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Hi, Gerard —
Thanks for your question.
The Church does not teach that everyone
will be saved in the end by going
through Purgatory. Purgatory is not
a place where salvation is earned.
Purgatory is a place where the saved go
through final purification before
entering Heaven. (Revelation 21:27) I'd encourage you to search our database, especially our Purgatory
section, for a further understanding
of:
- What Purgatory is
- What Purgatory isn't
- Why it is necessary
- and so on.
Regarding your second question.
We evangelize because that is the
commission given to the Church by
Christ. Salvation, on the other hand,
is a matter we leave up to Christ.
We know that God is just, merciful,
and desires all men to be saved.
Therefore, we always have hope that
God can save those who are not evangelized
in ways known only to Himself. He
alludes to this in Matthew 25 when
those being judged don't even know
who He is. Beyond entrusting everyone's
soul to the Love and Mercy of God,
we can go no further.
Finally, the Church doesn't go around
saying anybody who is alive is saved
or not, whether they are Catholic
or not!! God knows the condition
of their souls; it is up to Him to
judge.
The Church does teach that the Church
of Jesus Christ fully subsists in
the Catholic Church and other Christians
are in an imperfect communion with
the Church. We recognize that the
grace of Baptism is at work in all
Christians, not just Catholics. Since
judgment doesn't happen until the
end on a person's life, it is really
not possible for us to know who is
saved and who is not.
Again, we've covered this topic extensively.
I encourage you to search our database, especially our No Salvation Outside the Church section.
John
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