IS SALVATION POSSIBLE OUTSIDE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH?

IS SALVATION POSSIBLE OUTSIDE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH? Note the wording of the question. Is it possible to achieve salvation outside the Catholic Church? (Yes, for people who are genuinely trying to serve God even though they are not members of the institutional Church.) But it s not guaranteed. Christ had said, He that believes and is baptized will be saved; but he that does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:16) The Church interprets this to mean that a person whose reasoning leads him to the conclusion that Christ is God and the Catholic Church is the church He founded, yet willfully refuses to join, cannot be saved. In the third century St. Cyprian expressed this in the formula, Outside the Church there is no salvation. While that teaching still holds, Cyprian himself and writers before him in the second century held that salvation is gained by those whose actions show they would belong to the Catholic Church if they knew it to be the true Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, All salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body. [846] But it goes on to say that salvation is possible even for those who, through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do His will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience. [847] In his encyclical Redemptoris Missio (n.10), John Paul II wrote, For such people salvation in Christ is accessible by virtue of a grace which, while having a mysterious relationship to the Church, does not make them formally part of the Church but enlightens them according to their spiritual

and material condition. This grace comes from Christ; it is the result of his sacrifice and is communicated by the Holy Spirit. The Natural Moral Law God wants every human being to be saved and He provides sufficient help to everyone, but He does it in different ways. He gives to different people different degrees of revelation about Himself and for this He requires different levels of response. Christ established the Catholic Church to bring people to faith in God s revelation about Himself, to tell us what we must do to achieve our salvation and to dispense the supernatural helps to salvation that He gives us. Those who are not members of the Catholic Church do not receive the advantages that membership brings but they can achieve salvation by carrying out the responsibility that flows from human nature itself; that is, by observing the moral law made known by the innate knowledge of conscience and thereby showing faith in God as the giver of that moral law. The voluntary death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, on Calvary removed the obstacle to salvation resulting from the offense against God by the sin of our first parents. Each person must give evidence regarding their acceptance of God s gift by showing faith in God. But even those without faith in the Catholic Church are obliged to show faith in God as Lawgiver by observing the natural moral law- --reverence for God, avoiding injury to their neighbor s life, bodily health, family, property, and good name (or even wanting to do so), helping the neighbor in time of need, searching for truth for oneself and never deceiving others. Christ s Death Brings Us Salvation The actual means of salvation for all is Christ s suffering and death on Calvary. The first parents of the human race had seriously

offended God. Because of that, none of their descendants could inherit the original right to enter heaven. Only a person equal to God, the person offended, could make amends; and man, who had done the offense, had to participate. Jesus Christ, because He was the Son of God in addition to being truly human, was able by His sacrificial death to satisfy God s justice for Adam and Eve s offense. Heaven became a possibility for all. Salvation is thus a gift from God and no one can achieve it by himself, but we must cooperate with God and accept His gift by obeying His law and using the means He gives us. It s not a one-time decision but an ongoing day-by-day effort. The Need for the Church But why do we say that the Catholic Church is necessary for salvation? Salvation, entrance into heaven, requires that a person, at the time of death, be in a state of supernatural friendship with God, free from any unforgiven serious offenses against Him. This state is initially conferred by God at baptism, which makes one a member of the Church, able later to receive the other sacraments, which are visible actions to which Christ has given the power to cause a spiritual effect in those who receive them. It is for this reason that Christ said, He that believes and is baptized will be saved. Christ established His Church precisely to bring all people to heaven and He continues His presence and work of salvation through the Church, yet He is not bound to work that way alone. For people who have never heard of Jesus Christ, and also for those who reject Him or His Church through failure to understand Him rightly, the possibility of salvation is open because Christ died for all of us. Such people are considered to have a connection or relation to the Catholic Church through an implicit desire for baptism. Advantage of the Truth

There are two principal advantages of being a member of the Catholic Church. The first is assurance of the truth. That statement quoted above regarding condemnation for those who refuse to believe implies that Christ, who is God, guarantees to protect all people from being taught error by His Church in matters that are necessary for salvation about Himself, our purpose in life, our relation to Him and our duties to Him. This does not mean that no other religion has any claim to truth. But since there is such widespread disagreement in teaching, it is obvious that no more than one religion can possess the fullness of truth that God has revealed. It s that fullness of truth that the Catholic Church claims to have all that God feels we need for salvation, so that there is no need for any further revelation. Forgiveness of Sin The second advantage of the Catholic Church is the help it can provide its members to achieve salvation, through the sacraments. The state of supernatural friendship with God, given in baptism, is lost by seriously offending God. It can be regained in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, by which a person can be forgiven and brought back into union with Christ and His Church. An offense against God, by action, omission or intention, is called sin. Since only the victim of an offense can forgive, it follows that only God can forgive sin. Christ, who has such power since He is the Son of God, delegated that power to His Apostles (John 20:23), who pass it on to the bishops and priests of His Church. A Catholic who has seriously offended God, but who is truly sorry, firmly resolved to avoid the sin and the occasions that lead to it, and to repair any injury done, can be certain of receiving forgiveness by confessing the sin to a priest and receiving absolution in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Since we Catholics offend God, we suspect that persons who are not Catholics also commit sin. In all probability God will forgive them if they are truly sorry, truly determined to amend their lives and make up for injury done to others, but they do not have the same assurance of forgiveness that the Catholic can obtain. Ongoing Help Prevention is always better than a cure. And Christ gave His Church the means of strengthening its members in their day-today activities. At the Last Supper, the night before He died, Jesus took first bread and then a cup of wine and changed the substances of bread and wine into His own body and blood while the appearances of bread and wine remained the same, all this so the Apostles could receive Christ Himself into themselves. Christ then gave His Apostles the power to do what He had just done, so that all Catholics may receive His body and blood, the closest thing to heaven on earth, giving both help and motivation to strengthen our wills for leading lives centered on Him. By telling the apostles to do what He had just done Christ was instituting the Mass, in which the words of consecration bring the Eucharist into being by changing bread and wine into His body and blood. His words also united the sacrifice of the Mass with His sacrifice on Calvary the following day. Participation at Mass and reception of Holy Eucharist are extremely powerful means to help Catholics achieve salvation. But, besides this general help, there is also a specific help for those who are married, since Christ made matrimony itself a sacrament, bringing special strength to husbands and wives for carrying out their responsibilities in assisting each other to salvation and for raising the children sent to them by God.

Also, Catholics on their deathbed find it a great consolation to receive the sacrament of Anointing of the Sick together with Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist. Why Did You Ask? If you have any suspicion that the Catholic Church might possibly be the one true Church and the best hope of your salvation, God then expects you to investigate. Go to the original source documents. Obtain a copy of The New Testament and read at least the first five books in it the Gospels by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and the Acts of the Apostles. Be sure to get a reliable translation from the original Greek either the Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition, or The New American Bible. As you read, be aware of clues to the essential questions: Is Jesus Christ truly God? Did He establish a church with Peter as His deputy on earth? Make the comparison between the Catholic Church and your own. You re looking, not just for differences in beliefs, but rather the basic reasons for either church to claim to be the true religion in the first place. Your ultimate conclusion must be one of discovery of objective truth, not a decision based merely on feelings or worldly gain, not a conclusion based on the rules you want to accept and not mere rationalization. A couple of other things are also necessary. First, ask God to guide your search, to lead you to the truth, whatever it might be. His Son, Who died to save us, is sure to help. Second, remove from your life all types of conduct that are offensive to God, especially those which would prevent your reaching an objective conclusion that is, passionate attachments or addictions, plus the persons, places or things that would lead you back to

them. If you fall, get up and keep trying. The sacraments of the Catholic Church are a strong help for people to overcome sinful lives. This and many other reasons may lead a person to consider the Catholic Church but, whatever the motive, the reason must include the conviction that this is the true Church given by God to the human race. And if you reach the conclusion that the Catholic Church is the true religion, act on it, for God will then hold you responsible. Up to that point He has been giving you helps outside the sacraments, but now He expects you to seek baptism so that you may receive the other sacraments. In every other aspect of life you don t want to settle for anything less than the best you can obtain. Why do otherwise with the means of your eternal salvation? But If Not We feel that the evidence strongly favors the claims of the Catholic Church. But if you re still not convinced, be sure to live up to the requirements of the religion you honestly conclude is correct. Also, continue to pray to God for truth, wherever it may be found, and continue to avoid all lifestyles and overcome all addictions that would offend God and endanger your salvation. And if you ever do offend God seriously, then be truly sorry for it, resolve never to offend Him again and humbly ask His forgiveness. We want both ourselves and you to make it to heaven. So please go back and read through this again. IS SALVATION POSSIBLE OUTSIDE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH?

CATHOLIC EVIDENCE GUILD NEW YORK CHAPTER OFFICE OF ADULT FAITH FORMATION ARCHDIOCESE OF NEW YORK 1011 FIRST AVENUE, SUITE 1327 NEW YORK, NY 10022 Phone or fax: 1-877-635-8205 E-Mail: ceg@ureach.com Web Site: www.catholicevidence.org Copyright 2007 Catholic Evidence Guild New York Permission granted to reproduce and distribute e610