New CE Parish Website
Dear Mr. Fischer:
Thank you so much for the loving care you put into the creation of our new website. You can not believe how excited I am about this project. To my utter amazement, I have just successfully completed the addition of a section for our mission statement and had the indescribable joy of seeing the text magically appear on the website. Although there is plenty of work still to be done, I am confident we will be successful in developing the website to the point where we can truly make a difference in the lives of the parishioners and all other members of the Holy Rosary Parish family.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Karen Nagel
For information on setting up a Catholic Exchange Parish Portal Website, visit our Parish Portal page or email Lyle Fischer. Our websites are also available to non-parish Catholic organizations.
No Salvation Outside the Church?
Dear Catholic Exchange:
I read the article “Can Outsiders be Insiders” by Fr. Peter M.J. Stravinskas twice and I can't say that I understand the conclusion. My take on this is that the pronunciations from the 1200- 1300's are correct and infallible and although the author seems to want to add some “gray area” to the question – the answer is that there is no salvation outside the Roman Catholic Church.
I particularly balked at the comment regarding those that are “not subject to the Pope” or those that might shed their blood for Christ (I think of the “Holy Innocents” and I believe we celebrate them as martyrs.)
Please understand that I may be accused of being a “cafeteria
Catholic” but I cannot imagine these words coming from Our Lord's lips. Have I missed something important in this article?
George Fekete
Dear George:
The dogma that there is no salvation outside the Church is, indeed, dogma. However, the point of the article is that this does not mean there is no salvation for those who are outside the visible boundaries of the Roman Catholic Church.
The basis of the dogma “Outside the Church, no salvation” is indeed words that come from our Lord's lips: namely, “He who is not with me is against me and he who does not gather with me scatters” (Matthew 12:30). That saying says, in essence, exactly the same thing as “Outside the Church, no salvation” since the Church is that communion of people who is “with” Christ.
However, though there is no salvation outside the Church, there is another reality that must taken into account: we don't know where “outside” is. We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not. Jesus takes this reality into account in the following vignette:
John answered, “Master, we saw a man casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he does not follow with us.” But Jesus said to him, “Do not forbid him; for he that is not against you is for you” (Luke 9:49-50).
That's the other side of the coin: he who is not against us is for us. For this reason, the Church teaches that validly baptized non-Catholics are in real, but imperfect, union with the Church and that we cannot (as Fr. Feeney said) declare them “out of the Church and cut off from Christ”. However, we also can't say they are in perfect communion with the Church for the obvious reason that they aren't.
The passages you balked at are precisely the passages that the article was seeking to put in the context of the Church's full understanding. We can't just throw them out since they are dogmatic formulations. But we must understand them in light of the fullness of Catholic teaching. Go back and read the article again and you will see that this is exactly what the author was doing. Precisely what they don't mean is that only Roman Catholics are saved. Rather, they simply reiterate one part of the biblical teaching: “He who is not with me is against me.” Other elements of Church teaching reiterate the other side: “He who is not against us is for us.”
Hope that helps!
Mark Shea
Senior Content Editor
Catholic Exchange
Something for the Singles
Dear Catholic Exchange:
Hi there! I just stumbled across your website while going on CatholiCity.com. Very interesting articles.
I'm 47 years old, and I've been Catholic all my life. But one thing troubles me-how come not much is said about those of us who are single? Why are there tons of articles, publications, websites, services, etc. for married people, kids, priests and religious, and absolutely nada for us post-35ers who remain single?
It's tough out there, when you're alone. I feel like some sort of “oddball” just because I decided not to get married. And no way will any “decent” religious community accept anyone who is “forty-something”!
So, why not have some Catholic writer who is single(not a priest-a layman who has “been through the wars” of singlehood) do some articles to let us Catholic singles know that we're not alone! Remember-our Lord Himself was a single man!
Sincerely,
Barbara Finnegan
Dear Barbara:
Thanks for your letter. We frequently run articles for and about single Catholics. Here is a selection from just one of our authors who writes exclusively on the subject:
http://www.catholicexchange.com/vm/archives.asp?vm_id=6&aut=61
Also, here's another section of our site which is dedicated exclusively to singles: Editor's Note: To contact Catholic Exchange, please refer to our Contact Us page.
Please note that all email submitted to Catholic Exchange or its authors (regarding articles published at CE) become the property of Catholic Exchange and may be published in this space. Published letters may be edited for length and clarity. Names and cities of letter writers may also be published. Email addresses of viewers will not normally be published.
