Outside the Church There Is No Salvation | Your Questions Answered 

Thank you for this important question. As believers in the Holy Bible as the inspired word of God, and recalling St. Peter's warning against falling victim to "sects of perdition" (2 Pet. 2:1) which "lying teachers" would introduce, Protestants are not unlikely to agree that it is indeed a matter of necessity for our salvation that we find and adhere to the one and only true Church which Our Lord founded. Building on this realization, we can also easily recognize that it was for the good of souls that Our Lord revealed this dogma. Too often, this teaching is viewed as a narrow-minded anathema, such as would give any reasonable person cause to wonder why the Catholic Church should be so intent on sending the greater part of the human race into perdition. It is exactly the opposite. The Church, teaching and governing the faithful with Christ's own authority, acts for the good of souls as She condemns false doctrines and harmful practices. Note the difference: She condemns false doctrines and harmful practices, not human souls. Our Lord alone pronounces judgement on souls, and He established His Church to facilitate their salvation. The Church serves Our Lord's desire for the salvation of souls when She points to Herself for all to see, like a city built upon a mountain, as having the only means of salvation. Consider how profoundly uncharitable would be Her failure to announce plainly both the haven of safety which She offers, and the mortal danger with which we are threatened by the enemy's deceptions. In Her cry of alarm by which She points out the impossibility of salvation in false religions, She likewise points to Herself and invites all men into Her fold, saying, "Your salvation is here!" And neither does the faithful Catholic, assenting to this dogma, presume to know particularly who such persons "outside the Church" may be. Even were he to witness a person's death and hear that person's last words-be they prayers or blasphemies, acts of faith or of dissent-he could not presume to know with what dispositions and in what state that person finally left this world. This doctrine is not about judging people; it is simply a matter of believing what Our Lord has revealed about how He will judge all men. God bless you.

@@TheFatimaCenter thank you so much! So would i want to mention that the Lord Jesus could give someone non-Catholic a last minute chance to accept Him fully including his Church or just let them be so to speak?

@@TheJuddly Thank you for your reply. A last-minute assent of faith and renunciation of heresies is by no means anything to aim for. Nor should anyone presume to receive such an extraordinary grace (along with the equally extraordinary dispositions of charity and contrition needed to cleanse the soul without the aid of the Sacraments). The point was simply to clarify that we don't presume to judge anyone on the basis of that teaching. Meanwhile, at the present moment, we all have an obligation of conversion, which is where our attention must be directed. "Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Cor 6:2) "Today if you shall hear His voice, harden not your hearts." (Heb 3:7) God bless you.

@@TheFatimaCenter thank you for that last one, yeah i want to keep that in mind next time i converse with protestant, that its best to not just hope for that last minute conversion and to instead get over the reasons you wont join now and learn why they are true and ok to believe.

Romans 10 9:11, Romans 11 23, Romans 8 9:11, Acts 1 13:14, Ephesians 1 21:23, Ephesians 2 4:6, Ephesians 4 4:7 , John 6 53:58, John 14 5:7

How do you define what a sin is? I was brought up as a cradle Catholic and the list of sins was suffocating and life denying. My mother was told that one could not even enjoy sex within marriage never mind outside of it. There was a major element of fear within Catholicism. The Catholic church has played down belief in Hell over the past 40 years and the result is that Church attendance has dropped like a stone. This just goes to show that people only attended mass because they were frightened. Remove the fear and attendance drops.

​@@JGGREY I think that our society today has normalized behaviors that wouldn't even have existed decades ago, when Christianity was taken more seriously in general. For example, women never used to wear bikinis at the beach decades ago out of modesty, and now it's normalized. Hook up culture and premarital sex wasn't a thing decades ago, but now it's normalized. I just think that perception is not reality--just because our society has made things "ok" does not mean they are, regardless of what everyone else around us is doing. So for me, when the Church in the past preached about hell, it was because it's a harsh reality that people needed (and still need) to hear about. Unfortunately, today's society perpetuates the idea that people can do whatever they want and live however they want to, but this is very false and dangerous.

@@a.r.4093 I agree. But the problem is that this cannot be reversed. I bet you if you asked young people in Christian schools if they think sex before marriage was wrong they would say no. This sea change in morality cannot be turned back. The church will have to deal with it or they will lose them forever. The church can no longer rule by fear . No one believes in hell whether it exists or not. I watched a lecture recently by a sociologist who said that Christianity, in Europe, of all denominations is finished and this will not reverse itself. I can send the link if you want me to

@@JGGREY That's a very sad thought--devastating to me, honestly. I guess that's why Mother Mary was so insistent regarding praying the Rosary and doing penance for lost souls during Her apparitions! It really is a shame how much society has diverted from true Christian norms. I do think that this pandemic really brought a lot of people an illumination of conscience in a sense where they've suddenly began to see how sinful their lives have been and have turned more to God. But overall it seems that you're right, morality is at it's worst. And yeah for sure, tell me the name of it and I'll search it on youtube!

@@a.r.4093 Hello James the talk is called Why there is no way back for religion in the West | David Voas | TEDxUniversityofEssex. If you type this into the youtube search bar you should get it. Also the link is ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-YtAR_OGzlcg.html. This man is not necessarily anti religion he is just coming at the topic from the point of view of an academic. Let me know what you think

MR some of my friends are there to,they have a love for Jesus,but are blind to the truth,especially now with so much scandals in the Catholic Church we need to pray for them

Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus numbskull.

@@thedudeabides3930 Christianity didn't exist yet when Hinduism was around or any other Religion that existed pre Christianity. Plus with Karma and transmigration of souls reincarnation man has no need for a savior because each person pays the price for their Karma through Karma and transmigration of souls the soul reaps what it sows in one life and the next. So Christianity claims of exclusivity of truth dosent apply to other religions. Especially Hinduism

@@TheAaronChand It would be difficult for me to respond to this because there is a deep logical flaw in your assertion that would require great effort to straighten out. I would point you to your use of the word "truth" in your post. And I would ask you to consider, If a thing really was "true" how could it fail to impact conflicting claims? Jesus claimed to be The Way, The Truth and The Life. He said no one comes to the Father except through Him. Saint Paul taught that the "gods" of the pagans are devils. If these things are true, consider what impact they would have on other conflicting religious ideas. Then you will see that you simply reject the claims of Christianity and accept the claims of your pagan religion, and release your false idea that Hinduism, and individual Hindus, are somehow "exempted" from the assertions of Christianity.

@@Hammett175 Abrahamic religions failed to understand the diversity of the world. Our circumstances. Are different. People born in different parts of the world. Are exposed to different cultures different ways. To God who's to say Abrahamic religions are correct. What about people who are sick disablted poor Christianity Islam Judaism failed to recognize diversity understand these things often Muslims and Christians say God works in mysteries ways. Or Allah is testing us if a bad situation happens to Muslims or Christians or Jewish. This is a cop out Karma recognizes. This our actions effect you in this world or the next. The law of Karma is like gravity or laws of motion. Its impersonal. The law of Karma Karma encourages the sinner its never to late to mend it dosent shut the gates of despair gulit and hope grief for men are often weak than vicious.

@@TheAaronChand Friend, I understand you reject the claims of Christ and the Traditional Catholic Church. Just know that Christ and His Church both claimed to be absolutely true and exclusive and necessary for salvation. The word catholic means universal and the Catholic Church historically claimed to be the universal religion. You reject that and say these claims can't be true because there are earlier religions. You seem to deny even the possibility that a later religion could be exclusively true. By this logic, you should belong to the oldest religion based on your argument from longevity. You regard Saint Paul's teaching on the daemonic nature of paganism as "slander". I think deep down you are unnerved by the doctrine of the exclusivity of Christ and the Catholic Faith. Be advised, Christians regard yogic practice as a daemonic practice and that indeed, the yoga poses are offerings to various demons, that you call "gods". This fits perfectly with Saint Paul's teaching. I think this bothers you deep down and I think it should. Let it get under your skin and let it pull you forward in your research and understanding.

Christ granted him paradise directly. God is not bound by His own rules.

@@Kitiwakehi Pat. I beg to differ. That's why christ had to go on the cross. God had a rule that u cannot be saved from sin without the shedding of blood. The same blood that allowed him to redeem the guy on the cross. U r right in one sense, Jesus determines who makes it and who dosent

Jesus Christ is the Church.

Jesus Christ is the head of the Church.

​@@KitiwakeThough Christ made this affirmation he however hadn't yet ascended to his Father. In fact, he hadn't yet died. Therefore, after his death and his descent into hell, because as you know there was no one in heaven as of yet. Christ liberated those in hell, because as you know no one without the sacrament of baptism of blood and water could enter the kingdom of God. I'm talking about those who died before Christ, the prophets, Moses, etc. That includes the redeemed thief crucified with Christ. All those in "hell" were baptized prior to their entrance in heaven, as they were then cleansed of original sin, I don't think anyone got a get out of jail free card, so to speak. Hope this makes some sense.

*Jonah

In his book, The Catholic Church and Salvation, Msgr. Joseph Fenton explains: "[B]y God's institution, the Catholic Church, the one and only supernatural kingdom of God on earth, is a necessary means for the attainment of salvation. “The Jewish politico-religious social unit definitively rejected Our Lord and ceased to be God's ecclesia. In rejecting the Redeemer Himself, this social unit had automatically rejected the teaching God had given about Him. The rejection of this message constituted an abandonment of the divine faith itself. By manifesting this rejection of the faith, the Jewish religious unit fell from its position as the company of the chosen people. It was no longer God's ecclesia, His supernatural kingdom on earth. “Thus, at the moment of Our Lord's death on Calvary, the moment when the old dispensation was ended and the Jewish religious association ceased to be the supernatural kingdom of God on earth, [the] recently organized society of Our Lord's disciples began to exist as the ecclesia or the kingdom. “It must be understood, incidentally, that this society was actually God's supernatural kingdom on earth in a much more complete and perfect sense than the old Jewish commonwealth had ever been. The old Israel had constituted the people of the covenant, [and] according to God's unfailing promise, the Redeemer was to be born within that company. Yet conditions had never been such that a man had to be within this company in order to attain to eternal salvation. “On the contrary, the new and faithful Israel was completely identical with the supernatural kingdom of God on earth. It was the true ecclesia or company of the faithful in the sense that no man could attain to eternal salvation unless he passed from this life within it.”

Christine J Bishop George Hay gave a thorough answer to your question: “[I]f a man act according to the dictates of his conscience, and follow exactly the light of reason which God has implanted in him for his guide, is that not sufficient to bring him to salvation? This is, indeed, a specious proposition; but a fallacy lurks under it. When man was created, his reason was then an enlightened reason. Illuminated by the grace of original righteousness, with which his soul was adorned, reason and conscience were safe guides to conduct him in the way of salvation. But by sin this light was miserably darkened, and his reason clouded by ignorance and error. It was not, indeed, entirely extinguished; it still clearly teaches him many great truths, but it is at present so influenced by pride, passion, prejudice, and other such corrupt motives, that in many instances it serves only to confirm him in error, by giving an appearance of reason to the suggestions of self-love and passion. This is too commonly the case even in natural things; but in the supernatural, in things relating to God and eternity, our reason, if left to itself, is miserably blind. To remedy this, God has given us the light of Faith as a sure and safe guide to conduct us to salvation, appointing his Holy Church the guardian and depository of this heavenly light; consequently, though a man may pretend to act according to reason and conscience, and even flatter himself that he does so, yet reason and conscience, if not enlightened and guided by True Faith, can never bring him to salvation. ... Nothing can be more striking than the words of Holy Scripture. “There is a way,” says the wise man, “that seemeth right to a man, but the ends thereof lead to death” (Prov 14: 12). ... What can be more plain than this, to show that a man may act according to what he thinks [is] the light of reason and conscience, [and be] persuaded [that] he is doing right, and yet, in fact, be only running on in the way to perdition? And do not all those who are seduced by false prophets, and false teachers, think they are in the right way? Is it not under the pretext of acting according to conscience that they are seduced? ... In order to show us to what excess of wickedness man may go under the pretense of following his conscience, [Our Lord said] to His apostles, “The hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doth God a service” (Jn 16: 2); but observe what He adds-“And these things will they do, because they have not known the Father nor Me.” Which shows that if one has not the true knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ, which can be obtained only through True Faith, there is no enormity of which he is not capable while thinking he is acting according to reason and conscience. ... Nothing will set this in a clearer light than a few examples. Conscience tells a heathen that it is not only lawful, but a duty to worship and offer sacrifice to idols, the work of men’s hands. ... In like manner, a Jew’s conscience tells him that he may lawfully and meritoriously blaspheme Jesus Christ, and approve the conduct of his forefathers in putting Him to death upon a tree. ... A Mohammedan is taught by his conscience that it would be a crime to believe in Jesus Christ, and not believe in Mohammed.... All the various sects which have been separated from the True Church, in every age, have uniformly calumniated and slandered her, speaking evil of the truth professed by her, believing in their conscience that this was not only lawful, but highly meritorious. ... In all these, and similar cases, their conscience is their greatest crime, and shows to what a height of impiety conscience and reason can lead us, when under the influence of pride, passion, prejudice, and self-love. ... Had we only the light of reason to direct us, we would be justified in following it; but as God has given us an external guide in His Holy Church, to assist and correct our blinded reason by the light of Faith, our reason alone, unassisted by this guide, can never be sufficient for salvation.” (The Sincere Christian, pp. 284-287)

***** Thank you very much for this thorough answer and I agree with everything it says. I am a Roman Catholic and I believe the full truth is in the Roman Catholic Church, but everytime I hear or read this sentence : ‘there is no salvation outside of the Catholic Church’ it seems to me as if you’re saying : all you people who are not baptized in the Catholic Church will go to hell. Perhaps I perceive this in this way because English is not my native language (I am Belgian), but I can’t find this sentence in the bible( New Testament) that there is no salvation outside of the church. What I do find very often is this Word of Jesus : You’re faith has saved you. Don’t you think that God( Jesus) has the ultimate desire to save every soul living on this planet? And don’t you think He will be very merciful if He sees good will in the person’s heart and if that person reaches out to Jesus for salvation, even if this person is protestant etc. There can be many reasons why the conscience of a person isn’t well-formed…aren’t we all sinners, more or less selfish…My opinion is, if a person at the end of his life reaches out in repentence to Jesus, even though he’s not baptized in the Catholic Church, that person will be saved because of his faith in Jesus as his Savior. So with this statement : there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church, I cannot fully agree…Perhaps I am mis-interpreting the statement…Christine.

Christine J Dear Christine, You are absolutely correct that Our Lord desires the salvation of every human being: “Thou lovest all things that are, and hatest none of the things which Thou hast made: for Thou didst not appoint, or make any thing hating it.” (Wis 11: 25) “[S]upplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings [are to] be made for all men, ...for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, Who will have all men to be saved. For Christ Jesus gave himself a redemption for all.” (1 Tim 2: 1-6) “The Lord dealeth patiently for your sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should return to penance.” (2 Pet 3: 9) How does Our Lord lead men toward their salvation? With daily, actual graces that lead will lead them into the Catholic Church, outside of which no one can be saved. Men of truly good will, who comply with the graces that God sends them, will infallibly be shown the way to the True Faith and the True Church before they die. So not only is there no contradiction in this teaching with Our Lord’s love for us and His desire to save us, but it was for the good of souls that Our Lord revealed this dogma. The Church, teaching and governing the faithful with Christ's own authority, acts for the good of souls as She condemns false doctrines and harmful practices. Note the difference: She condemns false doctrines and harmful practices, not human souls. Our Lord alone pronounces judgement on souls, and He established His Church in order to save them. The Church serves Our Lord's desire for the salvation of souls when She points to Herself for all to see, like a city built upon a mountain, as having the only means of salvation. Consider how profoundly uncharitable it would be for the Church to fail to announce plainly both the haven of safety which She offers, and the mortal danger with which we are threatened by the enemy's deceptions. In Her cry of alarm by which She points out the impossibility of salvation in false religions, She likewise points to Herself and invites all men into Her fold. She does not say to anyone, “You cannot be saved,” but rather She says, "Your salvation can only be found here!" Again, Bishop Hay gave a wonderful explanation of this teaching, addressing the difficulty that you express in your question. Please allow a lengthy quote here, showing the larger discussion from which the quote in our previous reply was taken: "If we search the Holy Scriptures, we find two conditions absolutely required to make our good works agreeable to God, and conducive to our salvation-First, that we be united to Jesus Christ by True Faith, which is the root and foundation of all Christian virtues; for St. Paul expressly says, "Without Faith it is impossible to please God" (Heb 11: 6). Observe the word impossible; He does not say it is difficult, but that it is impossible. Let, therefore, a man have ever so many good natural dispositions, and be as charitable, devout, and mortified as the Pharisees were, yet if he have not True Faith in Jesus Christ, he cannot enter into the kingdom of Heaven. They [the Pharisees] refused to believe in Him, and therefore all their works were good for nothing as to their salvation; and unless our righteousness exceed theirs in this point, as Christ Himself assures us, we shall never enter into His heavenly kingdom. But even True Faith itself, however necessary, is not sufficient alone to make our good works available to salvation; for it is necessary, Second, that we be in charity with God, in His friendship and grace, without which even True Faith itself will never save us. To be convinced of this, let us only give ear to St. Paul, who says, "Though I should have all Faith, so as to remove mountains, though I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, though I should give my body to be burnt, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing" (1 Cor 13: 2). "So let a man be ever so peaceable, regular, inoffensive, and religious in his way, charitable to the poor, and what else you please, yet if he have not the True Faith of Jesus Christ, and be not in charity with God, all his apparent virtues go for nothing; it is impossible for him to please God by them; and if he live and die in that state they will profit him nothing, ...for nothing can avail us in Christ but "Faith that works by charity" (Gal 5: 6). ... "If [these seemingly virtuous men] be truly such before God as they appear in the eyes of men, ...He will not allow them to die in their false religion, but will undoubtedly bring them to the True Faith before they die.... No doubt it is (absolutely speaking) possible for God to save men by any means He pleases; ...[but] His Holy Scriptures declare in the plainest terms that...God has appointed true Faith in Jesus Christ, and the being in Communion with the Church of Christ, as necessary conditions of salvation; ...that He has appointed them as essential conditions, so that none will or can be saved without them; ...that...it is impossible that He can have reserved any extraordinary means of salvation for those who live and die not joined in communion with the Church of Christ by true Faith. Otherwise He would contradict Himself, which is impossible. ... By supposing they can [achieve salvation] though they die in their false religion, one supposes God to act contrary to Himself and in opposition to everything He has revealed to men upon this matter.... "Those, therefore, whom Almighty God foresees will make a proper use of His graces, and be saved, those He ordains to eternal life; and all such the Scripture assures us He will in His own good time, and in the way and manner He sees proper, bring to the knowledge of the True Faith, and to the Communion of His Holy Church. Thus, "The Lord daily added to the Church such as should be saved" (Acts 2: 47). Now, what the Lord daily did in the time of the Apostles, He daily will continue to do till the end of the world; and as none could be saved who were not added to the Church in those days, so neither can any afterwards be; for there is no new revelation since the Apostles' time, discovering a different way to salvation. Again the Scripture says, that "as many as were ordained to eternal life believed" (Acts 13: 48)-that is, were brought to the True Faith which the Apostles preached: the same then will be done ever afterwards; for as then none were ordained to eternal life who did not believe, so neither will there be any afterwards. ... These two express declarations of Scripture, "The Lord daily added to the Church such as should be saved," and "as many as were ordained to eternal life believed," would not be true if there was any possibility for those to be saved who were not added to the Church, or did not believe. ... "Our Savior Himself decides this point in the clearest terms when He says, "Other sheep I have who are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one fold and one Shepherd" (Jn 10: 16). Here He manifestly speaks of those who had not as yet heard His voice, but were either Jews or heathens, and not united in the fold of His Apostles and other disciples; yet He calls them His sheep, because "the Lord knoweth who are His," and He fore-knew who would cooperate with His grace and follow His voice; now He expressly declares, "them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice." It was not enough for their salvation that they were ready in the disposition of their hearts to answer His call, and to do better if they knew better; it was necessary that they should actually be brought to the Communion of His own fold, "them also I must bring;" it was necessary they should have the True Faith of Christ, "and they shall hear My voice," in order to secure their salvation.... It was not enough for their salvation to be acknowledged to be His sheep; but because they were so, it was necessary that they should be united to the fold to which they did not then belong. The same then must be the case of those we here speak of: they are sheep of Jesus Christ, because He foresees they will at last be saved; but as they are not at present within the fold of His Church, in order to secure their salvation, "them also He must bring," before they die, that there may be "one fold and one Shepherd.""

Daisy Stanley If she is in the Catholic Church she has access to the fullness of the truth. When you left the church you left the Eucharist. Read St Ignatius of Antioch comment before he was fed to the lions 108 AD

Anyone in the Catholic church is fair game for the globalist agenda and one world religion. Bergoglio wants to unite the world religions with the Vatican ad it's head. Only us bible believing fundies will see through the deception and have no part of it. We will be the enemy and suffer persecution. Just like all the remnant bible believers through history who endured persecution by the bogus Roman Catholic church.

+Hannah Avery You have a great choice. I didn't pass through all the bible, yet. Some are reading fast and I have some doubt if the retain some of what they have read. But, if they do, I am really happy for them. On the other hand, even if I read always on a slow speed, I enjoy reading it the only speed I have (mine). And, to compensate, I read each of those passages as seeing those personages (as in a theater.... the best seat ;-) !!), and I meditate on it. I wish I could read faster but, let say, I compensate "in theater mode" for the lack of speed I have (My defect). But, the least I could say is, every thing said by Jesus is absolutely great,... worth to meditate; How can it be otherwise?! And as your suggested reading; John Ch.3.. in particular Verse 27-36, those words of John the Baptist talking about Jesus; you understand how far was the respect and admiration toward Jesus. Only those lines teach us how beautiful and so much respect and love from the One who prepared the road before Jesus. If we were as John the Baptist "Preparing Jesus' road within ourselves, to Receive, Respect and Love Jesus" on a daily practice or daily duty... How far would be a "Propagation of Peace on earth", nearly teaching by examples toward our governments the "Who's still winning our hearts those days". Thanks Hannah Avery! God Bless!

You ask one of the greatest questions of our time. The answer begins with understanding where to look for the Catholic rule of Faith. This particular dogma of Faith has been solemnly and infallibly defined on three occasions. The documents of the Second Vatican Council, which include no solemn definitions whatsoever, must be understood in light of the Church's constant infallible teaching: Pope Innocent III (Fourth Lateran Council, 1215, Dz. 430): "There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved." Pope Boniface VIII (Bull Unam Sanctam, 1302, Dz. 468-469): "With Faith urging us, we are forced to believe and to hold the one, holy, Catholic Church, and that, apostolic, and we firmly believe and simply confess this Church, outside which there is no salvation nor remission of sin. ... Furthermore, we declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be entirely subject to the Roman Pontiff." Pope Eugene IV (Council of Florence, 1441, Dz. 714): "The most Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes, and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can have a share in life eternal; but that they will go into the eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless before death they are joined with Her; and that so important is the unity of this ecclesiastical body that only those remaining within this unity can profit by the sacraments of the Church unto salvation, and they alone can receive an eternal recompense for their fasts, their almsgivings, their other works of Christian piety and the duties of a Christian soldier. No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pour out his blood for the Name of Christ, can be saved, unless he remain within the bosom and the unity of the Catholic Church."

TheFatimaCenter That's all good and well, but it still don't answer the question? This verse contradicts that. "If I had not come, and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin." - John 15:22 This says basically, if you don't know, you can't be guilty.

Excellent question. We must distinguish the sin of unbelief (one of the greatest sins, despising or refusing God's revelation) from the natural state of fallen man unregenerated by faith (a state in which, as Saint Paul writes, it is impossible to please God - Heb. 11:6). St. Thomas explains that when "taken by way of pure negation, as we find it in those who have heard nothing about the faith, unbelief bears the character, not of sin, but of punishment, because such like ignorance of Divine things is a result of the sin of our first parent. If such like unbelievers are damned, it is on account of other sins, which cannot be taken away without faith, but not on account of the sin of unbelief." You may ask, then, how is it just that such persons be condemned if they had no opportunity to learn of the divine Revelation, by the faith of which they could have been saved? St. Thomas answers that there is no possibility of God's Providence failing to do what is proper to it, namely to make known to each person those essential points of the Christian Mysteries which must be explicitly believed in order to be saved. If a person does not so impede by his sins God's plan for his salvation, God will certainly make His revelation known to him, by miraculous means, if necessary. For a serious and fully adequate treatment of this subject we refer you to the Summa Theologica, II-II, Question 2, Articles 3-8 and Question 10, Article 1 www.newadvent.org/summa/3.htm Also invaluable is the treatise on this subject by Bishop George Hay, appearing as an appendix to his apologetics classic, The Sincere Christian. archive.org/details/worksofbishophay02hayuoft (beginning on page 259)

TheFatimaCenter If I got that right. That God new that they wouldn't find faith, and if he wanted them saved he would of sent someone, or something like that?

No, rather that on account of their continued and persistent resistance to grace and pursuit of sins, they forfeit the graces that God desires to send to them to lead them into the true Faith. As Bishop Hay writes, "Now, to all mankind, ...God...gives such graces as He sees proper for their present state, ...to bring them to the knowledge of the truth, ...with a view to their salvation. ...[I]f they cooperate with His favors, He will give them new and greater graces...till He brings them at last to the true Faith and Church of Christ, and to a happy end; but if they resist His graces, ...at length He stops the continuance of such undeserved favors.... These graces are withdrawn from them, ...are diminished, and given seldomer, ...and they will be left to their own ways, as the just punishment of their ingratitude. ... If their obstinacy still increase, and they go on shutting their eyes against the light of truth which God offers them, He then permits them to be seduced by falsehood, to 'give heed to spirits of error and doctrines of devils' (1 Tim 4: 1). Thus, 'because they received not the love of truth that they might be saved, therefore God shall send them the operation of error, to believe lying, that all may be judged who have not believed the truth...' (2 Thes 2:10). This strong text clearly shows two great truths; first, That God offers the truth to all; and, secondly, That [in regard to those who are lost,] the source of their damnation is entirely from themselves, in refusing to receive it." (The Sincere Christian, p 301, 306-7, 314-5)

***** Dear Mr. Thomas, Perhaps some of the confusion or apparent incongruity of the Church's teaching will be cleared up by clarifying that the teaching makes no claim about Catholics being saved. (The notion that all Catholics will be saved seems to be a hidden supposition in your comparison of fervent Protestants to lukewarm Catholics.) In fact, Catholics have no guarantee of salvation -- particularly lukewarm Catholics. On the contrary, the stark and terrible lesson of St. Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians (10:1-6) is that the vast majority of those within the true Faith, even now in the Christian era, will not be saved: "For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea. And all in Moses were baptized, in the cloud, and in the sea: And did all eat the same spiritual food, And all drank the same spiritual drink; (and they drank of the spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ.) But with most of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the desert. Now these things were done in a figure of us." Next, speaking of the dogma with more precision and with a more proper emphasis will help us to understand its meaning. Instead of saying that Protestants cannot be saved, we should say that anyone in this world can be saved. This is why Our Lord established His Church -- for the salvation of souls (all souls). Our Lord's clear message in this dogma is not a condemnation of anyone, but rather a beacon for us all, saying: "Your salvation IS HERE!" False religions are deadly frauds. As the Catechism of the Council of Trent says, all false religions are "necessarily sunk in the most pernicious errors, both doctrinal and moral," precisely because they are "guided by the spirit of the devil." (Part I, article 9) Anyone can be saved...in the Catholic Church! False religions can save no one. Finally, in regard to faith (without which it is impossible to please God -- Heb. 11:6), we must understand that the virtue of faith is actually much more than a mere confidence in the divine mercy which remits sins on account of Christ, as Luther taught. In essence, the act of faith by which we are justified is an assent of the mind to truths revealed by God, on the authority of God's own promulgation of that revelation. In other words, the assent is given in the form of submission to a divinely appointed magisterium which authoritatively proclaims that body of revelation. Our Lord commissioned His Apostles to preach in His Name: "As My Father hath sent Me, I also send you." (John 20:21) And again, "Go out all over the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; he who refuses belief will be condemned." (Mark 16:15-16) And St. Paul demonstrates the necessity of this commission to preach, in connection with the virtue of faith: "How then shall they call on Him, in Whom they have not believed? Or how shall they believe Him, of Whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear, without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they be sent?" (Romans 10:14-15) Protestant clergymen may repeat some of the same truths of Revelation as is meritoriously believed by Catholics, but the Protestant ministers have usurped to themselves the ministry without any lawful mission, which in truth can only be derived by succession from the apostles Unfortunately for Protestants, even true elements of the object of faith, while held as a matter of one's own judgement, is mere opinion, not faith. Father Francois Laisney explains very well how this teaching applies to Protestants: "Only an infallible magisterium can...propos[e] the truths of Faith in such a way that we adhere to them absolutely as we ought to adhere to the truth revealed by God. ... [And] such a magisterium is found only in the Catholic Church. Therefore, ...any other “churches,” including the Orthodox churches, not having such an infallible magisterium, are not adequate channels of Divine Revelation, so as to assure the motive of Faith, which is on the authority of God, which is not found in these churches. They present [in some measure] the object of Faith, but not with the authority required for an assent of Faith. How could one know that the Scriptures come from God, if it is not presented by a Church speaking in the name of God, with a special mission to teach? Our Lord gave this mission to His living Apostles: “Go, teach all nations....” This mission is continued from century to century in that Church which has been founded by Christ, not among those who separated themselves from it. Thus any church that cannot show her historical link with Christ-her apostolicity-cannot speak with the authority of Christ. The conclusion from the above is that no other church can be a means of salvation, contrary to what the innovators of Vatican II say." St. Thomas says the same thing in fewer words: [W]hoever does not adhere, as to an infallible and Divine rule, to the teaching of the Church, ...has not the habit of faith, but holds that which is of faith otherwise than by faith. ... Hence it is evident that a heretic who obstinately disbelieves one article of faith, is not prepared to follow the teaching of the Church in all things.... Therefore it is clear that such a heretic with regard to one article has no faith in the other articles, but only a kind of opinion in accordance with his own will. God bless you. Fatima Center staff

Where does the Bible say Bible only? Where does the Bible say Faith Alone? Where in the Bible does it say peter was crucified upside down. Where does the Bible say rapture.

+Keith Thomas Hi Keith. You said, "ur Protestant brothers and sisters are baptized and they do have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ and they do much more "good works" - acts of love, charity and so on compared to us Catholics " Please note that Fr. Grunner wasn't saying that all Catholics go to heaven either. The Bible tells us that that there is a narrow gate. The Church has traditionally taught the doctrine that relatively few are saved. You said "Protestants are very much well - versed with the Bible compared to us Catholics and from my perspective, they take their faith much more seriously than us Catholics do." Where would you draw the line. Would you say that well-versed Muslims are saved if they take their faith seriously. How about Mormons, who deny the trinity. How about devout Jehovah Witnesses who deny the divinity of Christ. ....Even if you're only referring to mainline protestants, they have no recourse to confession and the forgiveness of sins. I am admittedly working out my salvation with fear and trembling, but I know that without the sacrament of confession, I would certainly be damned. Where would we be with out the grace of the Eucharist?

+Ascent of Mount Carmel I hadn't seen the Fatima Center response when I posted mine. They did a much better job than I did

Protestants don't know the Bible. Sure they can take it out of context but that's about it. 40,000 denominations and each one teaches something different. Catholics use tradition and Scripture. We have the sacraments. What do the protestants have? Their own personal relationship with God. Again, that's why there are 40,000 denominations all confused. They are all being mislead. They have no one to guide them. Catholics try to help but Satan pushes them away.

Thomas McCray That's wrong Thomas. Those who remain outside the Holy Roman Church, and die outside of it, they can not be saved. This was confirmed by Saints Origin, Irenaeus, Cyprian, Augustine and non declared saints like Tertullian. If you are outside the Holy Catholic Church, and hold all Catholic dogmas which come from Divine Revelation, can not be saved.

You tell me I'm wrong, then mention these, as you ridiculously call them, declared and undeclared saints, who are considered so by the Roman churches criteria, which is in and of itself a made up process, because the scriptures say, many times, that you become a saint of God when you believe in the life and death of Yeshua, even though your teachings say that the Holy Scriptures are not enough by themselves for salvation, which THAT is wrong! You truly are so blind to believe and teach that God needed your written traditions to complete His work! Uselessly do they worship Me, for they teach as doctrines the commands of men, Mat 15:9, And we are setting these truths forth in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Holy Spirit, combining and interpreting spiritual truths with spiritual language, (to those who possess the Holy Spirit. But the natural, non spiritual man does not accept or welcome or ADMIT into his heart the gifts and teachings and revelations of the Spirit of God, for they are folly..... I Cor 2:13-14 and keep reading, I prefer the amplified bible, myself, for its expanded definition of the hebrew and Greek translation. When I totally accepted Yeshua and He took away all my many sicknesses and I couldn't put down His Word, with a stream of light coming from it, right into my chest, Amazing! This ex catholic atheist was shown so much truth, that I could only feel sadness for what I knew of the beliefs and disbelief of so many, when it is all right there. Just as those that Yeshua the Christ chastised the religious leaders in the gospels, for adding on to His commands, that made them a burden on men, so has the church of Rome and have deceived and threatened and brainwashed millions, for centuries and your pride and self delusion just won't allow you to admit it.do you see the sick, twisted comparable beliefs, shared by the jesuits and the teachings of I slam? Do you not see that you are as the Pharisees, that Yeshua was so saddened and angered by? Or is the veil that was torn for all true believers, been replaced with one even more separating? Look around, open your heart and your eyes, repent and ask Yeshua to fill you with the true POWER, of the Holy Spirit, and look at your history, the greed, the perversion, the changes and even that sick,huge sculpture, at the Vatican and truly ask God to show you if this huge, political, paganistic organization can, in any sense be of Him! I could go on and on about this, the money gospel, being gobbled up by millions of, I guess you'd call them protestants or evangelical, or the satanic, horrors and deception of Islam and many others, but, with time so short, for this age of man, on this earth, I only care that people accept Yeshua, love Him and our Father, to love and correct, with love, each other and in doing so, be protected from the coming rage of the devil and even worse, the wrath of the one true God! It's not about all these wrong and deceiving Rules men have trapped themselves in, but just His love for us and our love for Him.Amen

Latin Mass Choir Congratulations to Thomas for finding true salvation. Catholicism is a counterfeit and the papacy is a fraud. and whatever your "saints" confirm is a joke

sola scriptural non servion

Do you really think this is the place for you list of complaints?

Dear Friend, Thank you for your comment. I would just like to clarify two points about this dogma. First, we must affirm the definition according to the precise terms in which it has been defined -- not "without the Church," but "outside of the Church" there is no salvation. Not knowing exactly what you mean by distancing oneself from the Catholic Church, let me just say that if a person dies outside of this communion, he cannot be saved. I agree with your statement that it would be wrong to suppose every non-Catholic to be ipso facto condemned to hell, for this reason: so long as these persons remain alive, they can be brought by God's grace to the knowledge of the True Faith and into communion with the True Church. Second, again not knowing exactly what you mean by the assurance of a person's salvation being more difficult and less likely, let me just say that no one's salvation is assured. This includes practicing Roman Catholics. God bless you. Father Gruner

***** Thankyou Fr. Gruner for your reply and clarification. Just to let you know I am a practicing Catholic. I agree I was a little loose in my terms. I was probably reacting more to other people and videos (and not yours) where I have seen this doctrine used to state that all non-catholics will likely end up in hell (even more so for the non-baptized). God Bless. Ken.

As we find the Bishop's statement reported, he spoke of "a Hindu in Tibet who has no knowledge of the Catholic Church." This is very different than someone "without faith in Christ." Without faith (that is, explicit and true faith, in the case of every person who attains the use of reason), it is impossible to please God (cf. Heb. 11:6). Theologians point out which are the essential mysteries of the Catholic Faith, which must in all cases be explicitly believed: The existence of God; His attributes as rewarder of the good and punisher of evil; the unity of essence and Trinity of Persons in God; our Redemption through the Incarnation and Passion of Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. Speaking, then, of all persons who have come to the use of reason, we rightly say that without explicit faith in Jesus Christ, it is impossible to be saved. Knowledge of or belief in the existence of the Catholic Church, on the other hand, is not absolutely necessary for salvation, and the desire to enter the Church may thus be only implicit. Msgr. Joseph Fenton discusses this fact at length in his book, "The Catholic Church and Salvation." We capsulize his treatment of it here: "Some of those who have written with what seems to be the avowed intention of weakening or obscuring this section of Catholic doctrine have...taught that we do not know the direction of those graces which God gives...to those who are outside the Catholic Church. This assertion is definitely untrue. All of the supernatural aids granted by God to any man tend to lead him to the eternal possession of the Beatific Vision. They likewise direct him toward those realities which, either by their very nature or by God’s own institution, are requisite for the attainment of the Beatific Vision. One of those realities is the visible Catholic Church.... The graces which God grants to any man outside the Church will inevitably guide him in the direction of the Church. ... "The man who has not the virtue of divine faith and who is in the state of sin is led by the force of grace...in the direction of justification, according to the pattern set forth in the teaching of the Council of Trent. It will direct him to believe God’s revealed message with a certain assent based on the authority of God Himself revealing. It will lead him in the direction of salutary fear and of hope and of initial love of God and of penance. Ultimately it will lead him to a desire of Baptism (even though, in some cases, that desire may be only implicit in character), ...and thus to enter the true Church. Once a man is within the Church and in the state of sanctifying grace, the force of divine grace urges him on to an ever-increasing perfection, which involves an ever-increasing intensity of charity. ... Should he sin after the reception of Baptism, the direction of the force of grace is toward the reception of absolution in the sacrament of penance, and, of course to the contrition, confession, and satisfaction which belong to the sacrament. In every case the impulse of actual grace leads a man to salvation and to the means requisite for the attainment of salvation which the man upon whom the grace is working has not as yet employed or possessed. "If a man continues faithful to the graces given him by God he will certainly attain to eternal salvation. And he will just as certainly obtain that salvation within the true Church of Jesus Christ. ... "[Now, we have already seen] that under certain circumstances a man may be saved if, at the moment of his death, he is not actually a member of the Church but only one who intends or wills to be within it. ...[It remains to be demonstrated, then, how] this desire or intention of entering the Church can be effective for the attainment of eternal salvation even when it is only implicit. ... "The Church, in its teaching about its own necessary connection with eternal salvation, has always taken cognizance of the fact that non-members of the Mystical Body of Christ can possess the life of sanctifying grace and can elicit the act of charity. At the same time, however, it has always insisted upon the fact that no person who is truly separated from it in faith and in charity can be living the supernatural life of sanctifying grace. Hence the theologians of the Church have set out to explain how an individual who is not a member of the Church could be united with it in such a way as to possess this life of grace. Since the time of Thomas Stapleton and St. Robert Bellarmine, scholastic ecclesiology has explained this salvific union with the Church on the part of a non-Catholic in terms of a sincere desire or intention on the part of the non-member of the Church to enter this society and to remain within it. They showed that a person who seeks and prays for the favor of incorporation into the true supernatural kingdom on earth cannot be said to be truly separated from that society in its faith and in its rule. "The Catholic Church and its theologians have likewise taught that a sincere desire to enter and to remain within the Church could be effective for the attainment of eternal salvation even when that desire was merely implicit, that is, not based on a clear and distinct notion of the Church itself, ...and, indeed, without [necessarily] having an explicit knowledge of it at all. ... "[Theologians] describe an explicit desire of entering the Church as something found in catechumens. The catechumen is the adult preparing to enter the true Church of Jesus Christ through the reception of the sacrament of Baptism, [whose] desire is said to be explicit because he has a clear and distinct (though not necessarily in any way adequate) knowledge of the society he seeks to enter. In other words, he is a man who knows that the Catholic Church is the true Church of Jesus Christ and who wants to become a member of that Church through the reception of Baptism. On the contrary, a man has only an implicit desire when he wants a thing but does not realize definitely what it is that he desires. The word “implicit” has the sense of something “folded in.” When a man desires an objective which cannot be obtained without the attainment of something else, and does not have any clear and distinct awareness of this other thing, he is said to have an implicit desire of this latter. ... "[Since a knowledge of the Catholic Church per se is not among the four essential Christian mysteries in which all must necessarily believe with explicit faith,] it is possible for a man to have genuine supernatural faith and charity and the life of sanctifying grace, ...with only an implicit knowledge and desire of the Church. ... [But] in every person who is effectively moved by God’s grace to make [an] act of supernatural charity, this decision must, by God’s own institution, involve at least a sincere and genuine desire to enter His Church. ... Where the intention, ...either explicit or implicit, of entering and remaining within God’s true supernatural kingdom...does not exist in a man who has the use of reason, that man is in a condition of voluntary aversion from the living God, [and] can [have] no true charity." (The Catholic Church and Salvation, p 36-7, 54, 57, 70, 73, 84, 113-4, 158)

TheFatimaCenter Wow, thank you for the thorough response. God bless the Fatima Center’s work.

TheFatimaCenter So a Hindu can enter into the state of grace if he at least believes in the 4 essential truths for salvation?

@@qdp03 Not as such. Having embraced the true Faith, he or she would no longer be a Hindu.

Rather, it would be the height of ignorance and pride for us to suppose that any man-made church would have the power to bring us to salvation.

The absolute need of such people to learn of Jesus Christ and the essential Christian mysteries, in order that they may be saved, has been the driving motivation of the Church’s missionaries from the time of the Apostles, making the dangers and hardships of such a life pale in comparison to the alternative, the eternal loss of so many souls. We might wonder why explicit and true faith in Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation -- or as Saint Paul says, that without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6) Saint Thomas Aquinas explains (Summa Theologica II-II, Q 7, A 2) that just as the corruption of the human soul takes place by its subjection and attachment to lower things, we are purified from our fallen state by an opposite movement toward God above. The first beginning of this movement is faith, and therefore the act of faith is the necessary first beginning of the purification of the soul. What about the seeming injustice of requiring what is impossible for so many? That is, how people who have had no opportunity of learning the essential revealed truths could be condemned for not knowing them. The answer is twofold. First, as St. Thomas explains, since explicit true faith in the essential Christian mysteries is absolutely necessary for salvation, and since God desires everyone's salvation, it is certain that God would arrange supernatural means of instructing deserving people in what they need to know and believe in order to be saved, when no natural means is available to them. St. Thomas insists that God will certainly do so whenever persons who correspond with His grace have no other means of learning these truths: "Granted that everyone is bound to believe something explicitly, no untenable conclusion follows if someone is brought up in the forest or among wild beasts. For it pertains to Divine Providence to furnish everyone with what is necessary for salvation, provided that on his part there is no hindrance. Thus, if someone so brought up followed the direction of natural reason in seeking good and avoiding evil, we must most certainly hold that God would either reveal to him through internal inspiration what had to be believed, or would send some preacher of the faith to him as He sent Peter to Cornelius." (Quaestiones Disputatae: De Veritate, vol II, q.14 a.11) This point is further explained by Bishop George Hay of Scotland, in his apologetics classic titled "The Sincere Christian": "All the testimonies of Scripture concur to prove that God has appointed True Faith in Jesus Christ, and the being in Communion with the Church of Christ, as necessary conditions of salvation. But can none who are in heresy be saved? God forbid we should say so! All the above reasons only prove that if they live and die in that state they shall not be saved, and that according to [God's revelation of His] providence they cannot be saved; but the great God is able to take them out of that state, to cure even their ignorance in their present situation, to bring them to the knowledge of the True Faith, to the Communion of His Holy Church, and to salvation: and we further add, that if He be pleased, of His infinite mercy, to save [anyone] who [is] at present in ignorance of the truth, in order to act consistently with Himself, and with His Holy Word, He will by no means permit him to live and die in his present state, but will so order matters out of the treasures of His Divine Wisdom, that sooner or later he shall be brought to the union of the Church of Christ, out of which He has ordained that salvation cannot be found." Second, as to those who remain in ignorance of the necessary and essential revealed truths to the end of their lives, and are lost. These persons are not condemned on account of their unbelief, but rather on account of the sins which kept them in that state of unbelief. As St. Thomas writes, “If such like unbelievers are damned, it is on account of other sins, which cannot be taken away without faith, but not on account of their sin of unbelief.” (Summa Theologica, II-II q.10 a.1)

@@TheFatimaCenter I've heard that Conscience is the Voice of Our Lord. Is this talk related to the document titled 'Nostra Aetate'?

I mean the errors in it.

@@livioroy Nostra Aetate is certainly a scandalous document, but in regard to this particular teaching (that outside of the Church there is no salvation) there have been numerous others more directly opposed to it, at least by implication. Lumen Gentium, for instance, declares: “Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do His will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience-these too may achieve eternal salvation.” The astute reader may notice that nothing is said in the above decree as to precisely how these people may achieve eternal salvation. The assumption made by many, who forget that all such decrees must be read in the light of the Church’s solemn definitions, is that such persons can be saved in their present state of unbelief. Thus to the unwary reader, the statement is a scandal. As Father Gruner used to stress so often, the solemn definitions are our infallibly safe guides for persevering in the true Faith. In so many cases, the tragic consequence of ignoring the definitions, predicted by Our Lady of Fatima, has been the unparalleled evil -- and danger -- of having lost a dogma of the Faith. Amazingly, vast numbers of serious Catholics today are so misled about this teaching that, when they hear an accurate expression of the dogma, they reject it as though it were opposed to the Faith. There have also been many official statements that flatly contradict this teaching. Here are some of the worst: "[S]eparated Churches and communities as such, though we believe they suffer from defects, have by no means been deprived of significance and importance in the mystery of salvation. For the spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as means of salvation which derive their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Catholic Church." (Unitatis Redintegratio) "[E]ach human being has reached...in Christ...the dignity of both the grace of divine adoption and the inner truth of humanity, ...[and] from the first moment of his existence, ...keeps intact the image and likeness of God himself. ... [W]ith each one Christ has united himself for ever.... " (Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Redemptor Hominis, 1979) "All men, from the beginning of the world until its end, have been redeemed and justified by Christ and His Cross." (Pope John Paul II, Sign of Contradiction, 1979) "[Although] the Church is the ordinary means of salvation and...alone possesses the fullness of the means of salvation, ...[nevertheless] the followers of other religions can...be saved by Christ apart from the ordinary means which he has established...." (Pope John Paul II, Encyclical Redemptoris Missio, 1990) "[C]ountless people throughout the centuries have been and still are able today to nourish and maintain their life-relationship with God...by [the instrumentality of]...the sacred writings of other religions.... [By virtue of having preserved their] apostolic succession and a valid Eucharist, ...the [Eastern Orthodox] Churches, ...while not existing in perfect communion with the Catholic Church, remain united to her, ...[and] are true particular Churches. Therefore, the Church of Christ is present and operative also in these Churches, even though they lack full communion with the Catholic Church...." (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith , Declaration Dominus Iesus, 2000)

Robert Sullivan Thank you for your important questions. It is clear that since "Outside of the Church there is no salvation," there are no extraordinary means of salvation to be found outside of the Catholic Church. Bishop George Hay explains, in his book The Sincere Christian: "If [seemingly virtuous persons] be truly such before God as they appear in the eyes of men, ...He will not allow them to die in their false religion, but will undoubtedly bring them to the True Faith before they die.... No doubt it is (absolutely speaking) possible for God to save men by any means He pleases; ...[but] His Holy Scriptures declare in the plainest terms that...God has appointed true Faith in Jesus Christ, and the being in Communion with the Church of Christ, as necessary conditions of salvation; ...that He has appointed them as essential conditions, so that none will or can be saved without them; ...[that] it is impossible that He can have reserved any extraordinary means of salvation for those who live and die not joined in communion with the Church of Christ by true Faith. Otherwise He would contradict Himself, which is impossible. ... By supposing they can [achieve salvation] though they die in their false religion, one supposes God to act contrary to Himself and in opposition to everything He has revealed to men upon this matter." Regarding the idea of some being saved "through" the Catholic Church even though consciously outside of it, rejecting the Catholic rule of Faith, Father François Laisney writes: "It is important to point out that it is not sufficient to say, 'without the Church, no salvation'; we must say with all the Tradition of the Church, 'outside the Church, no salvation.' One cannot say that one could be saved by the Church, though outside the Church. To be saved, it is not only necessary to receive grace from Christ, ...[but also to] be in Christ by charity: 'He that abideth in charity, abideth in God, and God in him' (1 Jn 4: 16). ... Now to be in Christ necessarily means to be in His Mystical Body, the Church, which is the Catholic Church. One must never forget that the actual graces of God given before [a person's] conversion precisely lead [him] towards Jesus Christ and His Church; if one follows these actual graces with docility, he will succeed in finding Jesus Christ and His Church."

@@TheFatimaCenter The word charity can mean love. Many people do love. Many of those are outside the Catholic Church, but are branches of the Church. The Jewish people are the Chosen People of God. the Moslems were Christians and misled as were the protestants. Yes the devil does take souls in this way by misleading them and drawing them to him, as he is doing within the Universal Church also. Soon Jesus will be back to bring all of the remaining human race to be ruled under Him by His Church. So all men will know the truth and know Jesus' Church and be a part of it ruled by the One Universal Church in individual countries and with a Eucharistic presence. Now if all survivors will be given the true faith the question is, why will they be saved and those with charity and good will and invincible ignorance of today not be granted the grace Pope Pious IX speaks of?

@@tomwolf8721 In his book on this subject, Fr. Francois Laisney answers your question: Only an infallible magisterium can...propos[e] the truths of Faith in such a way that we adhere to them absolutely as we ought to adhere to the truth revealed by God. ... [And] such a magisterium is found only in the Catholic Church. Therefore, ...any other “churches,” including the Orthodox churches, not having such an infallible magisterium, are not adequate channels of Divine Revelation, so as to assure the MOTIVE of Faith, which is on the authority of God, which is not found in these churches. They present [in some measure] the OBJECT of Faith, but not with the AUTHORITY required for an assent of Faith. How could one know that the Scriptures come from God, if it is not presented by a Church speaking in the name of God, with a special mission to teach? Our Lord gave this mission to His living Apostles: “Go, teach all nations....” This mission is continued from century to century in that Church which has been founded by Christ, not among those who separated themselves from it. Thus any church that cannot show her historical link with Christ-her APOSTOLICITY-cannot speak with the authority of Christ. The conclusion from the above is that no other church can be a MEANS OF SALVATION, contrary to what the innovators of Vatican II say. However, that does not prevent God from giving special interior lights that give together both the knowledge of the object to be believed, and the absolute certitude of its divine source. St. Thomas Aquinas teaches this explicitly, and his teaching has been followed on this point by the Church: "We must hold very certainly that God would reveal to him EITHER THROUGH AN INTERNAL INSPIRATION those truths that ought to be believed, or would send him a preacher of the Faith, as He sent Peter to Cornelius." (De Veritate, q.14 a.11 ad 1) Someone knowing the OBJECT of Faith through a false religion could receive such light. But this light, when faithfully received, casts away the darkness of the errors of that false religion.... But do not misunderstand me: Protestants claim that each one has such lights; however, Our Lord has told us: “by their fruits you shall know them.” We recognize that such AN INTERNAL INSPIRATION comes from the Holy Ghost when its object is the Catholic Faith, and we recognize that it does NOT come from the Holy Ghost when its object is not in conformity with the Catholic Faith. Hence Protestants are wrong to claim such lights against the true Faith. ... [Again, such a] light, when faithfully received, casts away the darkness of the errors of [a] false religion, and such a person is no longer FORMALLY of that false religion, but rather like a catechumen of the Catholic Church. ... One must never forget that the actual graces of God given before the conversion precisely lead towards Jesus Christ and His Church; if one follows these actual graces with docility, he will succeed in finding Jesus Christ and His Church.

The de fide ex cathedra dogma in Cantate Domino says unequivocaly that all Jews and pagans etc must go to hell. The infallible Vatican 1 definition of ex cathedra means that Cantate Domino cannot be changed or reformed to mean what we believe today that some Jews etc can be saved. They must convert and become catholic before they die according to Cantate Domino So I/we come under that Vatican 1 automatic anathema. How so? The churches supreme authority in the extroardinary magesterium cannot be sometimes wrong. We are obliged to accept all de fide dogma. How can we get back to a coherent fidelity to the supreme authority of church exercised in such infallible de fide decrees???? Please can you help? Such dogma at that level is not open to change or reform. Its meaning as stated and meant and understood at time of promulgation must be accepted under pain of anathema. My dilema is I admit I am under the Vatican1 anathema. With this above dilema in mind can you please help/ advise me. I have no problem with currdntnirfinary teaching but I am obliged to accept all de fide dogma without reform.

@@TheFatimaCenter "innovators of Vatican 2." So, are you Sedevacantists or SSPX lol?

Yes, certainly. Compare his appeal to Christ as King to the cry of the faithless Jews, "We have no king but Caesar!"

@@TheFatimaCenter Protestants call Jesus their King. Do we know if the good thief was baptized? No we don't. And Jesus promised him Paradise. Has it been established if Paradise and Heaven are the same or if that Paradise is a more earthly type of place with perfect harmony with God without the beatific vision of Heaven?

@@tomwolf8721 Certainly Our Lord did not refer here to Heaven, since His own ascension thereto would not take place that day. As Bishop Richard Challoner explains this text, "In paradise: That is, in the happy state of rest, joy, and peace everlasting. Christ was pleased, by a special privilege, to reward the faith and confession of the penitent thief, with a full discharge of all his sins, both as to the guilt and punishment; and to introduce him immediately after death into the happy society of the saints, whose limbo, that is, the place of their confinement, was now made a paradise by our Lord's going thither."

@@TheFatimaCenter Thank you I understand that. The real question is can those who have not have the privileges of knowing the Holy Catholic Church be saved from eternal damnation. It seems the answer is yes.

@@tomwolf8721 No one can be saved from eternal damnation except through faith (professing the one true Catholic Faith, whether implicitly in the case of baptized children, or necessarily explicitly in the case of all who have come to the use of reason) enlivened by charity.

You've a distorted view there. I sure hope you don't mean the Eucharist by "our communion".

but listen to this witness ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-w4XW5jvR7R4.html

Your own interpretation won't cut it.

@@Kitiwake Such would be delusional... therefore would you also say the 'Franciscan Order' is perhaps that of heresy?

In other words, it is not absolutely necessary for salvation that one be a MEMBER of the Catholic Church. Nevertheless it is absolutely necessary for salvation that a person be incorporated into the Church. But while such incorporation is normally accomplished by sacramental Baptism (and while to neglect or refuse this Sacrament would render salvation impossible), it is not absolutely necessary for salvation that a person receive the Sacrament of Baptism, for catechumens and such like persons may, according to their dispositions, be translated into the state of grace prior to their sacramental Baptism. And were such a person to suffer an untimely death, precluding his opportunity to be baptized, he would be saved by virtue of being already united to Christ (and thus to His Mystical Body, the Church, as well) through his explicit true faith, his sincere repentance, and his desire to be baptized and united to the Church. This incorporation into the Church, however, through the "Baptism of Desire" does not confer all the effects of a sacramental Baptism. Such a person is not a "member" of the Church and neither has he yet any right to Sacraments. Moreover, he does not receive the baptismal character on his soul, nor does the remission of actual sins in this case include the full remission of temporal punishments, as is the case in a sacramental Baptism. St. Robert Bellarmine (De Ecclesia Militante, Book III, Ch. 3) describes the effect of Baptism of Desire as uniting catechumens to the Church, not as actual members, but in resolution: "[C]atechumens...are faithful and can be saved if they die in this state.... [W]hen it is said 'outside the Church no one is saved,' it must be understood of those who belong to her neither in actual fact nor in desire, as theologians commonly speak on baptism. Because the catechumens are in the Church, though not in actual fact, yet at least in resolution, therefore they can be saved." St. Alphonsus (Theologia Moralis, Book 6, Tract 2, Ch.1, n.96) describes some of the ways in which the effects of Baptism of Desire differ from those of a sacramental Baptism: "Baptism of desire is perfect conversion to God...through contrition or love of God above all things along with the...desire of true Baptism of water; it supplies its power, according to Trent, with regard to the remission of the fault, but not the impression of the character, nor with regard to the complete taking away of the punishment due sin...." Msgr. Joseph Fenton, S.J. (in his book, The Catholic Church and Salvation) gives this lengthy explanation of the question of membership in the Church: "[T]he early Protestant leaders [did not] question the fact that there exists in this world a social unit of some kind within which alone men may achieve salvific association with Our Lord. They, like the Catholics themselves, were completely certain and insistent that there is a true Church and that outside of that true Church there is no salvation. On this point there was...only one basic issue in dispute between the Catholics and the heretics, the question as to exactly what the status of this supernatural kingdom of God is in this world. "The Catholic answer to that question was the assertion of the divinely revealed truth that, in...the New Testament dispensation, the organized religious society over which the Bishop of Rome presides is the supernatural kingdom of God on earth. ... On the other hand, the various types of heretics all contended in one way or another that...the true supernatural kingdom of God on earth was not an organized society at all, but the sum-total of all the good people, or all the predestined people, or all the people of good will in the world. "The heretical thesis had all the specious and disarming simplicity which characterizes so many errors. For one thing, it did away with any difficulty about the difference between being a member of the Church and being 'within' the Church in such a way as to be able to attain salvation in it. If the New Testament kingdom of God on earth is depicted as an unorganized group...to which one belongs only by reason of the possession of undetectable spiritual gifts, ...[then] to belong to the group and to be living the life of grace would be one and the same thing. ... Thus the heretical position was basically and deceptively simple. According to that teaching, persons...belonging to the supernatural kingdom of God on earth [do so] in the only way anyone can possibly belong to it. "The only trouble with the heretical position was that it was completely at variance with what Our Lord had taught about His kingdom on earth. According to the contention of the heretics, Our Lord would have been mistaken, for instance, in His description of the purification of His kingdom which is to be effected at the time of the general judgment. As they described God's kingdom, it never could have been purified in any way. The only people who composed it, even in this world, were people in the state of grace, people loving God with the supernatural affection of divine charity. "The Catholic truth on this point is comparatively complicated. On the one hand, there is the fact that the New Testament kingdom of God on earth actually is the organized society called the Catholic Church, the religious organization within which the Bishop of Rome is the supreme visible leader. On the other hand, it is no less a fact that a man can die as one of the individuals who compose the Catholic Church and can still be lost for all eternity, and that a non-member of the Church can die as being 'within' the Church in such a way as to attain to the Beatific Vision. ... "The term fidelis...has a definite technical meaning in the language of Christianity. The fideles, or the faithful, are not merely the individuals who have made an act of divine faith in accepting the teachings of God's public and Christian revelation. They are those who have actually made the baptismal profession of faith, and who have not cut themselves off from the unity of the Church by public apostasy or heresy or schism and have not been cast out of the Church by the process of excommunication. In other words, according to the present terminology of sacred theology, the fidelis is simply the Catholic, the member of the Catholic Church. ... [But] the term christianus [has] a wider application.... A catechumen might be designated as a christianus, but never as a fidelis. A man gains the dignity and the position of a fidelis through...the sacrament of Baptism, ...[which,] by the force of the character it imparts, ...incorporates the person...into...the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ. ... The man in whom the incorporating work of the baptismal character remains unbroken...by public heresy or apostasy, by schism, or by the full measure of excommunication...is the fidelis, the member of the Catholic Church. "Now, the [Fourth Lateran] Council teaches that a man must be in some way 'within' the Church of the faithful in order to be saved. It does not, however, in any way teach or even imply that no one other than one of the fideles can actually attain to the Beatific Vision. And, for that matter, no other authoritative declaration of the Church issues such a teaching or supports any such implication. It is not, and it has never been, the teaching of the Catholic Church that only actual members of the Church can attain eternal salvation. According to the teaching of the Church's own magisterium, salvation can be attained and, as a matter of fact, has been attained by persons who, at the moment of their death, were not members of this Church. The Church has thus never confused the notion of being 'outside the Church' with that of being a non-member of this society. ... "The desire of entering the Church does not give a man anything like 'a real though incomplete membership in the Church.' ... Those who...speak in this way, simply fail to take the meaning of the expressions in the Church's documents into consideration. A man who intends or wills to enter the Church is really not a member of it in any way whatsoever. If he were already a member, his desire [to enter the Church] would be absurd."

Thank you for your comment. Salvation is not attained by means of the Church, as through some useful thing external to ourselves. We can be saved only by being united to the Church in the sense of members of a body. To depart from that unity would be to forfeit the life of grace that makes one's ultimate salvation in the next life possible. God bless you.

"Once saved always saved" is a 16th century lie from Satan. No one in the early Church believed that false doctrine.

In his classic catechism, The Sincere Christian, Bishop George Hay replies to the mistaken hope of there being some means of salvation other than the Catholic Church: "No doubt it is (absolutely speaking) POSSIBLE for God to save men by any means He pleases; but His Holy Scriptures declare in the plainest terms that God has appointed true Faith in Jesus Christ, and the being in Communion with the Church of Christ, as necessary conditions of salvation; that He has appointed them as essential conditions, so that none WILL or CAN be saved without them; that it is impossible that He can have reserved any extraordinary means of salvation for those who live and die not joined in communion with the Church of Christ by true Faith. Otherwise He would contradict Himself, which is impossible."

God is not contradicting himself if he saves a soul who never denied or even had the chance of the Gospel being proclaimed to them. Nevertheless people who obtain certain knowledge can be held accountable. I obviously as a Catholic believe that salvation is only found within Holy Mother Church and because I’ve come to realize this truth of faith is that I am accountable to it. I’m not saying that there are other roads, I’m simply saying that if someone never knew and never heard of the Gospel yet lived a reasonable life then God will consider that in the final judgement.

From the time of the Fathers and Doctors of the Church, your supposition has been considered by theologians. Their answer, a matter of Catholic Faith, is that without explicit, true faith in the essential Christian mysteries, it is impossible to please God or attain salvation. If it could be otherwise, they add, then Christ died in vain. There is no injustice in this regarding souls without any natural means of learning those essential truths of the Faith. It is the part of divine providence to ensure opportunities for such souls to hear the Gospel preached, and God will not fail to do so, even perhaps by miraculous means, for each and every soul that is cooperating with the graces that He gives drawing those souls toward their salvation. For those who do not cooperate with these graces and who die without faith, they will not be judged guilty of the sin of unbelief, but rather will be condemned for the sins which effectively kept them in that state of unbelief.

TheFatimaCenter “There are those, of course, 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.” Pope Pius IX Quanto conficiamur moerore (1863)

Notice please the key phrase in the passage which you cite. They are able to attain eternal life by the efficacious virtue of divine light and grace. To what end do those graces and lights work efficaciously? To bring the person to the knowledge of those truths, without which he cannot be saved. This is perfectly clear in the context of the entire document by Pius IX.

José Luís Pinto With all due and kind respect. Of course anything is possible with God. However, that is not Church doctrine and not what Christ said. Doctrine is if someone dies in a state of mortal sin, they go to hell. Christ said He who does not eat of my flesh and drink my blood shall have no life within him. Being in a state of Grace and receiving The Eucharist helps yourself when you go to purgatory. as a side note, you may find it interesting to look into indulgences which can be earned for yourself and the should in purgatory. Especially if you are on a solid path of maintaining a state of Grace on a regular basis ( a requirement for many if not all indulgences.) God Bless

@@thefireman2854 Yes, you´re right, but listen to this witness ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-w4XW5jvR7R4.html

Bishop George Hay of Scotland in his classic work of apologetics, “The Sincere Christian,” gives the following reply to the question which you pose: “[W]e...see, even among false religions, many serious, well-disposed people, who live [seemingly] good lives, and are even devout and pious in their own way, [and we find] it hard to think that such persons will [as such] not be saved.... [But we must avoid the mistake of] not observing the vast difference there is between natural good moral actions, and supernatural Christian good works, which alone will bring a man to Heaven. However corrupted our nature is by sin, yet there are few or none of the seed of Adam who have not certain good natural dispositions, some being more inclined to one virtue, some to another. Thus some are of a humane, benevolent disposition; some tenderhearted and compassionate towards others in distress; some just and upright in their dealings; some temperate and sober; some mild and patient; some also have natural feelings of devotion, and of reverence for the Supreme Being. “Now, all such good natural dispositions of themselves are far from being Christian virtues, and are altogether incapable of bringing a man to Heaven. They indeed make him who has them agreeable to men, and procure him esteem and regard from those with whom he lives; but they are of no avail before God with regard to eternity. ... And the reason is, ‘there is no other Name given to men under Heaven by which we can be saved, but the Name of Jesus only’ (Acts 4: 12); therefore no good works whatsoever, performed through good dispositions of nature only, can ever be crowned by God with eternal happiness. To obtain this glorious reward our good works must be sanctified by the Blood of Jesus, and become Christian virtues. “Now, if we search the Holy Scriptures, we find two conditions absolutely required to make our good works agreeable to God, and conducive to our salvation-First, that we be united to Jesus Christ by True Faith, which is the root and foundation of all Christian virtues; for St. Paul expressly says, ‘Without Faith it is impossible to please God’ (Heb 11: 6). Observe the word impossible; He does not say it is difficult, but that it is impossible. Let, therefore, a man have ever so many good natural dispositions, and be as charitable, devout, and mortified as the Pharisees were, yet if he have not True Faith in Jesus Christ, he cannot enter into the kingdom of Heaven. They [the Pharisees] refused to believe in Him, and therefore all their works were good for nothing as to their salvation; and unless our righteousness exceed theirs in this point, as Christ Himself assures us, we shall never enter into His heavenly kingdom. But even True Faith itself, however necessary, is not sufficient alone to make our good works available to salvation; for it is necessary, Second, that we be in charity with God, in His friendship and grace, without which even True Faith itself will never save us. To be convinced of this, let us only give ear to St. Paul, who says, ‘Though I should have all Faith, so as to remove mountains, though I should distribute all my goods to feed the poor, though I should give my body to be burnt, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing’ (1 Cor 13: 2). “So let a man be ever so peaceable, regular, inoffensive, and religious in his way, charitable to the poor, and what else you please, yet if he have not the True Faith of Jesus Christ, and be not in charity with God, all his apparent virtues go for nothing; it is impossible for him to please God by them; and if he live and die in that state they will profit him nothing, ...for nothing can avail us in Christ but ‘Faith that works by charity’ (Gal 5: 6). ... “If [these seemingly virtuous men] be truly such before God as they appear in the eyes of men, ...He will not allow them to die in their false religion, but will undoubtedly bring them to the True Faith before they die....”

I have read the material you sent me and I cannot agree. The implication of it is that most people including Catholics are damned. If that is not the case then please enlighten me. The idea of a loving God send good people to hell is an absurdity. The big lie is that Christianity is based on love when if fact it is based on fear.

@@JGGREY Bishop Hay's implication as you term it is Our Lord's own explicit teaching, that many are lost in comparison to the few who are saved (Matt. 7:13-14; Luke 13:23-24), and yet this is an indication not of any failing in God but rather only of the cold-heartedness of men. God bless you. olrl.org/snt_docs/fewness.shtml

@@TheFatimaCenter What do you mean by the "cold heartedness of men' ? I don't think that even the modern day Catholic Church adopts your position. Are you the modern day Jansenists? They did not believe many people saved their soul. And they were considered to be heretical.

This is why all protestants must be damned.

If you are outside the Catholic Church, the church that Christ himself founded, then you don’t have a true relationship with Jesus Christ. If you don’t believe in the true presence in the communion, the need for the sacraments, if you are outside the communion of Christ’s Prime Minister on Earth (the Pope), if you believe manmade heresies, then you have no relationship with Christ. You are a heretic which the Bible clearly condemns.

Moses King Just offering a correction here. The Holy Roman Pontiff is The Vicar of Christ, not his Prime Minister.

@@mosesking2923 not a heretic but if outside by choice, they equally lost.

In the dispensation of the New Testament, there is -- and there can be -- no such thing as the invisible church imagined by Protestants. There is only one truly Christian Church, a visible and organized society such as we find described by Our Lord and in the Acts of the Apostles, the Roman Catholic Church.

LOL, rapture is not in the Bible.

@@savedbygrace791 come to the Catholic Church you protestant! Protestantism came from a heretical man called Martin Luther who supported Polygamy and took out 6 books from the Bible because it didn't agree with his false doctrines! He even wanted to take out several other books from scripture such as Revelation, James and 2 Peter that contradicted with his man-made teaching. Luther appeared from nowhere and started preaching doctrines of men that hadn't been taught for over 15 hundred years prior and that contradicted the Word of God. So before you go out spouting this nonsense that nothing the Catholic Church teaches is in the Bible, look at protestantism, and realize that the Catholic Church gave you the Bible!

@@savedbygrace791 I don't understand how you can look at early church history and say that the Catholic Church did not bring us the Bible! You say it was formed into canon.......by the Catholic Church! The Bible is a Catholic book.....prove me wrong

@@savedbygrace791 yep, exactly, God has lead me to His Holy Catholic Church.

Thank you for your comment. Please consider the inescapable meaning of St. Peter’s expression, “sects of perdition” (2 Pet. 2:1), that those who cut themselves off from the true Church will be lost, since those man-made sects - spreading “doctrines of devils” (1 Tim. 4:1) - are powerless to save them. Likewise St. Paul warns the Corinthians that belief would be in vain if they depart from the pure Gospel as he had preached it to them: “Now I make known unto you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you have received, and wherein you stand; By which also you are saved, if you hold fast after what manner I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain.” (1 Cor. 15: 1-2) God bless you.

The Catholic Church is not a sect. I'd recommend that you familiarize yourself with the basics of Christian history. Protestantism is a false, 16th century religion of man.

Agreed. We hope none of our viewers will construe those references to "the ordinary means of salvation" as if Mr. Vennari were saying that false churches might somehow provide "extraordinary" means of salvation to their members. No false religion can be a means of salvation; neither is it possible that God would act contrary to His revelation in this matter by reserving any extraordinary means of salvation for those who live and die not joined in communion with the Catholic Church. God bless you.

That's only in Abrahamic religions Hinduism or other religions dont teach this the Bible Koran Torah are not universally recognized they are bound by 1 era in time. Theres the problem of an unfair test. The problem of experience. And diversity that Christianity Islam and Judaism fail to acknowledge

@@TheFatimaCenter Why is it so EASY to fall into Hell and so HARD and almost IMPOSSIBLE to go to Heaven?

@@Darth_Vader258 Not impossible, as Our Lord stressed in correcting His disciples on this point. In fact, as He said again, His Commandments are a sweet and light burden. "Do this and you will live." God bless you.

@@lilyw.719 Our friedly and sincere advice: Say a five-decade Rosary every day without exception, and then see how things stand a month from now, and a year from now. God bless you.

LYNAY JOSE With all respect, no. Not just outside of the Sacraments, but outside of the Catholic Church there is no salvation.

Magisterial expressions of this dogma of Catholic Faith that outside of the Church there is no salvation, have abounded since Apostolic times. It has also been the subject of three solemn and infallible definitions: "There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved." -- Pope Innocent III (Fourth Lateran Council, 1215, Dz. 430) "With Faith urging us, we are forced to believe and to hold the one, holy, Catholic Church, and that, apostolic, and we firmly believe and simply confess this Church, outside which there is no salvation nor remission of sin.” -- Pope Boniface VIII (Bull Unam Sanctam, 1302, Dz. 468-469) "The most Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes, and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can have a share in life eternal; but that they will go into the eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless before death they are joined with Her; and that so important is the unity of this ecclesiastical body that only those remaining within this unity can profit by the sacraments of the Church unto salvation, and they alone can receive an eternal recompense for their fasts, their almsgivings, their other works of Christian piety and the duties of a Christian soldier. No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pour out his blood for the Name of Christ, can be saved, unless he remain within the bosom and the unity of the Catholic Church." -- Pope Eugene IV (Council of Florence, 1441, Dz. 714) Thus the great urgency that we have, as stressed by Our Lady of Fatima, of praying for the conversion of all unbelievers, especially non-Catholics, and of making acts of reparation to the Immaculate Heart of Mary for their blasphemous denial of the dogmas of faith related to Her unique dignity and privileges. God bless you.

Any confusion arising from the texts or ethos of the Second Vatican Council regarding this dogma of Catholic Faith tends to confirm Archbishop Vigano's recent assessment, that worse than merely ambiguous, the Council documents were purposely conceived as subversive tools to undermine the faith of Catholics. God bless you. catholicfamilynews.com/blog/2020/06/17/archbishop-vigano-on-vatican-ii-it-is-preferable-to-let-the-whole-thing-drop-and-be-forgotten/

@@TheFatimaCenter Yes sir, thank you, my brother in Christ.

Thank you again. That was very informative; after several times read for comprehension. (also had to look up a few words for definition)

I am pentecostal Does that mean i am not saved

@@kwameoteng2529 yes you are not s Christian nor saved. Convert to the traditional catholic faith.

@@Massolgy thank u but i thought the bible says salvation is found only in Jesus christ

@@kwameoteng2529 it is Jesus Christ establish the Catholic chruch when he gave Peter authority over his flock.

@@kwameoteng2529 That means that you are a heretic and cannot be saved unless you repent and convert and get baptized.