Dear Brent,
Space doesn't allow me to quote many sources in full, but you have the
Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC), and our sysop will tell you how
to access these documents of the Second Vatican Council:
1) The Church (LUMEN GENTIUM;
2) The Church in the Modern World (GAUDIUM ET SPES);
3) Missionary Activity (AD GENTES);
4) Non-Christian Religions (NOSTRA AETATE).
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Sysop note:
The following from CIN's ALLFILES.BBS:
*LUMEN.ZIP 96,067 02-04-88 02-04-88
| Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (LUMEN GENTIUM),
| November 21, 1964
*GES.ZIP 108,256 02-06-88 02-06-88
| Vatican II, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World
| (GAUDIUM ET SPES), December 7, 1965
*MISSION.ZIP 36,007 03-30-93 03-30-93
| from: Lesley Payne. Decree on the Mission Activity of the Church (AD
| GENTES DIVINITUS), December 7, 1965
*NONCHR.ZIP 5,355 02-06-88 02-06-88
| Vatican II, Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian
| Religions (NOSTRA AETATE), October 28, 1965
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About CCC #1257: Mark 16:16 commands the Church to "go...and
preach the gospel." Belief in this preached gospel (and in
Jesus, whom the gospel preaches) and baptism result in salvation.
Rejection of the preached gospel means damnation. Therefore, CCC
#1257 teaches that baptism is necessary for salvation FOR THOSE
TO WHOM THE GOSPEL HAS BEEN PROCLAIMED AND WHO HAVE HAD THE
POSSIBILITY OF ASKING FOR THIS SACRAMENT. (emphases added).
Sound biblical exegesis requires that we read all individual texts
in harmony with one another. God does not contradict himself
from one text to another. So we read John 3:5, Matthew 28:19-20,
and other baptism/faith texts in harmony with Mark 16:16.
Accordingly CCC #1257 deals with one category of people only:
those who have heard the preached gospel. It closes with a
warning: don't tie God down! People not reached by preaching and
baptism God will reach in some other way. How? AD GENTES #7
teaches: "In ways known to himself, God can lead those who,
through no fault of their own are ignorant of the gospel to that
faith without which it is impossible to please him" (Hebrews 11:6).
CCC # 1258 deals with Christian martyrdom as a substitute for
baptism. Christian piety points to the Holy Innocents (Matthew
2:13-18) as types of those who shed their blood for Christ and so
are saved. If persecution and death overtake those who want
baptism but cannot get it, they are saved by their "baptism of
desire". All others, too, who love God, repent their sins,
intend to be baptized (which of course, includes belief in
Christ) but die before they can be baptized are saved by baptism
of desire (CCC #1259).
Such desire of baptism is, of course, explicit desire. CCC #
1260 now deals with implicit desire of baptism, and therefore
with implicit or inchoate faith in God and Jesus Christ. You
will find these groups of people discussed in LUMEN GENTIUM 16,
GAUDIUM ET SPES 22, NOSTRA AETATE 1 and 2, AD GENTES 7.
But is there such inchoate faith in Christ, such merely implicit
desire of baptism? And if so, is God powerful enough to save
someone who has had no chance for more? Can grace do so much?
And do Scripture and Tradition (i.e., what we Christians have
always thought and done) offer us guidance about these matters?
Please review our point of reference a the beginning of the last
message. I will restate the substance of this by a quotation from
NOSTRA AETATE 1 and 4: "All men share a common destiny, namely
God. His providence, evident goodness and saving designs extend
to all men (Wisdom 8:1); Acts 14:17; Romans 2:6-7, 1st Timothy
2:4).....Christ out of infinite love freely underwent suffering
and death because of the sins of all men so that all might attain
salvation. It is the duty of the Church, therefore, in her
preaching to proclaim the cross of Christ as the sign of God's
universal love and the source of all grace."
I will continue in my next message, but not today.
Sincerely in Christ,
Father Mateo
- Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit -
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