The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1904-12-24
The Charge of Intolerance.

Z
DO you believe that sincere Pro-
testants viii be damned?
Where do good Protestants go
after death?
Does the Roman church claim
the monopoly of salvation?
Do you believe that all Catholics
go TO heaven, and all PTotestants to
hell"
Do you honestly think all pasans
are doomed to eternal hell fire?
Does not your catechism teach
that outside of the church there
is no salvation? Is this not an
intolerable doctrine?
The Catholic church teaches that no
one goes 10 hell unless he has freely
ard deliberately turned his back on
God, and died guilty Of mortal sin. The
axiom, Outside Of the church there is
10 salvation, is a technical expression,
tc be understood only in The sense that
Catholic theologians have ever put
upon it. A nom Catholic once said TO
me: You cannot explain that away.
Tor the words are too plain. They
admit of but one meaning, viz: the
wholesale damnatIon of all that are not
members Of your church" And yet, on
further questioning, ne admitted that
a constitutional lawyer ought to be
authority on the meaning of a clause
il the constitution rather than an Is
noranU voter vino could not explain
why he was a Republican rather than
a Democrat. According to his argu-
lnent, the axiom of English law, Tine
king can DO no wrong would imply
that King Edward VII was confirmed
il grace, rather than the fact of his
rot being amenable to any court in
England.
The Catholic church has always be-
heved that men outside of her fold
might live in error and still be saved;
that men outside of her visible organi-
cation through invinclble ignorance
bright still be in the soul of the church,
by a true spiritual communion of faith
and charity that every anathema or
condemnation by the church relates to
error itself or false principles contrary
to the gospel of Jesus Christ and does
not concern the interior guilt of men
or women in error: that no Catholic
has a right TO judge the guilt of any
individual.
Plus TX, writing on this matter,
says: Far be il from us TO dare set
bounds TO the boundless mercy of God;
far be ii from us 10 desire to search
ilto the depths of the hidden counSels
end judgments Of God, an abyss that
The mind Of man cannot explore.
We must hold as of faith, that out of
the apostolic Roman church there is
80 salvation; that she is the only ark
or safety, and whatsoever is not in her
perishes in the deluge, We must also,
on the other hand. recognize with Ger
tainty that those who al . in invTncible
ignorance Of the true religion are not
guilty for this IN the eye of the Lord.
and who viii presume TO mark out the
limits Of this ignorance according to
the character and diversity of peoples,
countries, minds, and TIE ~est?" CAL |
iocution, Dec. 9, 1854 Auc again he
writes: ct is known 10 us and to you
that those who are in iH'-incible igno- !
rance Of our most holy aiigion. but |
Who observe carefully the naturali law |
and the precepts craven by God upon |
the hearts of all men, and who being |
disposed to obey God lead an honest
and upright life. may. aided by the !
Light Of divine grace, attain to eternal |
life; for God. who sees clearly, searches
ard knows the heart the disposition, |
the thoughts and intentions Of each, in !
his supreme mercy and goodness by no /
means permits that any one suffer !
eternal punishment who has not Of his
own free viii fallen into sim (Ency-
C}ical to the Italian bishops, Aug. 10, |
1881
We see. therefore that the plain
teaching of the Catholic church is He
who is outside the one visible church
of Christ by his own fault cannot be
saved" Thus d man convinced that
the Catholic church is the one king
dom Of God esta blished on earth for
the salvation of men. and yet refusing
10 belong TO her communion because It
means loss of social or political posi-
tion. of money. of frienns. rehels will