A Zenit interview with Father Peter Gumpel tackles the issue of death prior to baptism,
which
I wrote about a few days ago.
What the Church Has Said About Children Who Die Without Baptism
Although in history there have been different opinions, the supreme magisterium of the Church offers very precise documents and affirmations.
I am now a sponsor in the combined St. Paul’s/Oratory RCIA class. On
Sunday, our class participated in the Combined Rite of Acceptance and
Welcoming. It is one of my favorite ceremonies. For those who are
unfamiliar with this rite, in particular my Protestant readers, I
reproduce some of it here.
A fellow Pantagruelist, an RCC-sympathizer seeking to marry an RC woman, asks What are my options?
Anthony complains…
We don't live together, we don't fornicate, we view artificial birth control as a sin and believe marriage is an irreversible commitment. I would think the Church would jump at the chance to marry us, since it is rare to find Catholics who believe all of the above, but instead it is we who are expected to jump through hoop after hoop after hoop.
Seeing that there is more total knowledge of Catholic marriage among the faithful of Ales Rarus than in each of all but 7 nations of the world, I thought I'd point any would-be good Samaritans in that direction. Contact info is contained in the forum…
Annie Banno, co-blogger of After Abortion, sent me a link to an article she wrote for Catholic Exchange, entitled "All Souls In Purgatory, Or Not?".
One priest said, “For most of history, the Church taught that unbaptized babies go to ‘limbo.’ This was not hell, but a place of peace. They can not enjoy the eternal blessedness of the Lord because original sin was not wiped away.
“The Church’s understanding has been stated differently in the last thirty years. ‘Limbo’ is no longer used. We know that God is abundantly merciful, and desires that all children come to Him (Matt 19:14, 1 Tim 2:4). Therefore, our great hope is that they are in heaven, but we cannot say with certainty. You are encouraged to pray for your baby.”