A RESPONSE TO THE TRUE CATHOLIC CHURCH - PART 2
by Margaret Alison O'HearnUNDERSTANDING THE MEANING OF "THERE IS NO SALVATION OUTSIDE OF THE CHURCH"
Introduction
At the core of the objections of the adherents of the True Catholic Church (TCC) to the teachings of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church, is the doctrine of "No Salvation Outside of the Church". The majority of the charges of heresy that have been levelled at all of the Popes during and since the Ecumenical Council of Vatican II are based upon what can only be described as a very narrow or limited understanding of what is truly meant by "No Salvation Outside of the Church", and how that is applied in the Church today.
What do adherents of the TCC believe about the doctrine of "No Salvation outside of the Church"? First of all the TCC teaches that only those who are baptised as Roman Catholics are saved. All other Christians are considered to be heretics. Second, the TCC teaches that neither Baptism of Desire, nor Baptism of Blood, is considered as valid forms of Baptism. Third, the TCC teaches that a person who has never had the opportunity to hear the Gospel message and convert to Christianity cannot be saved, even though that person fits the definition of invincible ignorance.
The main thrust of the objections of the TCC, to the teachings of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church is that one must be a Roman Catholic to be saved. The TCC has set out a number of objections to the teachings of the present Pope, claiming that he is a heretic. These objections are based upon self-interpretations of the words of the Popes as well as of the words of those former Popes and saints that they hold up as speaking the truth. However, within the objections themselves there is little or no reference to the Scriptures. Therefore, in order to respond to the issues and objections that have been raised by the adherents of the TCC, it is necessary to look to the Scriptures to see why the Magisterium of the Catholic Church teaches certain truths with regard to Salvation.
"THERE IS NO SALVATION OUTSIDE OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH" – WHAT IS THE TEACHING OF THE MAGISTERIUM OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:
Para 836 All men are called to this catholic unity of the People of God…And to it, in different ways, belong or are ordered: the Catholic faithful, others who believe in Christ, and finally all mankind, called by God’s grace to salvation.
Para 838 The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptised who are honoured by the name of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter. Those who believe in Christ and have been properly baptised are put in a certain, although imperfect communion with the Catholic Church. With the Orthodox Churches, this communion is so profound that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a common celebration of the Lord’s Eucharist.
Para 839 Those who have not yet received the Gospel are related to the People of God in various ways.
The relationship of the Church with the Jewish People: When she delves into her own mystery, the Church, The People of God in the New Covenant, discovers her link with the Jewish People, "the first to hear the Word of God." The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God’s revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the Patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh is the Christ, for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.
Para 840 And when one considers the future, God’s People of the Old Covenant and the new People of God tend towards similar goals: expectation of the coming (or return) of the Messiah who died and rose from the dead and is recognised as Lord and Son of God; the other waits the coming of a Messiah, whose features remain hidden till the end of time; and the latter waiting is accompanied by the drama of not knowing or of misunderstanding Christ Jesus.
Para 841 The Church’s relationship with the Muslims: The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day.
Para 843 The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath, and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as "a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life.
Para 845 To reunite all his children scattered and led astray by sin, the Father willed to call the whole of humanity together into his Son’s Church. The Church is the place where humanity must rediscover its unity and salvation. The Church is "the world reconciled." She is that bark which "in the full sail of the Lord’s cross, by the breath of the Holy Spirit, navigates safely in this world." According to another image dear to the Church Fathers, she is prefigured by Noah’s Ark, which alone saves from the flood.
Outside the Church there is no salvation
Para 846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers? Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church, which is his Body:
Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church, which men enter through Baptism, as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse to either enter it or to remain in it.
Para 847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:
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 – those too may achieve eternal salvation. (Lumen Gentium 16)
Para 848 Although in ways known to himself, God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelise all men.
In summary, the Church teaches:
Since the coming of the Saviour, God commands all men to be members of His Church. Those who deliberately disobey Him will be lost eternally. But since He condemns no man except for a grave fault, He will not condemn those, who through invincible ignorance are unaware of His precept, who serve Him faithfully according to their conscience, who have a sincere desire to do His will and, therefore implicitly, the desire to become members of His Church. The ancient phrase "Outside the Church there is no salvation," was addressed to those already in the Church, lest they be tempted to join heretical bodies or abandon the faith. It was not a statement that all non-Catholics were condemned.
OBJECTIONS OF THE TRUE CATHOLIC CHURCH
What then are the specific objections regarding the current teachings of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church that have been made by the True Catholic Church? The following is a list of the alleged heresies of Pope John Paul II:
Response: In claiming that Pope John Paul II has made an heretical statement, the TCC has misrepresented the Encyclical "Ut Unum Sint". The Encyclical addresses the call to Christian unity, which after all is a call to give heed to the prayer of Jesus: "that they may all be one" . The mission of the Catholic Church is to gather all of the sheep together into one fold. The purpose of the ecumenical movement, therefore, is to encourage dialogue that will assist in bringing the other sheep back into the fold. It is God’s desire that all people be gathered together as one:
"I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I the Lord will sanctify Israel".
"Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad."
The Pope makes the following statement on the desire for unity:
"To believe in Christ means to desire unity; to desire unity means to desire the Church; to desire the Church means to desire the communion of grace which corresponds to the Father’s plan from all eternity. Such is the meaning of Christ’s prayer: "Ut unum sint"
In the present situation of the lack of unity among Christians and of the confident quest for full communion, the Catholic faithful are conscious of being deeply challenged by the Lord of the Church."
Does the desire for unity as expressed by Pope John Paul contradict the Encyclical of Pope Pius XI "Mortalium Animos"? In this Encyclical, Pope Pius XI stated the following:
"Let therefore, the separated children draw nigh to the Apostolic See, set up in the City which Peter and Paul, the princes of the Apostles, consecrated by their blood; to that See, we repeat, which is "the root and womb whence the Church of God springs" not with the intention and the hope that "the Church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth" will cast aside the integrity of the faith and tolerate their errors, but on the contrary, that they themselves submit to its teaching and government. Would that it were, our happy lot, to do that which so many of our predecessors could not, to embrace with fatherly affection those children, whose unhappy separation from us we now bewail."
There is no contradiction between the words of Pope John Paul II and Pope Pius XI. Both have expressed the desire to see the return of those Christians who are separated from the Catholic Church because of theological and other differences to the fold in line with the desire of God, that all of His children be united as in One Body.
2.Infants can be saved without Baptism (Evangelium Vitae); c.f. Infants needs Baptism for salvation (Pope Zosimus)
Response: Does Pope John Paul II state that infants can be saved without Baptism? Unfortunately the TCC did not supply sufficient documentation to allow the placing of any statement in context. In this case the reference is Evangelium Vitae, the Encyclical on the Value and Inviolability of Human Life. Therefore one can only look to the actual teaching of the Magisterium of the Catholic Church to discern whether the allegation is true. The necessity for the Baptism of infants follows: (1) from the condemnation of the Pelagians who held that infants were saved without Baptism (2) from the ancient rule of the Church that all, infants as well as adults, should be immediately baptised when there is danger of death; and from the comprehensive words of Christ, "unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God." (Jn 3:5). Baptism makes us members of Christ, members of His Mystical Body. It is thus only those united to Him who can be saved. Where a child has died before the conferring of the Sacrament of Baptism the teaching of the Church is:
Para 1261 " As regards children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in the funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God who desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus tenderness toward children, which caused him to say: "Let the children come to me, do not hinder them" allow us to hope that there is a way of salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent is the Church’s call not to prevent little children coming to Christ through the gift of holy Baptism.
Does the above teaching from the Catechism of the Catholic Church conflict in any way with the statement of Pope St. Zosimus on the necessity of Baptism of infants? First of all, it is necessary to discover the context of the statement of Pope St. Zosimus. The context of the statement of Pope Zosimus is that of the edict against Pelagius. The Council of Carthage condemned Pelagius and defined the following doctrines against which Pelagius had erred:
It should be noted that these clearly worded canons, which (except for the last named) afterwards came to be articles of faith binding on the universal Church, gave the deathblow to Pelagianism.
The specific errors of Caelestius, a disciple of Pelagius were the following:
Therefore within context, the alleged infallible statement of Pope St. Zosimus is a response to the heresy of Pelagianism. The True Catholic Church, in claiming that Pope John Paul II has committed a heresy against an infallible statement has not been able to prove that the statement in question is infallible. In this instance the alleged statement is based upon a canon that appears in some but not all codices and has not been universally accepted as a binding article of faith.
3.There is hope for infants who die without baptism (c.f. CCC 1261); Outside the Church there is no hope for salvation (Pius IX D. 1717).
The Church teaches that we entrust the soul of the infant that has died without baptism to the Mercy of God, and since Jesus said "Let the little children come unto me, do not hinder them", there is hope that God will have mercy on those children who have not been given the opportunity to achieve their potential as human creatures.
What is the context of the interpretation of the statement of Pope Pius IX? The Encyclical Quanto Conficiamur Moerore, on Promotion of False Doctrines was directed towards the activities of the Piedmontese Government, was released August 10 1863. What is the historical background? The period in question was post French Revolution, and the Napoleonic Wars. It was a period of great disruption in European society. It was also the period in which Italy became united under Victor Emmanuel II. In this period Italy endured the following acts of hostility towards the Church perpetrated by the revolutionary elements in Piedmont:
It is against this background that Pope Pius IX stated: "Also well known is the Catholic teaching that no one can be saved outside the Catholic Church. Eternal salvation cannot be obtained by those who oppose authority and statements of the same Church and are stubbornly separated from the unity of the Church and also from the successor of Peter, the Roman Pontiff, to whom the "custody of the vineyard has been committed by the Saviour." The words of Christ are clear enough: "If he refuses to listen even to the Church, let him be to you a Gentile and a tax collector. He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, rejects him who sent me."
These words were not directed towards the fate of infants but they were directed towards those who were the Waldenses and their followers from Piedmont. Therefore it can be concluded the comparison between the current teaching of the Church on the salvation of unbaptised infants and the words written by Pope Pius IX is a false one.
4. The Holy Spirit uses sects as means of salvation (Catechesi Tradendae – On Catechesis in our Time 16/10/1979); The Holy Spirit does not give life to heretics (Leo XIII Satis Cognitum – On the Unity of the Church June 29 1896)
What is the original context of the statement allegedly made by Pope John Paul II? The document "Catechesi Tradendae", addresses the final task given by Jesus to the Apostles before His ascension into Heaven – "to make disciples of all nations and to teach then to observe all that he had commanded." Thus were the apostles entrusted with the mission and the power to proclaim to humanity what they had heard, what they had witnessed, and what they had touched concerning the Word of Life. He also entrusted to them the mission and power to explain with authority what he had taught them, His words and actions, His signs and commandments. And He gave them the Spirit to fulfil this mission. The name catechesis was given to this work of the Church. The context of the statement is:
32 "The great movement, one certainly inspired by the Spirit of Jesus, that has for some years been causing the Catholic Church to seek with other Christian Churches or confessions the restoration; of the perfect unity willed by the Lord, brings me to the question of the ecumenical character of catechesis. This movement reached its full prominence in the Second Vatican Council and since then has taken on a new extension within the Church, as is shown concretely by the impressive series of events and initiatives with which everyone is now familiar. Catechesis cannot remain aloof from this ecumenical dimension, since all the faithful are called to share, according to their capacity and place in the Church, in the movement towards unity. Catechesis will have an ecumenical dimension if, while not ceasing to teach that the fullness of the revealed truths and of the means of salvation instituted by Christ is found in the Catholic Church, it does not so with sincere respect, in words and in deeds, for the ecclesial communities that are not in perfect communion with this Church. In this context, it is extremely important to give a correct and fair presentation of the other Churches and ecclesial communities that the Spirit of Christ does not refrain from using as a means of salvation; "moreover some, even very many, of the outstanding elements and endowments which together go to build up and give life to the Church herself, can exist outside the visible boundaries of the Catholic Church." Among other things, this presentation will help Catholics to have both a deeper understanding of their own faith and a better acquaintance with and esteem for their other Christian brethren, thus facilitating the shared search for the way towards full unity in the whole truth. It should also help non-Catholics to have a better knowledge and appreciation of the Catholic Church and her conviction of being the "universal help towards salvation". Catechesis will have an ecumenical dimension if, in addition, it creates and fosters a true desire for unity. This will be true all the more if it inspires serious efforts including the effort of self-purification in the humility and the fervour of the Spirit in order to clear the ways with a view not to facile irenics made up of omissions and concessions on the level of doctrine, but to perfect unity, when and by what means the Lord will wish. Finally catechesis will have an ecumenical dimension if it tries to prepare Catholic children and young people, as well as adults, for living in contact with non-Catholics, affirming their Catholic identity while respecting the faith of others."
The words claimed to be heresy are: "In this context, it is extremely important to give a correct and fair presentation of the other Churches and ecclesial communities that the Spirit of Christ does not refrain from using as means of salvation." How is this supposed to compare with the statement "Satis Cognitum", encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on the Unity of the Church? The Encyclical "Satis Cognitum" was issued against the background of the schism of the Old Catholic Church of Utrecht. In 1889 the Bishops of the Old Catholic Church had made the following declarations:
The Encyclical "Satis Cognitum" is directed towards the question of unity within the Church.
"All members of the body, whereas there are many, yet are one body, so also is Christ." (1Cor 12:12)
"There is one God, and one Christ; and his church is one and the faith is one; and one the people, joined together in solid unity of the body in the bond of concord. This unity cannot be broken, nor the one body divided by its constituent parts."
"The Church cannot be divided into parts by the separation and cutting asunder of its members. What is cut away from the mother cannot live or breathe apart"
"See what you must beware of – see what you must avoid – see what you must dread. It happens that, as in the human body, some member may be cut off – a hand, a finger, and a foot. Does the soul follow the amputated member? As long as it was in the body it lived; separated it forfeits its life. So the Christian is a Catholic so long as he lives in the body: cut off from it he becomes a heretic – the life of the spirit follows not the amputated member."
"The Church of Christ, therefore, is one and the same for ever; those who leave it depart from the will and command of Christ the Lord – leaving the path of salvation they enter on that of perdition." - "Whosoever is separated from the Church is united with an adulteress. He has cut himself off from the promises of the Church, and he who leaves the Church of Christ cannot arrive at the rewards of Christ…He who observes not this unity observes not the law of God, holds not the faith of the Father and the Son, clings not to the life of salvation."
"15. From this it must be clearly understood that Bishops are deprived of the right and power of ruling, if they deliberately secede from Peter and his successors; because, by this secession, they are separated from the foundation on which the whole edifice must rest. They are therefore outside the edifice itself; and for this very reason they are separated from the fold, whose leader is the Chief Pastor; they are exiled from the Kingdom, the keys of which were given by Christ to Peter alone…"
The question remains: Does "Catechesi Tradendae", - on the Catechesis of the Church - contradict "Satis Cognitum" – Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on the Unity of the Church? No. Why? First of all, these documents are addressing different issues. Catechesi Tradendae address the issue of Catechesis and it acknowledges the need for Catholics to understand the different faiths yet at the same impart Catholic catechesis. Second, by acknowledging the elements of the truth that exists in the other Christian denominations, the Vatican is following the example set by St. Paul when he spoke to the Greeks at the Areopagus:
"Men of Athens, I have seen for myself how extremely scrupulous you are in all religious matters, because I noticed, as I strolled round admiring your sacred monuments, that you had an altar inscribed: To an Unknown God. Well the God whom I proclaim is in fact the one whom you already worship without knowing it. Since the God who made the world and everything in it is himself Lord of heaven and earth, he does not make his home in shrines made by human hands. Nor is he dependent on anything that human hands can do for him, since he can never be in need of anything; on the contrary, it is he who gives everything – including life and breath – to everyone. From one single stock he not only created the whole human race so that they could occupy the entire earth, but he decreed how long each nation should flourish and what the boundaries of its territories should be. And he did this so that all nations might seek the deity and, by feeling their way towards him, succeed in finding him. Yet in fact he is not far from any of us, since it is in him that we live, and move, and exist, as indeed some of your own writers have said: "We are all his children" Since we are the children of God, we have no excuse for thinking that the deity looks like anything in gold, silver or stone that has been carved or designed by a man." (Acts 17: 22-29)
Third, the words of the Encyclical "Satis Cognitum" are directed against those who leave the Church for the purpose of being their authority. They are not directed to those who have grown up in a sect that is in schism with the authority of Rome. In this respect "Satis Cognitum" can also be applied to those who deny the authority of the office bearer of the See of Rome to this day, which includes the True Catholic Church.
Therefore it can be concluded that there is no proof of heresy within the document "Catechesi Tradendae". The issues addressed in this document concern Catholic Catechesis in today’s world, whereas the issues addressed in "Satis Cognitum" concern a schism between Rome and the group known as the Old Catholic Church.
CONCLUSION
The True Catholic Church has claimed that Pope John Paul has uttered heretical statements in regard to the doctrine of "No Salvation Outside the Church". In analysing a selection of the alleged heretical statements within their proper context, of Pope John Paul II, and comparing them against the statements of former Popes, within their proper context, the allegation of heresy cannot be proved by the TCC. When the alleged heretical statements are compared to the teachings of St. Paul, especially teachings found within the Acts of the Apostles, the allegation of heresy levelled against the Vatican by the True Catholic Church cannot be sustained.