Playing the Indian Card

Tuesday, December 08, 2009

No Salvation Outside the Church?

In a debate with Dinesh D’Souza, which I recently viewed on YouTube, Christopher Hitchens made the claim that Christians are obliged to believe that all non-Christians go to hell. Making a very similar point, Richard Dawson responded to a simple question from a Christian, “What if you are wrong?” by countering “What if you are wrong about Zeus?” (He might also have mentioned his flying spaghetti monster.) You’d think Hitchens and Dawson would have at least taken the time to learn what Christianity actually teaches before deciding to reject it; that they have not seems to reflect poorly on their sincerity. D’Souza was able to respond, quite simply, that this is not the teaching of the Catholic Church. Indeed, it has officially been declared heretical, and has led to actual excommunication. Similarly, Dawson is wrong if he supposes that belief in Catholicism means believing other religions are simply untrue, or that Catholics must hold, as atheists do, that Zeus does not exist.

The Catholic belief is quite simple and lucid. Catholicism is the truth. If we did not think so, of course, we would not be Catholics. It is not, of course, the only truth; that I am wearing black socks is also true, without really being an article of Catholic faith. But any assertion that directly contradicts Catholic teaching, plainly, must be untrue.

Other religions, therefore, can be largely, indeed mostly, true. Because, overwhelmingly, they agree with Catholicism. The points on which they disagree are generally few. Atheism, on the other hand, is plainly false in its key, defining assertion.

Nor does Catholicism ask anyone to accept its assertions on anything like “blind faith.” The teachings of the Catholic Church can by and large be explained and demonstrated to the unaided human intellect through reason and evidence. Yes, there are “mysteries” that go beyond what reason can completely comprehend, but these too can be shown to be logically necessary conclusions, and certainly never to contradict either reason or evidence.

We are all perfectly aware, through unaided conscience, of an absolute moral obligation to seek truth, and, once truth is known, to embrace it. Since Catholicism is true, we are all morally obliged to be Catholics. If we are not Catholics, we have committed a sin, and in a sense the most serious sin possible, that of turning from God.

So it is perfectly reasonable, and obvious, to say that one must be Catholic to be saved. But only if one’s ignorance of the truth of Catholicism is deliberate. Just the present gentle reader is not guilty of lying if he insists he does not know the colour of my socks, as he cannot see them.

What is, in all circumstances, morally obligatory, is to genuinely seek to find and to follow truth; especially on the most important matters of life, the most important of all being religion. And if one does so, that road will inexorably lead in the direction of Catholicism. Nevertheless, it is entirely possible to do so in all sincerity, and yet still die without yet having come to the definite conclusion that Catholicism is true. In this case, you are innocent of any sin, and therefore still entirely likely to go to heaven.

Understand this principle, and you understand why Catholic evangelization is not terribly pushy. Non-Catholics are okay, so long as they are sincere in what they do believe. And so long as they are sincere, they are heading in the right direction without any intervention on the missionary’s part. There is no need to rush anything.

Unfortunately, Hitchens seems to have identified himself plainly as not of this camp of sincere seekers of truth—he has not made the effort to find out what Catholicism teaches. He believes what he believes not out of a commitment to truth, it appears, but for some ulterior motive. Nor can he plead lack of intelligence, a lack of the intellectual equipment to discern matters quickly and clearly. And the same can be said of Dawkins. It is not for us to judge; but it is striking just how much flat-out misinformation and deliberate distortion there is in the popular culture about what the teachings of the Catholic Church are. This deliberate falsification of Catholic teaching in itself argues strongly for the truth of the Catholic teaching. Obviously, those who oppose it do not do so out of any commitment to truth; and obviously, they fear the power of and secretly suspect the truth of the real teaching, or they would reveal it in order to plainly disprove it.

Can someone know the truth, and willfully refuse to accept it? Of course; Adam and Eve did exactly that. It seems to be a part of human nature, completely illogical as it is. TS Eliot thought that “man can only take so much truth,” and Winston Churchill suggested that most people, when they stumble upon the truth, simply pick themselves up and walk away, as though nothing had happened.

This, of course, argues as much against an easy, uncritical, facile Catholicism as anything else in terms of unexamined life. It is no doubt easier for us Catholics; but it is still up to us to test everything, as Saint Paul required.

3 comments:

Bob said...

Well-done again, Roney. I have often pointed out to my friends that God's Grace is not confined to a single religion. I have always appreciated Catholicism for making a point of this.

Catholic Mission said...

FR. FRANCESCO GIORDANO AFFIRMS CANTATE DOMINO, COUNCIL OF FLORENCE

The Italian diocesan priest Fr. Francesco Giordano studying at the Holy Cross University, Rome and working for his doctorate on the subject extra ecclesiam nulla salus says he affirms the dogma Cantate Domino, Council of Florence 1441.The ex cathedra dogma says all non Catholics, specifying, Jews, Protestants and Orthodox Christians needing to formally enter the Catholic Church to avoid Hell, which has fire.

One can affirm Cantate Domino which indicates everyone with no exception, de facto needs to enter the Church and, at the same time believe de jure; in principle, a non Catholic can be saved implicitly (baptism of desire etc) and it would be known only to God.

However Fr. Giordano’s position on 1) Fr. Leonard Feeney and 2) Lumen Gentium 16, Vatican Council II is not clear. He seems to contradict the dogma on these two points. Though, he told me at the Church Santa Maria di Nazareth, Boccea, Rome that he affirms Cantate Domino.


Fr. Giordano, who has studied at the University of Chicago, is a young priest fluent in English and Italian. He received his Licentiate from the University of St. Thomas Aquinas, Rome and the subject of his thesis there was outside the church there is no salvation.

Like St. Thomas Aquinas if one uses the defacto-dejure analysis it is possible to hold the ‘rigorist interpretation’ of the dogma and also affirm the baptism of desire (Council of Trent) and so not be considered a heretic. It does not have to be an either-or position i.e. the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus or the baptism of desire.


Fr. Giordano believes Cantate Domino is compatible with Vatican Council II, Catechism of the Catholic Church and other Magisterial documents.
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Catholic Mission said...

THERE IS NO BAPTISM OF DESIRE THAT WE CAN KNOW OF- Fr.George Puthoor

Second Catholic priest in Rome affirms Cantate Domino, Council of Florence, on extra ecclesiam nulla salus (outside the church there is no salvation)


A second priest in Rom within a few weeks affirms Cantate Domino, Council of Florence pointing out that there is no baptism of desire that we can personally know of.


A Rossiminian priest from South India Fr.George Puthoor said yesterday, Sunday morning, that there is no baptism of desire that we can know of.


He was speaking with me at the Basilica Santi Ambrogio e Carlo, Via del Corso, Rome where he was to offer Holy Mass in Italian at 12 p.m on Trinity Sunday.He gave me permission to quote him on this blog.

Since the cases of non-Catholic saved with the baptism of desire or in invincible ignorance are de facto unknown to us and can only be accepted in principle it does not contradict the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus he observed.

If there is no case of the baptism of desire or implicit faith that we know of then Vatican Council II does not contradict the dogma Cantate Domino.



The secular media hype and those of the liberals have claimed that Lumen Gentium 16, Vatican Council II has changed church teaching with refrence to extra ecclesiam nulla salus. Their claim is that every one does not have to enter the Church since there could be non Catholics saved with invincible ignorance or the baptism of desire.This is the claim of Wikipedia on the Internet, Catholic Answers and the Pontifical Universities and seminaries in Rome and abroad.They could quote Pope John Paul II on ‘silent apostasy’ in the Church, as if, they are not a part of it.


So when EWTN says everyone does not have to enter the Church to avoid Hell it is irrational. Since EWTN implies the baptism of desire is de facto known to us.


There is also no Magisterial text to support this position.

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