he has had
the sacrament outside the Catholic
Church [and remains in deliberate
schism]. He must therefore return
to the Church, not so that he
might receive again the sacrament
of Baptism, which no one dare
repeat in any baptized person,
but so that he may receive eternal
life in Catholic society, for the obtaining of which no one
is suited who, even with the sacrament
of Baptism, remains estranged
from the Catholic Church."
