Dear Editor of Catholic Exchange:
With respect to Terry Mattingly's article about dialoguing with Southern Baptists, may I submit that the rift in dialogue between Catholics and Southern Baptists is providential? Even as the seminary professor finds our Church a “false Church,” we must not find incomplete discipleship “authentic discipleship,” no matter how sincere. To do so is to insult those Baptists (and others) who sincerely seek and try to follow Jesus Christ. The fact that Mr. Mattingly belongs to an Orthodox church says a great deal about his orientation and should caution us about his viewpoint. To reject the Church that Jesus founded upon St. Peter is ultimately to reject Him. Our witness as Catholics must always make that clear. Otherwise, we are in grave danger of becoming “Krispy Kreme Catholics.” Couldn't have said it better myself.
Sincerely yours,
Regina Weiner
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Dear Catholic Exchange:
A recent poll on your site asked, “Do you think faithful Protestants can achieve salvation without benefit of the Eucharist and other sacraments?” I am one of those who responded yes, but I think there's another question that needs to be asked. Can a Catholic—or even someone who believes Catholic doctrine is correct—who decides to practice as a Protestant (because being Catholic is “too hard”) achieve salvation? I think the answer is no. A faithful Protestant who is doing the best she/he can is very different from someone who was taught the truth and had the benefit of sacraments yet chose to toss it all away.
Thank you,
Katherine Pinard
Dear Katherine:
You are right, there is a difference in the two sets of people you describe. Catholics who know and believe the Catholic Church is revealed by God yet choose to live by practicing their faith outside of the Church are very different from Protestants struggling to do the best they can within their own faith tradition. But what we must always remember is that God judges us by our love (cf. 1 Corinthians 13:8-13 and Matthew 5:43-48). Surely love of God the Father entails doing His will. Can it be said that it is God’s will for every human being to become Catholic? Yes, but at the same time, we must wonder why so many genuinely loving and holy souls—C.S. Lewis, for one, comes to mind—do not become Catholic. Surely, Lewis was familiar with the main tenants of the Church. To this extent, he seems to have rejected, or at least, been too slow in embracing, the Catholic faith. One wonders, however, whether C.S. Lewis would appeal so much to our Protestant breathren if he had actually converted to Catholicism. Yet, many Protestants have been led to the Catholic faith precisely through a careful reading of Lewis.
So, yes, those persons who intentionally reject God’s will for their lives by refusing to follow the dictates of the Catholic Church will not be saved. As St. Thomas Aquinas teaches, “Apostasy from the faith severs man from God altogether . . . which is not the case in any other sin.” The nature of apostasy, like any other sin, however, differs from person to person. Those who leave the Church with full knowledge that they are abandoning Christ are far more culpable for their sins than those who might leave the Church out of fear, confusion or anger. Indeed, many of those who leave the Church are not so much rejecting the teachings of the Faith as they are things incidental to the Faith, such as their parish priest’s boring homilies, their Catholic friends’ hypocrisy or their parent’s rigidity. All this said, we must “pray without ceasing” that we will each have the grace to open our hearts to the will of God our Father.
Yours in Christ,
Jennifer Taylor
Associate Editor
Catholic Exchange
Dear Catholic Exchange:
A recent poll of yours asked, “Do you think faithful Protestants can achieve salvation without benefit of the Eucharist and other sacraments?” The findings report, 6 percent said no, 20 percent said they were unsure and 75 percent of viewers said yes. These, however, are viewer responses. What, in fact, is the answer to this question?
Yours in Health,
Ebbie Martinez, R.N.
Dear Ebbie:
The answer is a qualified “yes.” The Catholic teaching is “We are bound by the sacraments, but God is not” (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], 1257). He can, if He chooses, save people by granting them the grace normatively given in the sacraments (as He did the Good Thief). In the same way, He can miraculously heal people apart from the ministrations of doctors. But this is a poor reason to keep a sick person away from the doctor. It's also a poor reason to withhold the fullness of the Catholic sacraments from non-Catholics, or to refuse to become Catholic. The surest way to salvation is to believe and live the fullness of Christ as he gives his life to us through the Catholic Church.
Mark Shea
Senior Content Editor
Catholic Exchange
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Dear Editors of Catholic Exchange,
While I was sharing about my RCIA class with a Lutheran friend, he suggested a couple of ways to teach about communion. His beliefs held exactly the same theology I hold. Yet, I rhetorically asked: If our theologies are the same in so many areas, why aren’t we a physically united church? I didn't really expect an answer, but boy, I got one.
I've since been reading my Catechism. As far as I can see, while all Christians are brothers and sisters in Christ by virtue of our sacramental baptism, other Christians are not part of “the Church.” My friend’s answer was hurtful to me—not because it was wrong, but because it was correct. There was nothing I could say except that I, too, feel the pain of separation, especially at the communion table.
Can you recommend anything else for me to read on this subject? I know this was a hot topic not too long ago, but I don't know the name of the Vatican document that came out on this.
Thanks for your help.
Ileana Sardinas
Dear Ileana:
Here are some documents that might help:
Dogmatic Constitution on the Church (Lumen Gentium)
Declaration on Religious Freedom (Dignitatis Humanae)
Decree on Ecumenism (Unitatis Redintegratio)
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Dominus Iesus)
It Didn't Go Out with Vatican II?
These documents give a pretty well-rounded picture of the Church's relation with both Christian and non-Christian religions.
Mark Shea
Senior Content Editor
Catholic Exchange
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