The following excerpt is from Catholic Culture's On The News:
The Vatican made an offer, and the leaders of the SSPX said No. Or did they?
Read the whole post by clicking the link below:
On The News : The SSPX didn't say No. An agreement is still likely. - Catholic Culture
Thursday, July 19, 2012
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THE SSPX COMMUNIQUE SHOULD MAKE US REVIEW HOW WE TEACH THE CATECHISM When the Catechism is taught here in Rome, and elsewhere, it is said every one does not have to enter the Church. While the SSPX communique says there is 'no possibility' of salvation outside the Church.
ReplyDeleteAt catechism classes it is said there is the possibility of a non Catholic being saved in invincible ignorance etc.
The SSPX communique indicates this is not a known possibility on earth in these present times.
We do not know any of these persons and we cannot assume any person, however impressive, is going to Heaven. Neither can we say it for our self.
Those who teach the Catechism here assume that Magisterial documents (Vatican Council II, Catechism of the Catholic Church etc) state that we know non Catholics actually, who are to be saved. No Church text makes this claim.
It is usually the Catechism teacher who reads Lumen Gentium 16 and then assumes we can know those saved in invincible ignorance etc, i.e. those who through no fault of their own who have not had the Gospel preached to them and who could be saved and who are unknown to us.
In principle, in faith we accept there is the possibility of they being saved, in reality, defacto, explicitly on earth we cannot know any such case.
So the SSPX communique does not contradict Vatican Council II, the Catechism of the Catholic Church or any other document. We have to assume that LG 16 refers to the possibility of being saved only, in principle. Explicitly it is only known to God. We can never meet anyone saved in this category. We can never know for sure who is going to be saved in invincible ignorance. Neither do we know if that well dressed, courteous person will die with a good conscience.
Hypothetically yes, it is possible. In reality we do not know. In theory, yes. Practically no, we do not know.
So can Catechism teachers make the change? Will the Vatican allow it? It’s irrational to assume that we know the dead-saved,
When the Catechism of the Catholic Church and Vatican Council II state those who know abut the Church and do not enter the Church are oriented to Hell (LG 14) and not those in invincible ignorance, is Vatican Council II assuming that we know people saved in invincible ignorance? Or is this just a matter of fact statement that only God will judge, who knows and who was in ignorance?
When the Catechism says God is not limited to the Sacraments (N.1257) this is not a criticism of the SSPX position on their being no possibility of salvation outside the Church.Superficially it may appear so. If in these rare cases (not the ordinary means of salvation) God is not restricted to the Sacraments and these cases are known only to God, it does not contradict the literal interpretation of the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus. These rare cases who allegedly are saved without the Sacraments are not the ordinary means of salvation. The ordinary means of salvation is Catholic Faith with the baptism of water (Vatican Council II). So these rare cases do not contradict the ordinary means of salvation and the SSPX communique.Since we do not know these cases personally we cannot judge them and so they are not exceptions to the dogma on exclusive salvation.
If we assumed that these rare cases are known to us then they would contradict the dogma. So CCC 1257 does not contradict the SSPX doctrinal position because we do not know anyone saved without the Sacraments.
-Lionel Andrades