Category Archives: Outside the Church there is no Salvation
Outside the Church there is no Salvation (Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus)
“Outside the Church there is no salvation” (extra ecclesiam nulla salus) is a doctrine of the Catholic Faith that was taught By Jesus Christ to His Apostles, preached by the Fathers, defined by popes and councils and piously believed by the faithful in every age of the Church. Here is how the Popes defined it:
- “There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved.” (Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, 1215.)
- “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.)
- “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.)
But man, following the example of his natural father, Adam, often disobeys the authority of God. The fact that the doctrine had to be thrice defined itself proves the Church’s paternal solicitude in correcting her erring children who fall into indifferentism. The first goal of Saint Benedict Center’s doctrinal Crusade is to defend this doctrine. We present here a selection of various articles written for that end.
Here are some recommended starting points on this all-important subject:
Father Faber on the Salvation of Non-Catholics
If the Precious Blood had been shed, and yet we had no priesthood, no Sacraments, no jurisdiction, no sacramentals, no mystical life of the visible unity of the Church– life, so it seems, would be almost intolerable. This is the condition of those outside the Church; and certainly as we grow older, as our experience widens, as our knowledge of ourselves deepens, as our acquaintance … More →
Prayers for the Conversion of Chuck Colson who is in Critical Condition
It is very sad that practicing Catholics who know and work with naturally virtuous non-Catholics, such as Mr. Colson, are afraid, due to human respect, to ask such people to become Catholic. I do not understand this. Father Feeney considered this strange cowardice the nadir of lack of charity. What else could it be? This man may go to hell this very day for refusing … More →
Posted in Columns, Outside the Church there is no Salvation 11 Comments
The King and the ‘Lex Orandi’
Tomorrow is the Feast of Christ the King, the glorious Christian festival instituted by Pope Pius XI to remind the world of the truth taught by his own papal motto: Pax Christi in regno Christi (the peace of Christ in the Kingdom of Christ). There will be no peace among nations without the social reign of Jesus Christ. And what is that? In brief, all nations, … More →
Has the Church Changed Its Teaching on No Salvation Outside the Church?
Brother André Marie introduced me to the Called to Communion: Reformation Meets Rome website this morning. The writers for the site are all young scholars who have converted to the Catholic Faith during the past decade. One of them, Tom Brown, penned a commentary on an intriguing article by a Protestant professor, Dr. David VanDrunen, that appeared in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church’s periodical, New Horizons. … More →
Posted in Articles, Outside the Church there is no Salvation 12 Comments
Father Michael Rodriguez Hits the Jackpot
Father Michael Rodriguez, the manly, priestly, zealous Mexican cleric of the El Paso Diocese, has given an interview to Michael Matt. It’s a little peek into the steely soul of a staunch alter-Christus whose defense of marriage has brought him much publicity and a storm of hatred from the enemies of the Church. In a very matter-of-fact way, Father Rodriguez refers positively to “the quest … More →
St. Maximilian Kolbe’s Marian Approach to EENS
“Therefore, he who does not wish to have Mary Immaculate for Mother will not have Christ for his brother, neither will God the Father send him the Son, nor will the Son descend into his soul, nor will the Holy Spirit with His own graces form the Mystical Body upon the model of Christ, because all of this happens in Mary Immaculate, full of grace, … More →
Your Apostasy Will Take You to Hell, Fr. Kennedy
“Apostasy is the total repudiation of the christian faith.” (Code of Canon Law, Canon 751) “[Father Peter Kennedy] said he had not believed in Jesus for some time, calling the son of God a ‘fable’ and a ‘metaphor’. (The Sydney Morning Herald) The point has been made a few times on this site. The liberal interpretation of extra ecclesiam nulla salus has it that there … More →
Joe Sobran on ‘America’s Civil Religion’
In March of 2000, Joe Sobran — may his soul rest in peace — wrote a wonderful piece called “In Defense of Bob Jones.” It was recently brought to my attention by a good friend who knew Joe and, like me, relished his writing. Like most of Sobran’s work, this article succinctly blends wit and wisdom, while gently lampooning the partisans of whatever stupidity is … More →
Remembering Father Feeney
During the long years (1942-1978) in which I was privileged to associate with Father Feeney on a daily basis, I kept a record of statements he would make from time to time, in his sermons or lectures, or in ordinary conversation that struck me at that moment as proceeding from a deep mystical realization or apprehension. I felt an irresistible impulse to record these sayings … More →
Law of Praying Is the Law of Believing
In the old Raccolta there were many indulgenced prayers for the conversion of non-Catholics to the Church. Within these prayers there was usually included the dogma that outside the Church there is no salvation. Today, the only indulgenced prayer I could find for the conversion of anyone outside the Church is the following. It is from the 1968 Enchiridion of Indulgenced Prayers:
Fr. Brian Harrison Instructs ‘The Wanderer’ on the Necessity of Faith
Over the years, Saint Benedict Center and Father Feeney have been the objects of severe criticism in the pages of The Wanderer. Consider, for example, “The Cardinal Martini Problem for the Church,” by R.M. Pilon, S.T.D. The doctrinal issue that lies at the heart of this controversy was apparently taken up again in a recent “Catholic Replies” column, and the latitudinarian content of that piece … More →
