Response to Jake About Protestants & Salvation

Jake:

I FOUND YOUR WEB SITE VERY INTERESTING AND I FOUND SOME USEFUL ARTICLES THERE AS WELL. MY ONLY QUESTION IS THIS, WHAT DO YOU THINK WILL HAPPEN TO ALL NON-CATHOLICS THEN? I HAVE OFTEN SUPPORTED EVANGELICAL CATHOLICS EVEN IF WE DEBATE ON SOME SMALL ISSUES. I AM A BAPTIST AND HAVE TOLD A BAPTIST FRIEND THAT HIS ATTITUDE ABOUT CATHOLICS (HE THINKS ALL CATHOLICS CAN NOT BE SAVED) IS HERETICAL BY NATURE AND I TELL HIM THAT THERE WILL PROBABLE BE ALOT OF CATHOLICS IN HEAVEN AND ALOT OF BAPTISTS IN HELL. HOWEVER I WANT TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF CONSERVATIVE BIBLE BELIEVE CHURCHES MOST (DEFINATLEY NOT ALL) BAPTIST CHURCHES, EVANGELICAL FREE AND CALVARY CHAPEL ORGINIZATIONS (ETC) SEEM TO LEAN IN THAT DIRECTION. HOWEVER I AM AWARE OF SOME VERY LIBERAL ORGINIZATIONS SUCH AS THE UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST, HATEFUL ORGINIZATIONS SUCH AS THE BOSTN "INTERNATIONAL" CHURCH OF CHRIST AND CULTS SUCH AS THE JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES AND THE MORMONS. WHAT IS YOUR TAKE ON THEM AND HOW DO YOU SEE THE THEOLOGICAL DIFFERENCES FROM SUCH PROTESTANT ORGINIZATIONS AS I LISTED ABOVE.

JUST CURIOUS.

GOD BLESS,
IN HIS NAME ALWAYS

JAKE

Father Joe:

Dear Jake,

I placed several sites on the Internet and it has been some time since I have made a revision. You are probably speaking about the Gehenna Page. If this is the case, please know that it was never directed toward Protestants of goodwill. It was a response to those who attacked Catholic teaching with unadulterated bigotry.

Turning toward your question, you write: "What do you think will happen to all non-Catholics then?" I take it you mean the question of eternal salvation. I think the universal catechism says it better than I could: "'However, one cannot charge with the sin of separation those who at present are born into these communities [that resulted from such separation] and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect and affection as brothers. . . . All who have been justified by faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have been justified by faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church'" [CCC 818]. "'Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth' are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: 'the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements.' Christ's Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him, and are in themselves calls to 'Catholic unity'" [CCC 819].

Thus, the Catholic Church does NOT teach that all non-Catholics must by necessity go to hell. We leave judgment, for ourselves and others, up to God. As for the view among certain Protestants that Catholics are not true Christians and must go to hell, it is accurate to say that such stances often emerge from some (BUT NOT ALL) fundamentalist churches. The more liberal brand of Protestantism does not always even believe in hell, and so it is no wonder that they are largely out of the debate. The growing acceptance of Catholics by ministers like Jerry Fallwell and Pat Robertson is a good sign of the brotherhood that should be ours as believers. However, there are still ministers like Jimmy Swaggert who teach that Roman Catholicism is the Whore of Babylon.

Jehovah Witnesses do not think much of Catholics, but except for a 144,000, they would say most Protestants and all Catholics are damned anyway. They are not true Christians because they deny the divinity of Jesus. While there is some contention over the Christianity of the Latter Day Saints, most Catholic authorities would also consider them still a cult and not truly Christian. Their theology, which grows more mainstream with every new edition of the PEARL OF GREAT PRICE, THE BOOK OF MORMON, and the revelations of their elder presidents is very problematical: souls pre-exist and are not uniquely created; a good Mormon can become his own Christ over another planet (violating the notion of Jesus as our sole Savior); the Trinity is broken into three distinct gods (polytheism) which utterly contradicts Christian and Jewish monotheism.

We still pray for non-Christians that God will not hold them in judgment for truths about which they stand in ignorance.

Hope this helps to explain things, from a Catholic perspective.

Peace,
Fr. Joe