I am a practising Catholic who believes in Vatican Council II (Ad Gentes 7 etc), the Catechism of the Catholic Church (845,846 etc),Dominus Iesus and other Magisterial texts, including Cantate Domino, Council of Florence ex cathedra on extra ecclesiam nulla salus. I attend the Novus Ordo Mass in Italian.
I believe Feeneyism in its main points is the official teaching of the Catholic Church and is in accord with Magisterial texts after Vatican Council II .Like Fr. Feeney’s communities who have been recognized, some with canonical status, I believe a person can be saved with the baptism of desire or invincible ignorance under ‘certain circumstances’ and conditions. This does not contradict our belief that everybody with no exception, needs to be a formal member of the Catholic Church to go to Heaven and avoid Hell.
Those saved with the baptism of desire or blood, invincible ignorance, a good conscience, partial communion or only with the baptism of water are all known only to God. It is never explicit for us. So it does not the contradict the infallible teaching of extra ecclesiam nulla salus, outside the church there is no salvation, in its only interpretation; the ‘rigorist interpretation’.
I reject the liberal, secular, ‘progressivist’ and Jewish Left media interpretation of extra ecclesiam nulla salus. Their political position is false, as seen here:
1. The baptism of desire is explicit, see able.
This is false. We do not know a single case of the Baptism of Desire in the present time.
2. Lumen Gentium 16, Vatican Council II contradicts the dogma.
This is false. LG 16 refers to those in invincible ignorance etc who are saved. Only God alone knows who is saved in invincible ignorance etc. For us it is always implicit (hidden). So there is no contradiction.The dogma says everyone needs to be an explicit member of the Church.
3. Fr. Leonard Feeney was excommunicated for heresy.
This is false. He was excommunicated for disobedience. There is no Magisterial text which states it was for heresy. The excommunication was lifted without him having to recant. His Memorial Mass was offered by the bishop of Worcester in the Cathedral of St. Paul, Worcester.
4. Magisterial texts contradict the ex cathedra dogma.
This is false. No one can cite any Magisterial text which contradicts the ex cathedra dogma. LG 16 refers to dejure (in principle) baptism of desire(BOD) or invincible ignorance instead of de facto BOD known to us.
I have not come to this issue through any of Fr. Leonard Feeney’s communities. I admire Fr. Leonard Feeney for his courage, integrity and faithfulness to the teachings of the Church.
Lionel Andrades, Catholic layman in Rome.
E-mail: lionelandrades10@gmail.com
Blog: http://eucharistandmission.blogspot.com/
YouTube: http://it.youtube.com/LionelAndrades
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1. “There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved.” (Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, 1215). Ex cathedra.2.“We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.” (Pope Boniface VIII, the Bull Unam Sanctam, 1302.). Ex cathedra.3.“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, the Bull Cantate Domino, 1441.) Ex cathedra - from the website Catholicism.org and “No Salvation outside the Church”: Link List, the Three Dogmatic Statements Regarding http://nosalvationoutsideofthecatholicchurch.blogspot.com/
Therefore, all must be converted to Him, made known by the Church's preaching, and all must be incorporated into Him by baptism and into the Church which is His body. For Christ Himself "by stressing in express language the necessity of faith and baptism (cf. Mark 16:16; John 3:5), at the same time confirmed the necessity of the Church, into which men enter by baptism, as by a door.-Ad Gentes 7,Vatican Council II
According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church , outside the Church there is no salvation means
1) everyone who is saved, explicitly with the baptism of water and Catholic faith or implicitly, unknown to us and known only to God, are saved by Jesus and His Mystical Body the Catholic Church (CCC 846).
2) everyone needs Catholic Faith and the baptism of water, and there are no explicit or implicit, exceptions that we can know of, to go to Heaven avoid Hell (CCC 845).Outside the Church there is no salvation and everyone needs to be a formal, explicit member to avoid Hell. CCC 846 also affirms the rigorist interpretation of the ex cathedra dogma outside the church there is no salvation. All need to enter as through a door, this is the language of the Church Fathers on ecclesiam nulla salus.
No where in the Catechism (CCC 836,837,838,846,847,849-852 etc) is there a contradiction of the rigorist interpretation of the ex cathedra dogma. The Catechism is in accord with Fr. Leonard Feeney.CCC 847 and 848 refer to those saved with a good conscience or invincible ignorance and who are unknown to us human beings but only known to God. They are saved ‘in certain circumstances’ (Letter of the Holy Office 1949).So the ordinary way of salvation is the baptism of water with Catholic Faith; the explicit, formal means of salvation. The ordinary way of salvation for non Catholics according to the Letter of the Holy Office cannot be the baptism of desire, invincible ignorance or a good conscience.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 either to enter it or to remain in it -Catechism of the Catholic Church 846(Emphasis added)
CCC 845 indicates that the only way of salvation that we humans ‘know’ is the explicit, formal means which includes the baptism of water. CCC 847, 848 refer to hypothetical cases, a possibility known only to God and which we can accept only in principle. We do not know any particular case of invincible ignorance.
Neither do we know any person whom Jesus will judge as having a good conscience on the Day of Judgement. So CCC 847,848 (implicit, hypothetical salvation) does not contradict CCC 845 (the need for explicit entry into the Church as if entering a Door).
LUMEN GENTIUM 16
Lumen Gentium 16 (LG 16) does not contradict the infallible teaching.
Those also can attain to salvation who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God and moved by grace strive by their deeds to do His will as it is known to them through the dictates of conscience.-Lumen Gentium 16, Vatican Council II.
Lumen Gentium 16 does not refer to explicit, knowable Baptism of desire and invincible ignorance. Those who will be judged with a good conscience are not explicitly known to us.If one assumes that LG 16 refers to explicit baptism of desire then there would be trouble also with the Catechism of the Catholic Church 1257.
1257 The Lord himself affirms that Baptism is necessary for salvation... God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments.
CCC 1257 states that the Church knows of no means to eternal beatitude other than the Baptism of water and also says God is not limited to the Sacraments. There could be some, or many, saved without the Sacrament of Baptism.
It would violate the Principle of Non Contradiction. It would mean de facto everyone needs the Baptism of Water and Catholic Faith to go to Heaven (AG 7,CCC 1257) and de facto there can also be people saved without the Sacrament of the Baptism of water (LG 16, CCC 1257). It does not make sense.
However if they considered LG 16 as referring to de jure, implicit salvation, something that we can accept in principle but which is only known to God ( it is only explicit for God and we do not know a single case of Baptism of Desire) then it would not violate the Principle on Non Contradiction. It would mean de facto every one needs to explicitly enter the Catholic Church while de jure, in principle there could be some people saved with implicit baptism of desire etc.
There is no explicit or implicit Baptism of desire that we can know of reason tells us. Neither the past popes or saints have referred to an explicit Baptism of desire. Neither does the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Since we know that there can be no explicit baptism of desire etc, LG 16, is referring to implicit Baptism of desire known only as a concept. Something hypothetical. A probability. A possibility.
Only God can know when it is explicit. We do not know of any explicit baptism of desire in the present times, which is external, see able and repeatable.
We do not know even in principle (implicitly) if there is any Baptism of desire in the present time. However we know as a concept that God is Good and Merciful and so could save a person with the Baptism of Desire whenever and if God wanted.
If the Baptism of desire etc is not explicit then LG 16 does not contradict the infallible teaching or Fr. Leonard Feeney. There is no confusion with CCC 1257. So then neither does the LG 16 text repeated in the Catechism contradict the ex cathedra dogma and Fr. Leonard Feeney.
The Church Councils and the Church Fathers said everyone, all with no exception, need to be an EXPLICIT member of the Church. Through explicit baptism of water and Catholic Faith.So LG 16 (implicit) does not contradict the dogma (explicit).
DEVELOPMENT OF DOCTRINE
Then where is the basis for the ‘development’ of extra ecclesiam nulla salus? How can you interpret it differently from the past with no Church documents or text to state otherwise? If you cite LG 16 it is ludicrous .Your saying there’re is an objectively knowable baptism of desire.
There is no Church Document to support this false media claim.
The rigorist interpretation of extra ecclesiam nulla salus can be seen in the text of the dogma. It is confirmed in Ad Gentes 7, Vatican Council II (’all people need Catholic Faith and the baptism of water for salvation). It’s there also in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 845- the Church is like the Ark of Noah in which all need to enter.CCC846 the Church is like a door. These are images used by the Church Fathers for extra ecclesiam nulla salus). Dominus Iesus 20 (salvation is open for all but to receive it one has to enter the Church). Redemptoris Missio 55) in inter religious dialogue it must be remembered that the Church is the ordinary means of salvation).
Redemptoris Missio, Lumen Gentium 16, Mystici Corporis etc acknowledge there can be people saved in other religions. However this is possible only ‘in certain circumstances’ (Letter of the Holy Office 1949, it’s a possibility, a probability, known only to God. It is always unknowable and hidden for us. For us it can only be concept, something we accept in principle.
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