eucharistandmission: International Theological Commission made a mistake

Wednesday, September 14, 2016

International Theological Commission made a mistake

International Theological Commission, Vol I

'10. Exclusivist ecclesiocentrism—the fruit of a specific theological system or of a mistaken understanding of the phrase extra ecclesiam nulla salus—is no longer defended by Catholic theologians after the clear statements of Pius XII and Vatican Council II on the possibility of salvation for those who do not belong visibly to the Church (cf, e.g., LG 16; GS 22)...'-International Theological Commission, Christianity and the World Religions

'on the possibility of salvation for those who do not belong visibly to the Church'

A possibility is not a visible case.This is a mistake in the inference.

67. Vatican Council II makes its own the expression extra ecclesiam nulla salus. But in using it the council explicitly directs itself to Catholics and limits its validity to those who know the necessity of the Church for salvation. The council holds that the affirmation is based on the necessity of faith and of baptism affirmed by Christ (LG 14). In this way the council aligned itself in continuity with the teaching of Pius XII, but emphasized more clearly the original parenthentical character of this expression.- Christianity and the World Religions 1997,International Theological Commission

'and limits its validity to those who know the necessity of the Church for salvation.'

Those 'who do not know', who are in invincible ignorance, and are allegedly saved would be known only to God. They are invisible cases for us on earth. So they are not relevant to the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus.Here the ITC has made a mistake.

59. The Letter of the Holy Office to the Archbishop of Boston (1949) offers further specifications. “To gain eternal salvation, it is not always required that a person be incorporated in reality (reapse) as a member of the Church, but it is necessary that one belong to it at least in desire and longing (voto et desiderio). It is not always necessary that this desire be explicit as it is with catechumens.

When one is invincibly ignorant, God also accepts an implicit desire, so called because it is contained in the good disposition of soul by which a person wants his or her will to be conformed to God’s will”. - The Hope of Salvation for Infants who die without the being baptized', International Theological Commission, 2007

'To gain eternal salvation, it is not always required that a person be incorporated in reality (reapse) as a member of the Church'

The Letter of the Holy Office 1949 made an objective mistake. Since it is always required that a person be incorporated in the Church as a member since there are no known exceptions. We cannot see any one saved without the baptism of water in the Catholic Church. We cannot meet any one in 2016 for example, who will be saved with the baptism of desire or in invincible ignorance.