The Archdiocese of Sydney priest has placed a quotation from Pope Pius IX prominently on the home page of his blog True Catholic, perhaps because of many enquiries. Yet the quotation is meaningless. It depends how you interpret it. You can interpret it in accord with Cantate Domino, or contrary.
I can use the same quotation to support the rigorist interpretation of extra ecclesiam nulla salus.
Pope Pius IX in an Allocution, December 9, 1854 wrote:
"We must hold as of the faith, that out of the Apostolic Roman Church there is no salvation; that she is the only ark of safety, and whosoever is not in her perishes in the deluge; we must also, on the other hand, recognize with certainty that those who are invincible in ignorance of the true religion are not guilty for this in the eyes of the Lord. And who would presume to mark out the limits of this ignorance according to the character and diversity of peoples, countries, minds and the rest?".
For me it says:
Everybody de facto needs to enter the Catholic Church for salvation and there are no exceptions and de jure (in principle, as an acceptable concept ) those in invincible ignorance of the true religion; the Catholic Faith can be saved, in ‘ certain circumstances’(Letter of the Holy Office 1949) and so they would be known to God only.
For Fr.John George it says:
Everbody de facto needs to enter the Catholic Church for salvation and those who are in invincible ignorance are de facto known to us and so do not de facto have to enter the Church. So this is an exception to the ex cathedra Cantate Domino.
He would be saying, judging from the posts on his blog everybody needs to enter the Church except for those in invincible ignorance whom we can identify explicitly.
There is no Magisterial document which says the Catholic Church has retracted the ex cathedra dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus.This infallible teaching is in accord with Ad Gentes 7,Vatican Council II, Catechism of the Catholic Church 845,846, Dominus Iesus 20 etc.
Here is the text of the ex cathedra dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus and the Cantate Domino which Fr.John George will not affirm and agree with as a Catholic priest. Yet the Archdiocese permits him to offer Mass.
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/
Abortion pix from the website Centre for BioEthical ReformIf the Cantate Domino cannot be affirmed in public or it is changed in public on the Internet-board then can the Church teachings on abortion be also changed ? Sadly this is a bad example being given by a priest in public.
http://eucharistandmission.blogspot.com/2010/11/archdiocese-of-sydney-priest-places.html
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