Friday, January 27, 2012

ANTI SEMITIC TO BE A CATHOLIC

When someone asks me: The Catholic Church teaches that Judaism is a path to salvation? I answer No. It is not a path to salvation (CDF, Notification on Fr. Jacques Dupuis S.J).

If I am asked: Jews and members of other religions need to enter the Catholic Church for salvation and there are no exceptions? I would answer yes. (Dominus Iesus 20 etc)

This is my Catholic Faith and I am not ashamed to say it.
 
If someone claims that I am anti-Semitic or threatens me with anti-Semitism laws I would respond that this is my Catholic Faith. This has been the teaching of the Catholic Church before and after Vatican Council II.

If they declare me an anti-Semite I would say that I am just following the teachings of the Church if someone creates a law which says this teaching is anti Semitism them so be it. I am just being a good Catholic.

Those who deny this teaching commit a mortal sin and if one dies with a mortal sin without going for Confession the soul is lost. In this case we have Catholics not affirming the Church teaching on other religions. They are denying the faith in public, on the internet.
 
Also to suggest that Lumen Gentium 16 refers to cases of invincible ignorance that we know of and so it is a de facto exception to the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus is a denial of the dogma. . In other words it is also an exception to the Nicene Creed in which we pray: “I believe in one baptism for the forgiveness of sin”. LG 16 is an exception to the Creed?

I may not be a scholar with degrees in Scripture and theology like Robert Sungenis and Scott Hahn however I do know:

1. There is no particular case of the baptism of desire that we know of in the present time. Neither do we know of any case of a non Catholic saved in invincible ignorance (LG 16).

2. The dogma outside the church there is no salvation says every one needs to convert into the Church to avoid the pains of Hell.

3. There is no Church document which says invincible ignorance and the baptism of desire contradict the dogma. So it does not contradict Vatican Council II (AG 7, LG 14) which says all need to enter the Church with Catholic Faith and the baptism of water.

I could explain this to a young First Communicant who would understand these three points since he would not be conditioned by an education in a Pontifical University or seminary.
-Lionel Andrades