“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:
The Popes on Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus
The Fathers of the Church on Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus
Doctrinal Summary
Sentimental Theology
Pelagius Lives
Our Status in the Church (focusing on the doctrinal stance of Saint Benedict Center and the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary)
Façade of the Archbasilica of St. John in Lateran, photo by Livioandronico2013 (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons
We have been asked many times to explain what we mean by the term “liberal Catholic.” Articles in each issue of From the Housetops have referred to these “liberals,” accusing them of religious indifferentism, or lack of concern for the … Continue reading
Zenit News Agency has just published a two-part interview on the salvation of non-believers. Professor Ilaria Morali, a lay woman who teaches dogmatic theology at the Gregorian, answered questions based on Pope Benedict XVI’s Wednesday audience of November 30 .
News agency falsely reports statement concerning non-believers and salvation. Summary: Under the headline “Nonbelievers Too Can Be Saved, Says Pope,” Zenit International News Agency gave an indifferentist spin to Pope Benedict XVI’s Wednesday audience of November 30. “Nonbelievers Too Can … Continue reading
Our congregation is a de facto private association of the faithful (in accord with canon 299 §1). We have a priest in residence offering Holy Mass and hearing confessions with the requisite faculties from the Bishop of Manchester, New Hampshire. (Update: … Continue reading
“Most beloved brothers, you have left the world behind and have taken refuge in God.” — from the profession ceremony On Tuesday, October 11, 2005, our community had the great joy of witnessing the religious profession of two brothers:
In the May 1994 issue of Daylight, a Catholic creationist journal published in England by Anthony Nevard, 1 there is a fascinating article by a French geologist, Guy Berthault, entitled: “The Laying Down Of Marine Sediments — A Revolutionary New … Continue reading
(From a talk Brother gave at the 1997 Saint Benedict Center Conference) I will begin this talk with a basic question, but a question I’m afraid most of us don’t think enough about: What was the purpose of the Incarnation? … Continue reading
In his first letter to Simplicianus, St. Augustine wrote against the Semi-Pelagians of his day: The grace of faith precedes good works. The grace of faith is less in catechumens, more in the baptized.
Liberal theologians for a long time have been attempting to foist upon docile Catholics the idea that the theological expression baptism of desire is an unassailable doctrine approved by the highest Church authority and taught officially by the Solemn Magisterium. … Continue reading
After being confronted with the clear teaching of Trent on the necessity of faith for justification and the sacraments for salvation, the Liberal theologian will proceed to question the degree of necessity of the Sacrament of Baptism for Salvation. After … Continue reading
Anyone familiar with the history of the Church knows that not all of the Pontiffs were holy men, and that several were negligent in their duties, especially in their supreme duty to keep inviolate the depositum fidei which was given … Continue reading
In reply to the question concerning the salvation of aborted infants by virtue of a vicarious “baptism of desire” on the part of their parents or by “baptism of blood” on either their part or “on the part of the … Continue reading
(From Brownson’s Quarterly Review for April, 1874) Editor’s Introduction: Orestes A. Brownson (1803-1876) will always be remembered as one of the most prolific American converts to the Catholic Church. Brownson had already achieved notoriety as an essayist and lecturer when … Continue reading
Let us examine how “the Church over the centuries” has explained the dogma, Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus. This study will not only give us the “context of the entire teaching of the Church on this matter,” but will also enable … Continue reading
This article consists of a few loose ends: (1) a book review, (2) a letter to an editor, and (3) another book review. All are closely related in subject matter. 1. A Book Review The Incarnation and Hilton’s Spirituality, by … Continue reading
Site development: Bonaventure
