Saturday, August 6, 2011

See the difference!

When EWTN, Catholic Answers, USCCB and Fr. Hans Kung consider implicit salvation (baptism of desire, invincible ignorance) as explicitly known to us the popes contradict themself in Vatican Council II and Quanto Conficiamur.

See the difference here.

VATICAN COUNCIL II
Lumen Gentium 14 says everyone needs to enter the Church, ‘the necessity of faith and baptism’. This is the same teaching as Cantate Domino. The dogma says every one with no exception needs to formally enter the Church to avoid Hell.
This Sacred Council wishes to turn its attention firstly to the Catholic faithful. Basing itself upon Sacred Scripture and Tradition, it teaches that the Church, now sojourning on earth as an exile, is necessary for salvation. Christ, present to us in His Body, which is the Church, is the one Mediator and the unique way of salvation. In explicit terms He Himself affirmed the necessity of faith and baptism and thereby affirmed also the necessity of the Church, for through baptism as through a door men enter the Church.-Lumen Gentium 14, Vatican Council II.

Lumen Gentium 15 and 16 refer to those saved implicitly and who are not formal members of the Church. They can be saved of course but who they are will always not be known to us. Specific cases are known only to God. So since they are not explicitly known to us they do not contradict Lumen Gentium 14 which indicates every one needs to be a formal member( ‘faith and baptism’) for salvation.
  If you considered implicit salvation as explicitly known to us then Lumen Gentium 15-16 would contradict Lumen Gentium 14. Then Lumen Gentium would be confusing as some call it, a mystery.


Lumen Gentium 15. The Church recognizes that in many ways she is linked with those who, being baptized, are honored with the name of Christian, though they do not profess the faith in its entirety or do not preserve unity of communion with the successor of Peter….

Lumen Gentium 16: Finally, those who have not yet received the Gospel are related in various ways to the people of God…
QUANTO CONFICIAMUR

8. Also well known is the Catholic teaching that no one can be saved outside the Catholic Church –Quanto Conficamur, Pope Pius IX 1863

7. There are, of course, those who are struggling with invincible ignorance about our most holy religion. Sincerely observing the natural law and its precepts inscribed by God on all hearts and ready to obey God, they live honest lives and are able to attain eternal life by the efficacious virtue of divine light and grace. Because God knows, searches and clearly understands the minds, hearts, thoughts, and nature of all, his supreme kindness and clemency do not permit anyone at all who is not guilty of deliberate sin to suffer eternal punishments...-Qunato Conficamur 
If those saved with invincible ignorance are explicitly known to us then N. 8 will contradict N.7. If invincible ignorance is implicit, there is no contradiction between 8 and 7.


LETTER OF THE HOLY OFFICE 1949
Here the Letter is affirming 'the dogma', the 'infallible statement'. The dogma is Cantate Domino, Council of Florence which holds the ‘strict interpretation’ of outside the church there is no salvation. Every one needs to formally, explicitly be a member of the Catholic Church with no exception says the dogma. It was defined ex cathedra and so it is 'infallilble'.

The Letter affirms implicit salvation ( invincible ignorance, baptism of desire etc ). If implicit baptism of desire is considered explicit and known to us, then the Letter would contradict itself.Since it indicates  every one in Boston needs to explicitly be a member of the Catholic Church ; all non Catholics there need to convert to avoid Hell (Cantate Domino). Then it would also indicate that there could be non Catholics in Boston known to us, who are saved in invincible ignorance or with the baptism of desire and so they do not have to convert into the Catholic Church.This would mean the baptism of desire and invincible ignorance are exceptions to the dogma.
Now, among those things which the Church has always preached and will never cease to preach is contained also that infallible statement by which we are taught that there is no salvation outside the Church.

However, this dogma must be understood in that sense in which the Church herself understands it. For, it was not to private judgments that Our Savior gave for explanation those things that are contained in the deposit of faith, but to the teaching authority of the Church.-Letter of the Holy Office 1949 during the pontificate of Pope Pius XII to the Archbishop of Boston (emphasis added)
The same in its own degree must be asserted of the Church, in as far as she is the general help to salvation. Therefore, 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 necessary that at least he be united to her by desire and longing.

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 desire, so called because it is included in that good disposition of soul whereby a person wishes his will to be conformed to the will of God.-Letter of the Holy Office 1949 (emphasis added )
Reason tells us that we do not know any case of person saved in this category so how can they be exceptions to the dogma. Also how could all the popes contradict themself in so many magisterial texts ?
Over the centuries the Catholic Church assumed implicit salvation was implicit and not an exception to the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus.

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