Common deception among educated Catholics : University of Bristol promotes a falsehood

The issue is not whether Prof.Gavin D'Costa can have an opinion or profess a personal religious belief. The issue is (1) how can the professor of theology infer that the dead(now saved in Heaven) are visible to us on earth and so are an exception to the traditional Catholic teaching which says all need to enter the Church for salvation and (2) how can he suggest that there is text in Vatican Council II which states or indicates that the deceased-saved are visible to us or are exceptions to extra ecclesiam nulla salus. In both cases he is asserting a falsehood.Firstly he cannot name any one saved without 'faith and baptism'(AG 7) in 2014.Secondly he cannot cite any text in Vatican Council II which states there are explicit exceptions to extra ecclesiam nulla salus or the traditional Catholic teaching on other religions and salvation.

 

So it is not a question of one theology or another .The issue is : can a Catholic professor of theology at the University of Bristol teach something which is contrary to common sense and then cite text in Vatican Council II which does not support his irrationality ?
 

 

I mentioned in the last post that the University of Bristol awards a B.A degree to students of theology who assert that the Catholic Church teaches that the dead-saved in invincible ignorance, seeds of the Word etc, are physically visible in England and these cases  are exceptions to the traditional Catholic teaching on salvation. Students have to affirm an irrationality, something contrary to common sense.

 

According to a promotional video on the university website the Catholic theology professor Gaven D'Costa states every one does not need to enter the Catholic Church for salvation since there could be exceptions saved with 'seeds of the Word', or 'a ray of that Truth', implying that these cases are visible to him in the U.K, so they are exceptions.This is a basic philosophical issue. How can someone be an exception to all needing to enter the Church for salvation, when that person does not exist in our reality ? For someone or something to be an exception it must not only be different but it must exist. When there are no cases of someone saved with 'a ray of that Truth'(NA 2) or 'seeds of the Word'(AG 11) or 'elements of sanctification and truth'(LG 8) then how can Gavin D'Costa consider them exceptions to the traditional interpretation of the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus. How can he imply that Vatican Council II contradicts extra ecclesiam nulla salus ? He cannot personally name any exception in 2014.

Students studying theology at the university have to accept this irrational premise of there being explicit exceptions and then build a new theology on salvation and other religions and claim it is the teaching of the Catholic Church. When students accept this irrationality of being able to see the dead on which is built a fantasy theology they are eligible to get a B.A degree.

How can Gavin D'Costa state that Nostra Aetate 2 is an exception to the traditional teaching on outside the church there is no salvation? How can he infer that NA 2 is an exception unless he can personally know or see these cases who are saved or going to be saved without 'faith and baptism'(AG 7).

No one from the unversity has responded to queries to explain their educational policy on this subject. This is not an issue of different opinions or theologies but of an irrational premise be accepted intellectually as being rational. Then claiming that this is the teaching of the Catholic Church after Vatican Council II.There is no response from the Chancellor's office or that of the Vice Chancellor.Neither are any of the professors who teach thology responding.

The university is promoting a falsehood and no one can deny it. Since no where in Vatican Council II is it stated that there are known exceptions to the traditional teaching on other religions and salvation as D'Costa alleges.Nostra Aetate  2 does not mention any defacto, known cases saved with a 'ray of that Truth'.

Gavin D'Costa is unable to deny that he has used an irrational premise for a new theology and that there are no references in Nostra Aetate, Vatican Council II to explicit exceptions to extra ecclesiam nulla salus. May be his error is innocent. Since this seems a common deception among educated Catholics.

-Lionel Andrades