Ales Rarus

Jimmy Akin recetly wrote a post about homosexuality and the priesthood. An interesting tangential argument ensued in the comments. The basic gist (for those too lazy to read for themselves) is that there was some debate as to whether Protestants are saved or not. I say they are, others disagreed.

Lo and behold, today's column at Catholic News Agency addresses this topic.

"Outside the Church there is no salvation."

"It's a stark sentence. Some Catholics even love its shock value, waving the doctrine like a flag in the face of their enemies. Other Catholics flatly refuse to believe it, and claim that this teaching was repudiated by the Second Vatican Council. Both groups are wrong."

"Despite what some may think, this dogma is infallible, and all Catholics are required to believe it. This was repeated clearly at Vatican II, which said: 'Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation.'"

"At the same time, this dogma was never meant to be a sectarian battle cry, as if only Catholics may go to heaven."

"So what is the correct interpretation of this sentence? What does the Catholic Church mean when she proclaims that Outside the Church there is no salvation? "

Go read "Our Faith" by Kevin Knight to find out. I also recommend "Development and Negation II: extra ecclesiam nulla salus" by Michael Liccione.

"There can be no doubt that the Church's ancient doctrine of 'outside the Church there is no salvation' (EENS) has undergone development over the centuries. And since the doctrine has been solemnly defined (see below), then according to the Church, EENS has been infallibly taught. In that respect, it is like many other doctrines. But EENS is one of a handful of doctrines whose recent development and interpretation, according to many, so qualifies the sense earlier understood as actually to negate or contradict it. If that were true, then the Church's claim to have infallibly taught the earlier sense would be discredited, and with it her Magisterium's claim to a unique degree of authority. Has it been? Needless to say, the Church would answer 'no,' and I would too. But why not?"

Now if only Jimmy would post about this and set his readers straight…

On a somewhat related note, there's been some good news on the ecumenism front. The Lutheran-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity will shortly finish a joint document "on the Church's apostolicity and apostolic succession", the Traditional Anglican Communion is seeking intercommunion with the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Benedict XVI demonstrated his commitment to Christianity with non-Catholics by meeting with Hans Küng.

Addendum: Also worth reading is "The Salvation of Non-Catholics: A Compendium of Catholic Teaching in the 19th and 20th Centuries" by E. L. Core