Bishop Joseph Strickland does not affirm the dogma EENS according to the Fourth Lateran Council, the Council of Florence and the Athanasius Creed. Why ? Has the teachings of the Catholic Church changed for him?

 

Bishop Strickland: Salvation is only mediated through the Church established by Christ

https://www.lifesitenews.com/episodes/bishop-strickland-salvation-is-only-mediated-through-the-church-established-by-christ/?utm_source=featured_video&utm_campaign=usa

Sep 24, 2023

 (LifeSiteNews) — On this week’s episode of the Bishop Strickland Show, Bishop Joseph Strickland continues his commentary on his second pastoral letter, explaining that salvation comes through the ministration of the Catholic Church alone. 

Lionel: This is vague and not precise. Is the good bishop, whom I admire, saying that 1) there are known cases of non Catholics saved outside the Catholic Church with the baptism of desire (LG 14) , invincible ignorance(LG 16) etc?. 2) Is he saying that he knows of particular non Catholics saved outside the Catholic Church without Catholic faith and the baptism of water ? 3) Is he saying that all non Catholics in general are oriented to Hell without faith and baptism (AG 7)? There are so many questions which are not answered. 4) Is he saying that he rejects the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus of the Fourth Lateran Council (1215) and the Council of Florence (1442)? 5) Does he accept the 1949 Letter of the Holy Office to the Archbishop of Boston relative to Fr. Leonard Feeney which tells us that invisible cases of the baptism of desire and being saved in invincible ignorance, are visible examples of salvation outside the Church ? May be Terry Barber could ask Bishop Strickland these questions on the Virgin Most Powerful Radio.

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Continuing his commentary, Strickland says that from the perspective of the Catholic Church, once one is baptized, he is incorporated into the Mystical Body of Christ. The incorporation, however, cannot attain its fullness outside of the Catholic Church, as the Catholic Church alone has the fulness of truth and the means of grace. Every unbaptized person, further, is invited to partake of the fulness of Christ through baptism. 

Lionel: Yes. Pope Honourious III in the Fourth Lateran Council explained this, as saying, that all must seek the truth in the Catholic Church outside of which there is no salvation. This is also the message of the Athanasius Creed. Does Bishop Joseph Strickland affirm the Athanasius Creed ?

I tried to interact with Bishop Joseph Strickland on this issue on Twitter but there was no respose from him. The USCCB rejects the dogma EENS of the Fourth Lateran Council. The USCCB also accepts the irrational and non Magisterial 1949 Letter of the Holy Office which has brought a new theology into the Catholic Church. It says outside the Church there is salvation.It implies that there are known people in the present times saved outside the Catholic Church.So not everyone needs to enter the Church. I call this Cushingism. Dominus Iesus  and Redemptoris Missio were Cushingite as was Pope Benedict XVI. Bishop Joseph Strickland seems to be repeating the liberal theology of Pope Benedict XVI. He would be interpreting Vatican Council II ( LG 8, 14, 15,16 etc) and the Catechism of the Catholic Church ( 847-848 etc), irrationally.

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While explaining this infallible teaching of the Church, however, Strickland offers a caveat: God asks people to freely accept baptism and grace. “It’s not some automatic thing,” he says. “‘Oh, you’re baptized, so you’re just going to be … living faithfully the way of Jesus Christ.’ It gives you grace, it gives you the opportunity, but all of us have to continue to cooperate [with grace].” 

Lionel: In this interview Bishop Jospeh Strickland does not affirm the dogma EENS according to the Fourth Lateran Council, the Council of Florence and the Athanasius Creed. Why ? Has the teachings of the Catholic Church changed for him?

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Strickland also addresses a corollary to this dogma of the Catholic faith, addressing the fate of those who die outside of the Catholic Church. Strickland, referring to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, explains that God can work outside of the Catholic Church, though only through her mediation.

Lionel: The dogma EENS says all need to be members of the Catholic Church for salvation. The Church Councils which defined this dogma did not mention any exceptions. At the human level we cannot know of any exceptions. If any one is saved outside the Catholic Church it can only be known to God.

So when the the Catechism of the Catholic Church mentions being saved in invincible ignorance and the baptism of desire (847-848 etc) - it does not contradict the dogma EENS, for me. Since hypothetical and invisible cases of the baptism of desire and being saved in invincible ignorance are not exceptions for the dogma EENS or Ad Gentes 7, for me. Ad Gentes 7 says all need faith and baptism for salvation. So yes- God can work outside the Church since God is God but God can also choose to restrict salvation to only membership in the Catholic Church.Theoretically, it works both ways. In both cases it is hypothetical here. But the dogma EENS tells us that the Holy Spirit teaches us  that there is exclusive salvation in only the Catholic Church. This means that when I meet a non Christian, I know that he or she is oriented to Hell since this is the teaching of the dogma EENS which is not contradicted by Vatican Council II.It is supported by Ad Gentes 7 in Vatican Council II.

 It also means that there must only be an ecumenism of return to the Church. Since the dogma EENS is no more contradicted by Unitatis Redintigratio , Decree on Ecumenism, Vatican Council II.

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“When we’re not evangelizing well, God can still bring the light of truth to His people,” Strickland maintains. “God’s not bound [by the sacraments] … but … the language the Church uses, the sacraments are the ordinary instruments that God has given us of bringing us into a life of grace, forgiving our sins, strengthening us in that grace.” 

Lionel: Yes the Sacraments are the ordinary means of salvation and we humans do not know of any extra ordinary means of salvation.  Since if any one was saved outside the Church it could only be known to God. So we only have the ordinary means of salvation.Every one needs to accept Jesus in the Catholic Church to avoid Hell.This is why we call Jesus the Saviour. He saves all people from Hell who believe in Him and live his teachings in the Catholic Church, His Mystical Body.

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Addressing the mediation of the Catholic Church in the salvation of those outside Her, Strickland states that such is because the Catholic Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, and that anyone who comes to Christ must come to Him through the Church. 

Lionel: Yes but this would also mean affirming the strict Feeneyite interpretation of the dogma EENS like in the Council of Florence and the Fourth Lateran Council. The USCCB does not do this and neither Bishop Joseph Strickland or the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith, Vatican. This means that the teaching in the Bible has been changed. The Bible says outside the Church there is no salvation (John 3:5, Mark 16:16). It does not mention any exceptions.

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Even so, God can work outside the Church to affect the salvation of those known but to Him. “God is always calling His people to Himself through His Son and the power of His Spirit,” Strickland explains. “God can reach out directly to someone, or His Mother can, and bring them close to Him, using the same grace, using the same life of the Body of His Son.”

Lionel: In the fifth century the saints did not interpret invisible cases of the baptism of desire as being visible exceptions for the dogma extra ecclesiam  nulla salus. For the saints and the Magisterium of the Church, from the fifth to the 16 century, for example,  those who were outside the Church were on the way to Hell. We do not know any one who will be saved outside the Church through no fault of his own. We do not know any one in particular who will be saved outside the Church in ignorance, through no fault of his own. So we cannot posit any exception for the centuries old strict interpretation of the dogma EENS. There are no exceptions, mentioned in Vatican Council II, when LG 16 etc refer to invisible cases in our reality. 

This interview is disappointing since Terri Barber and Bishop Joseph Strickland are still choosing the politically correct approach. They are choosing to interpret Vatican Council II, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the baptism of desire etc, irrationally and not rationally.

-Lionel Andrades