The catechism however can be interpreted as a break from Tradition or supporting the rigorist interpretation of the ex cathedra dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus, outside the church there is no salvation and everyone needs to be a formal member to avoid Hell.
This ex cathedra dogma does not state that those with the baptism of desire or who are in invincible ignorance or have a good conscience are exempted from formally entering the Church. Neither does it state that only those who know about the Catholic Church need to enter the Church through Catholic Faith and the baptism of water to avoid Hell. The dogma says everyone with no exception. So the catechism can be misinterpreted.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church can be interpreted as supporting the infallible teaching. This would be unpleasant for those who use the Jewish Left-Boston College interpretation of Vatican Council II and the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
For instance here is CCC 845
to reunite all his children, scattered and led astray by sin, the Father willed to call the whole of humanity together into his Son's Church. The Church is the place where humanity must rediscover its unity and salvation. The Church is "the world reconciled." She is that bark which "in the full sail of the Lord's cross, by the breath of the Holy Spirit, navigates safely in this world." According to another image dear to the Church Fathers, she is prefigured by Noah's ark, which alone saves from the flood.
CCC 846 also affirms the rigorist interpretation of the ex cathedra dogma outside the church there is no salvation. All need to enter as through a door, this is the language of the Church Fathers on extra ecclesiam nulla salus.
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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 (Emphasis added)
No where in the Catechism (CCC 836,837,838,846,847,849-852 etc) is there a contradiction of the rigorist interpretation of the ex cathedra dogma extra eccleisam nulla salus. The Catechism is in accord with Fr.Leonard Feeney.
CCC 847 and 848 refer to those saved with a good conscience or invincible ignorance and who are unknown to us human beings but only known to God. They are saved ‘in certain circumstances’ (Letter of the Holy Office 1949).So the ordinary way of salvation is the baptism of water with Catholic Faith; the explicit, formal means of salvation. The ordinary way of salvation for non Catholics according to the Letter of the Holy Office cannot be the baptism of desire, invincible ignorance or a good conscience.
CCC 845 indicates that the only way of salvation that we humans ‘know’ is the explicit, formal means which includes the baptism of water.CCC 847, 848 refer to hypothetical cases, a possibility known only to God and which we can accept only in principle. We do not know any particular case of invincible ignorance. Neither do we know any person whom Jesus will judge as having a good conscience on the Day of Judgement. So CCC 847,848 (implicit, hypothetical salvation) does not contradict CCC 845 ( the need for explicit entry into the Church as if entering a Door).
CCC 845 indicates that the only way of salvation that we humans ‘know’ is the explicit, formal means which includes the baptism of water.CCC 847, 848 refer to hypothetical cases, a possibility known only to God and which we can accept only in principle. We do not know any particular case of invincible ignorance. Neither do we know any person whom Jesus will judge as having a good conscience on the Day of Judgement. So CCC 847,848 (implicit, hypothetical salvation) does not contradict CCC 845 ( the need for explicit entry into the Church as if entering a Door).
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."
All people (Ad Gentes 7,Vatican Council II,CCC 845) with no exceptions that we know of, need Catholic Faith and the baptism of water to go to Heaven and avoid Hell. Outside the Church there is no salvation. The exceptions (CCC 847) are unknown to us.
When Catholics who misinterpret the Catechism as a break from Tradition use the mantra ‘ everyone needs to enter the Catholic Church except for those in invincible ignorance, the baptism of desire or blood’ it needs to be clarified that the exceptions (baptism of desire etc ) to the ordinary means of salvation (baptism of water with Catholic Faith) are known only to God. People can be saved in this category (invincible ignorance etc) but they are unknown to us.
So if they are unknown to us and can be judged only by Jesus the teaching of the 'rigorist interpretation’ the ex cathedra dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus, is still the official teaching of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. The Catechism or Vatican Council II (LG 16) do not contradict it.
Without this clarification ( the exceptions (baptism of desire etc ) to the ordinary means of salvation (baptism of water with Catholic Faith) are known only to God ) the interpretation of Vatican Council II and the Catechism would be heresy. It could mean that the baptism of desire etc is the ordinary means of salvation, it is explicit and so contradicts the ex cathedra dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus. With the clarification Vatican Council II and the Catechism of the Catholic Church is in accord with the ex cathedra dogma. They are in accord with Pope Pius XII's Letter of the Holy Office.
Along with CCC 845, CCC 846 also affirms the rigorist interpretation of the ex cathedra dogma outside the church there is no salvation. It says all need to enter the Catholic Church as through a door, this is the language of the Church Fathers on extra ecclesiam nulla salus.
Here is the text of the ex cathedra dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus which was the basis of mission for Catholics down the centuries.
Ad Gentes 7,Vatican Council II has the same message.1. “There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved.” (Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, 1215). Ex cathedra.
2. .“We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.” (Pope Boniface VIII, the Bull Unam Sanctam, 1302.).Ex cathedra.
3. “The most Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can have a share in life eternal; but that they will go into the eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless before death they are joined with Her; and that so important is the unity of this ecclesiastical body that only those remaining within this unity can profit by the sacraments of the Church unto salvation, and they alone can receive an eternal recompense for their fasts, their almsgivings, their other works of Christian piety and the duties of a Christian soldier. No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pour out his blood for the Name of Christ, can be saved, unless he remain within the bosom and the unity of the Catholic Church.” (Pope Eugene IV, the Bull Cantate Domino, 1441.) Ex cathedra – from the website Catholicism.org and “No Salvation outside the Church”: Link List, the Three Dogmatic Statements Regarding EENS
Therefore, all must be converted to Him, made known by the Church's preaching, and all must be incorporated into Him by baptism and into the Church which is His body. For Christ Himself "by stressing in express language the necessity of faith and baptism (cf. Mark 16:16; John 3:5), at the same time confirmed the necessity of the Church, into which men enter by baptism, as by a door.-Ad Gentes 7,Vatican Council II.Lumen Gentium 16 (LG 16) does not contradict the infallible teaching.
Those also can attain to salvation who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God and moved by grace strive by their deeds to do His will as it is known to them through the dictates of conscience.-Lumen Gentium 16, Vatican Council II.Lumen Gentium 16 does not refer to explicit, knowable Baptism of desire and invincible ignorance. Those who will be judged with a good conscience are not explicitly known to us.
If one assumes that LG 16 refers to explicit baptism of desire then there would be trouble also with the Catechism of the Catholic Church 1257.
VI. THE NECESSITY OF BAPTISMCCC 1257 states that the Church knows of no means to eternal beatitude other than the Baptism of water and also says God is not limited to the Sacraments. There could be some, or many, saved without the Sacrament of Baptism.
1257 The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation.59 He also commands his disciples to proclaim the Gospel to all nations and to baptize them.60 Baptism is necessary for salvation for those to whom the Gospel has been proclaimed and who have had the possibility of asking for this sacrament.61 The Church does not know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into eternal beatitude; this is why she takes care not to neglect the mission she has received from the Lord to see that all who can be baptized are "reborn of water and the Spirit." God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments.
It would violate the Principle of Non Contradiction. It would mean de facto everyone needs the Baptism of Water and Catholic Faith to go to Heaven (AG 7,CCC 1257) and de facto there can also be people saved without the Sacrament of the Baptism of water (LG 16, CCC 1257). It does not make sense.
However if they considered LG 16 as referring to de jure, implicit salvation, something that we can accept in principle but which is only known to God ( it is only explicit for God and we do not know a single case of Baptism of Desire) then it would not violate the Principle on Non Contradiction. It would mean de facto every one needs to explicitly enter the Catholic Church while de jure, in principle there could be some people saved with implicit baptism of desire etc.
There is no explicit or implicit Baptism of desire that we can know of reason tells us. Neither the past popes or saints have referred to an explicit Baptism of desire. Neither does the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Since we know that there can be no explicit baptism of desire etc, LG 16, is referring to implicit Baptism of desire known only as a concept. Something hypothetical. A probability. A possibility.
Only God can know when it is explicit. We do not know of any explicit baptism of desire in the present times, which is external, seeable and repeatable.
We do not know even in principle (implicitly) if there is any Baptism of desire in the present time. However we know as a concept that God is Good and Merciful and so could save a person with the Baptism of Desire whenever and if God wanted.
If the Baptism of desire etc is not explicit then LG 16 does not contradict the infallible teaching or Fr. Leonard Feeney. There is no confusion with CCC 1257. So then neither does the LG 16 text repeated in the Catechism contradict the ex cathedra dogma and Fr. Leonard Feeney.
So when the new papal decree states
5th. to promote the use of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, as essential and complete formulation of the content of the faith for the men of our time.We have the rigorist interpretation of the ex cathedra dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus. This dogma was never revoked or changed according to any Magisterial Document. It still is a Magisterial teaching in accord with the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Those evangelizing need to know that :
1. The Catholic Church teaches that non-Catholic religions (Judaism, Islam, Hinduism etc) are not paths to salvation?
Yes (CDF, Notification, Fr. Dupuis s.j 2001, Dominus Iesus 20, 2000 etc)
2. The Catholic Church teaches that Catholic Faith and the baptism of water are needed for all people for salvation? Yes
(Those in invincible ignorance, with the baptism of water or blood, or with a good conscience will be known only to God. We do not know any case.) (Ad Gentes 7, Lumen Gentium 14, Vatican Council II, etc)
3.The Catholic Church teaches that when I meet a non Catholic (Jew, Muslim etc) I know that he or she needs to convert into the Catholic Church to avoid Hell ? Yes.(Cantate Domino, Council of Florence, Ex Cathedra, extra ecclesiam nulla salus, Dominus Iesus 20, CDF, Notification on Fr. Jacques Dupuis etc.)
4. The Catholic Church has not retracted the ex cathedra dogma extra eccleisam nulla salus and it still is a Magisterial teaching ? Yes.
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