Reports of this problem are all over the internet (blogs, forums) so it’s time for the SSPX to issue a clarification or contradiction on this doctrinal issue; the issue is the interpretation of the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus. This issue many Catholics believe is the cause of errors spreading in the church.
Personally I am in agreement with much of what the SSPX believes and teaches but not on this point.
We must remember that the Orthodox Christians still teach the literal version of extra ecclesiam nulla salus.The Muslims teach exclusive salvation. So do the Orthodox Jews. They have not changed their teaching out of fear or ignorance.
Much of the material on the SSPX website has been posted in the 1960’s, a time of great confusion in the Church. The material is factually incorrect. It needs to be scrapped or updated.
There also cannot be an agreement between the SSPX and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF)), Vatican without this issue being settled. Mons. Ignacio Barreiro and Fr. Joseph Kramer FSSP cannot affirm the faith on this issue in Rome and yet they celebrate the Tridentine Rite Mass with the permission of the Rome Vicariate. This will be the condition of the SSPX priests and bishops unless they clarify this issue with the CDF and make it public.
1) infallible and cannot be discarded or have its meaning changed.
2) The ex cathedra dogma cannot be superseded with interpretations of the ordinary magisterium.
I. The ex cathedra dogma says clearly everyone needs to be a visible member of the Catholic Church and there are no exceptions. The SSPX website claims there are.
II. There is no Church Document which states that Fr. Leonard Feeney was excommunicated for heresy. The website claims he was.
III. The ex cathedra dogma does not say that those with the Baptism of Desire do not have to convert. Neither does it say that only those who know about the Church need to enter, to avoid Hell. This is an error on the SSPX website.
A clarification needs to say:
1. Everybody with no exception needs to enter the Catholic Church explicitly (with Catholic Faith and the Baptism of water) to go to Heaven.
2. Those who are in invincible ignorance or with the Baptism of Desire are known only to God and we do not know of any particular case. The Baptism of Desire is always implicit. There can be no de facto, objective Baptism of Desire.
A clarification from the SSPX Superior General Bishop Bernard Fellay is awaited.
(This is SSPX heresy. The website is saying that the Baptism of Desire is explicit.)FR. FEENEY AND CATHOLIC DOCTRINE
A reissue of the article appearing in Verbum, No. 24 (1986), prefaced by the previous Editorial, clarifying the teaching of the Church regarding Baptism.
Many of our friends have heard of Fr. Leonard Feeney, and some of them have a great esteem for this priest who fought against the liberal ecumenism by recalling again and again that outside the Church there is no salvation. But, to make his point, Fr. Feeney went so far as to exclude Baptism of desire (and martyrdom) from the means of salvation.
We believe in principle that there is implicit baptism of desire. So how can implicit baptism of desire contradict the infallible teaching that everyone needs to be a visible member(explicit) of the Church? )
His teaching was then condemned by the Holy Office in 1949, and he himself was excommunicated in 1953.
(There is no Church Document which says that he was condemned for heresy. This is the propaganda of the Jewish Left media, Wikipedia etc.
He was excommunicated for disobedience.He did not go to Rome to defend himself. He was also disobedient to the Archbishop of Boston Richard Cushing who never affirmed the dogma or corrected the newspaper errors. )
It should be sufficient to recall that this happened under the pontificate of the saintly Pope Pius XII,
True.
and that the letter of the Holy Office was signed by Cardinal Ottaviani, who was not a liberal either. However, certain good Catholics still try to exculpate Fr. Feeney by saying that the Holy See was misinformed, etc.
Here is the actual ex cathedra dogma.
1. “There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved.” (Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, 1215). Ex Cathedra
2. “We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.” (Pope Boniface VIII, the Bull Unam Sanctam, 302.). Ex Cathedra
3.“The most Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can have a share in life eternal; but that they will go into the eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless before death they are joined with Her; and that so important is the unity of this ecclesiastical body that only those remaining within this unity can profit by the sacraments of the Church unto salvation, and they alone can receive an eternal recompense for their fasts, their almsgivings, their other works of Christian piety and the duties of a Christian soldier. No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pour out his blood for the Name of Christ, can be saved, unless he remain within the bosom and the unity of the Catholic Church.” -(Pope Eugene IV, the Bull Cantate Domino, 1441.) Ex Cathedra
– from the website Catholicism.org and “No Salvation outside the Church”: Link List, the Three Dogmatic Statements Regarding EENS: http://nosalvationoutsideofthecatholicchurch.blogspot.com/
(The emphasis in blue says one has to be an explicit,visible member of the Catholic Church for salvation. This has been the teaching of Fr.Leonard Feeney. The dogma does not say that one can be saved with the Baptism of Desire.)
Well, we have just to open his book The Bread of Life (first published in l952), to see that his doctrine contradicts the Church’s teaching. Let St. Thomas Aquinas, the greatest theologian the Church has ever known, be the witness for the prosecution. His Summa Theologica [ST] is the reference book that all seminarians (Fr. Feeney not excepted) had to study according to the directives of St. Pius X and the 1917 Code of Canon Law.
(Fr.Leonard Feeney was also familiar with the teachings of St.Thomas Aquinas and was not a critic.
St.Thomas Aquinas taught that everyone needs to be a de facto member of the Catholic Church for salvation and there were no exceptions.
Everyone had implicit faith and was saved they would be known only to God. So implicit faith did not contradict the dogma and the teaching that everyone needed to be a visible member for salvation).
Original Sin, Sacramental Character, and Grace
It seems that the fundamental error of Fr. Feeney is that, according to him, original sin is wiped away ONLY by the character imprinted on the soul by Baptism:
(Note with reference to the ex cathedra dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus original sin is wiped away only with the Baptism of water given to those with Catholic Faith. One has to be an explicit member of the Catholic Church, according to the infallible teaching, to be saved.)
Let us suppose an act of perfect love has occurred in a man’s soul. Can this man be said to be freed from original sin by this perfect act of love of God? He cannot, in the true and full sense. There has not been imprinted on his soul, by reason of this perfect act of love of God, the character which Baptism imprints, to seal him as redeemed and outfit him for the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. (Bread of Life, ch.V, p.98)
Fr. Feeney does not deny that sanctifying grace can be obtained by an act of perfect charity, but he says it is not enough to be saved; according to him, just as nobody can become a priest without receiving the character of Holy Orders, so nobody can be saved without receiving the character of Baptism.
(Note this is what the ex cathedra dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus teaches)
Thus, since Baptism of desire and martyrdom do not imprint this character on the soul, they cannot save anyone! The flaw of his reasoning appears when we ask what happens to the souls in the state of grace who die without Baptism. He is at a loss to try to explain it; these souls are not saved, but he is obliged to say that they are not lost either!
Where do these souls go...? I do not know. (Bread of Life, ch.VII, p.137)
(Note: We do not know since this is a reference to implicit salvation which is known only to God.)
Now, the teaching of the Church is that original sin is blotted out by sanctifying grace, which is the only necessary title to be admitted to see God. To understand that, let us ask the help of St. Thomas. He explains: The sacramental character is "a certain spiritual power ordained unto things pertaining to the divine worship," a consecration by which the soul is marked so that it may receive the sacraments (baptismal character), or bestow them on others (priestly character), "a certain participation in Christ’s priesthood" (ST, IIIa, Q. 63).
Sanctifying grace is "a participation in the divine nature" (cf. II Pet. 1:4) whereby man is united to God and "adopted as His son to whom the inheritance is due by right of adoption, according to Rom. 8:17: ‘if sons, heirs also’" (ST, Ia IIae, Q. 110, 111, 114). Thus, with these words of the Angelic Doctor, we can understand why the Council of Trent declares that original sin is washed away, not by the character, but by the grace of Baptism:
If anyone denies that by the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ which is conferred in Baptism the guilt of original sin is remitted... let him be anathema!
Note : Fr.Leonard Feeney says the same.
Indeed, it is grace, not the sacramental character, which is the remedy against sin:
Man is sanctified by each of the sacraments, since sanctity means immunity from sin, which is the effect of grace. But in a special way some sacraments, which imprint a character, bestow on man a certain consecration, thus deputing him to the divine worship. (ST, IIIa, Q. 63)
Here is the crux of the matter, for, although no sacramental character can be conferred without a sacrament, sanctifying grace can be given outside the sacraments:
(Note : For salvation everyone with no exception needs the Sacraments explicitly.If someone is saved implicitly it is known only to God.We do not know a single case of someone in particular being saved without the Sacraments.)
The divine power is not confined to the sacraments. Hence man can receive spiritual strength to confess the Faith of Christ publicly without receiving the sacrament of Confirmation just as he can also receive remission of sins without Baptism. (ST, IIIa, Q. 72).
And thus we arrive at the question of Baptism of desire...
"Three Baptisms"?
In his book (ch.VII), Fr. Feeney suggests that Cardinal Gibbons invented the "heresy" of the three kinds of Baptism taught by the Baltimore Catechism. But, long before the "opportunist" Cardinal, St. Thomas spoke of these three kinds of Baptism, explaining:
Baptism of water has its efficacy from Christ’s Passion, to which a man is conformed by Baptism, and also from the Holy Ghost as first cause. Now, although the effect depends on the first cause, the cause far surpasses the effect, nor does it depend on it.... Consequently, a man may, without Baptism of water, receive the sacramental effect from Christ’s Passion, insofar as he is conformed to Christ by suffering for Him (i.e., martyrdom). Hence it is written: These are they who are come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and have made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. (Apoc. 7:14)
In like manner a man receives the effect of Baptism by the power of the Holy Ghost, not only without Baptism of water, but also without Baptism of blood: forasmuch as his heart is moved by the Holy Ghost to believe in and love God and to repent of his sins. Wherefore this is also called Baptism of repentance....Thus, therefore, each of these other Baptisms is called Baptism forasmuch as it takes the place of Baptism" (ST, IIIa, Q. 66). And St. Thomas quotes St. Augustine (who died in 430) himself relying on the teaching of St. Cyprian (who died in 258).
(Note.There can be three forms of Baptism but for salvation everyone needs explicitly to be baptized with only form, the Baptism of Water. We cannot accept the other forms in principle(de jure) only.)
However, Fr. Feeney tries to make us believe that the Fathers of the Church are on his side, and for this purpose he is obliged to interpret the sermon of St. Ambrose (died 397) quoted by the Catholic Encyclopedia concerning Baptism of desire (cf. Bread of Life, ch.VII, p.123). But Fr. Feeney’s interpretation does not stand the reading of the complete text: But I hear that you grieve because he did not receive the sacrament of Baptism. Tell me now, what else is in us, if not will, if not desire? He, in very truth had this wish that, before he came to Italy, he should be initiated into the Church, and he indicated that he wanted to be baptized by me very soon, and that is why he thought I had to be called before everything else. Did he not obtain the grace which he desired? Did he not obtain what he asked for? Certainly, because he asked for it, he obtained it. "But the just man, if he be prevented by death, shall be in rest" (Wisd. 4:7).... But if people are absolved in their own blood, then this man’s piety and desire absolved him. (De Obitu Valentiniani, 51-53).
Clearly, according to St. Ambrose, the desire of Baptism, like martyrdom, replaces Baptism of water. It is also the teaching of the last of the Fathers, St. Bernard (died 1153), who recalls that with God the intention counts as the act when the act is excluded by necessity (cf. De Baptismo, II, 7). Finally, let us mention the case of the Jew who, at the point of death, baptized himself since he lived among Jews and could not get anyone to do it. Pope Innocent III (died 1216) says that this Baptism is not valid and that he should be baptized by another.
(Note: if one is saved with the Baptism of desire it is implicit and unknown to us.To suggest that the Baptism of desire is explicit is irrational.Here the SSPX could suggest that the implicit of Baptism of Desire is a substitute for explicit Baptism of water.This would be a contradiction of the ex cathedra dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus.)
If however, such a one had died immediately, he would have rushed to the heavenly home without delay because of the faith of the sacrament although not because of the sacrament of Faith.2
Objections
Against this doctrine of the three kinds of Baptism, Fr. Feeney brings up the words of St. Paul: "One Lord, one faith, one Baptism" (Eph. 4:5). But this objection has already been answered by St. Thomas:
The other two Baptisms are included in the Baptism of water, which derives its efficacy both from Christ’s Passion and from the Holy Ghost. Consequently, for this reason the unity of Baptism is not destroyed. (ibid)
In other words, Baptism of desire and Baptism of blood are called "Baptisms" only analogically, inasmuch as they supply the principal effect of the sacrament of Baptism, namely the grace that remits sins.
Fr. Feeney raised another objection, this time from the words of our Blessed Lord: "Unless a man be born again of water and of the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God" (Jn. 3:5). Likewise, St. Thomas had not waited for Fr. Feeney to answer:
As it is written: "man seeth those things that appear, but the Lord beholdeth the heart" (I Kings 16:7). Now, a man who desires to be "born again of water and of the Holy Ghost" by Baptism is regenerated in heart though not in body.... The sacrament of Baptism is said to be necessary for salvation insofar as man cannot be saved without, at least, Baptism of desire, "which, with God, counts for the deed" (St. Augustine). (Summa Theologica, Part IIIa, Q. 68)
Any Kind of Desire?
Fr. Feeney thunders against "the heretical theology that turned Baptism of water into any dry desire one might have in the general direction of heaven" (cf. Bread of Life, ch. VII, p.117). But we do not claim that "any dry desire" is sufficient, not even a firm resolution to be baptized. St. Thomas explains:(A)
(B) man can obtain salvation without being actually baptized, on account of his desire for Baptism, which desire is the outcome of "faith that worketh by charity," whereby God, Whose power is not tied to visible sacraments, sanctifies man inwardly. (Summa Theologica, Part IIIa, Q. 68)
More precisely, in the letter condemning the teaching of Fr. Feeney, the Holy Office declares:
But it must not be thought that any kind of desire of entering the Church suffices that one may be saved. It is necessary that the desire by which one is related to the Church be animated by perfect charity. Nor can an implicit desire produce its effect, unless a person has supernatural faith: "For he who comes to God must believe that God exists and is a rewarder of those who seek Him!" (Heb. 11:6). (August 8, 1949, to the Archbishop of Boston)
In other words, someone not baptized cannot be saved without an act of perfect charity including, at least implicitly, the will to do all things necessary for salvation (and thus to receive Baptism). Our Lord Himself tells us that true charity remits sins and obtains His friendship:
(True a person can be saved with an implicit Baptism of desire, we know this subjectively,intellectually,in principle, de jure, as a concept, as an opinion . Also as an opinion we do not know if anyone in particular has received the Baptism of Desire. So everyone needs explicit,de facto, able to be administered, visable, tangible and familiar Baptism of water for salvation. This is the infallible teaching too.)
He that loves Me shall be loved of My Father and I will love him... and We will come to him and will make Our abode with him (Jn. 14:21-23), Many sins are forgiven her (Mary Magdalen) because she has loved much. (Lk. 7:47)
These last words of our Lord to the repentant sinner are echoed by the teaching of the Council of Trent: contrition perfected by charity reconciles man to God.3
Now, Fr. Feeney rightly points out that it is not at all easy to make a perfect act of charity and to remain in the state of grace without the help of the sacraments:
How a man knows he has made a perfect act of love of God, I do not know!... Without the sacraments, we cannot determine for certain what is the value of our private acts. It is by way of discouraging this sanctificational self-sufficiency, that the inspired writer of the Book of Ecclesiastes was led to say: "man knoweth not whether he be worthy of love or hatred" (Eccl. 9:1).... Actually, no one who has not been baptized can stay in the state of Christian justification very long, because he does not have the sacramental helps to keep justification alive.... If we who are Catholics have a hard enough job to keep in the state of sanctifying grace, with all the prayers and sacramental helps we have, good God!, how is anyone without them going to stay in the state of a perfect act of love of God? (cf. Bread of Life, ch. VII, p.125,121).
But, by saying that it is practically impossible, Fr. Feeney goes too far and wrongs God’s power (which is not limited to His sacraments), God’s mercy (which desires the salvation of all men, [I Tim. 2:4]), and God’s justice (no one is condemned if not guilty through his own fault).
(Note :God’s power is not limited to the Sacraments true.However everyone without exception needs the Baptism of water and Catholic Faith for salvation and we do not know any exception; any person who needs the Baptism of Desire and has received it.)
Conclusion
Let us finally quote the letter of the Holy Office condemning Fr. Feeney’s teaching:
That one may obtain eternal salvation, it is not always required that he be incorporated into the Church actually as a member, but it is necessary that at least he be united to her by desire and longing.
(True, in principle we accept it. Conceptually there can be such a person)
In reality everyone needs Catholic Faith and the Baptism of water to avoid Hell(Ad Gentes 7,Vatican Council II, CCC etc)
However, this desire need not always be explicit, as it is in catechumens; but when a person is involved in invincible ignorance, God accepts also an implicit desire, so called because it is included in that good disposition of soul whereby a person wants his will to be conformed to the Will of God. These things are clearly taught in the dogmatic letter which was issued by the Sovereign Pontiff, Pope Pius XII, on June 29, 1943 (Mystici Corporis)... he mentions those who are related to the Mystical Body of the Redeemer "by a certain unconscious yearning and desire," and these he by no means excludes from eternal salvation; but on the other hand, he states that they are in a condition "in which they cannot be sure of their salvation" since "they still remain deprived of those many heavenly gifts and helps which can only be enjoyed in the Catholic Church!" With these wise words he reproves both those who exclude from salvation all united to the Church only by implicit desire,
(We agree that implicit desire can saved a person, we agree in principle, conceptually only. We know that in reality only the Baptism of Water and Catholic Faith is the de facto explicit and ordinary means of salvation. This is taught by the ex cathedra teaching extra ecclesiam nulla salus.)
and those who falsely assert that men can be saved equally as well in every religion. (Letter to the Archbishop of Boston, August 8, 1949).
(Neither does Fr.Leonard Feeney or the Society of St.Pius X state that a person can be saved in any religion)
FR.PETER SCOTT DENIES DOGMA
FR.PETER SCOTT DENIES DOGMA
Fr.Peter Scott a Superior of the Society of St.Pius X refers to ‘the possibility of the baptism of desire’and claims that Fr.Leonard Feeney and his community denied it according to a report on the SSPX website.
Fr.Peter Scott a Superior of the Society of St.Pius X refers to ‘the possibility of the baptism of desire’and claims that Fr.Leonard Feeney and his community denied it.
Yet St.Benedict Center, USA, Fr.Leonard Feeney's community accept it in principle (dejure).Here it is from their website.
Answer: The following definition of baptism of desire can be made which will be totally consistent with the infallible teaching of the Council of Trent and with the thrice defined dogma of “No Salvation Outside the Catholic Church”. This definition of baptism of desire goes as follows:So they (SBC) do not deny the Baptism of Desire in principle or as a possibility as Fr.Peter Scott claims.
In its proper meaning, this consists of an act of perfect contrition or perfect love [that is Charity, which necessarily implies that one has the True Faith], and the simultaneous desire for baptism. It does not imprint an indelible character on the soul and the obligation to receive Baptism by water remains. (From page 126 of The Catholic Concise Encyclopedia , by Robert Broderick, M.A., copyright 1957, Imprimatur by Francis Cardinal Spellman, Archbishop of New York, August 31, 1956)
Fr.Peter Scott's article is available on the website of the SSPX.The Society of St.Pius X still denies that one has to be a visible member of the Catholic Church for salvation and that there are no exceptions.
The website article Fr.Feeney and Catholic Doctrine indicates the SSPX is in heresy. The website is saying that the Baptism of Desire is explicit.In principle there is implicit baptism of desire. So how can implicit baptism of desire contradict the infallible teaching that everyone needs to be a visible member(explicit) of the Church?
Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre
The founder of the Society of St. Pius X was correct when he said that souls can be saved in a religion other than the Catholic religion (Protestantism, Islamism, Buddhism etc) however this is only a possibility, de jure ‘in certain circumstances’ (Letter of the Holy Office 1949).Otherwise,we know everyone with no exception needs to enter the Catholic Church to avoid Hell ((Ex cathedra extra ecclesiam nulla salus, Ad Gentes 7, Vatican Council II, Catechism of the Catholic Church n.836, Dominus Iesus 20 etc).This is the Catholic deposit of faith.
Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, Against the Heresies, p. 216:
“Evidently, certain distinctions must be made. Souls can be saved in a religion other than the Catholic religion (Protestantism, Islam, Buddhism, etc.), but not by this religion. There may be souls who, not knowing Our Lord, have by the grace of the good Lord, good interior dispositions, who submit to God...But some of these persons make an act of love which implicitly is equivalent to baptism of desire. It is uniquely by this means that they are able to be saved.”[Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, Against the Heresies, Angelus Press, 1997, p. 216]
Bishop Lefebvre, Address given at Rennes, France: “If men are saved in Protestantism, Buddhism or Islam, they are saved by the Catholic Church, by the grace of Our Lord, by the prayers of those in the Church, by the blood of Our Lord as individuals, perhaps through the practice of their religion, perhaps of what they understand in their religion, but not by their religion…”[Quoted in Bro. Robert Mary, Fr. Feeney and the Truth About Salvation, p. 213]He says perhaps since this is an area of speculation. The gift of the Baptism of Desire is exceptional and known only to God. It cannot be explicitly given as the Baptism of water.
Pages 217-218: “This is then what Pius IX said and what he condemned. It is necessary to understand the formulation that was so often employed by the Fathers of the Church: ‘Outside the Church there is no salvation.’ When we say that, it is incorrectly believed that we think that all the Protestants, all the Moslems, all the Buddhists, all those who do not publicly belong to the Catholic Church go to hell. Now, I repeat, it is possible for someone to be saved in these religions, but they are saved by the Church, and so the formulation is true: Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus. This must be preached.”[Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, Against the Heresies, pp. 217-218]That they can be saved is only a possibility, it is not de facto.If it was de facto then it would contradict the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus which says everyone needs to explicitly be a visible member of the Catholic Church to avoid Hell. There are no exceptions.
FR. FRANCOIS LAISNEY
There is a book Is Feeneyism Catholic written by Fr.Francois Laisney SSPX and sold by the Society of St.Pius X publishers Angelus Press. It is advertised on the internet.
The Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) is presently in closed-door negotiations with the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith,Vatican to ascertain Catholic doctrine. Yet the SSPX itself could be in heresy according to its website and reports by SSPX priests including Fr.Laisney.
The Society of St.Pius X ( SSPX) bishops are praised for saying everyone (vaguely) needs to enter the Catholic Church for salvation but the SSPX still uses the mantra ‘ except for those in invincible ignorance and the baptism of desire’. So questions remain.
1.Is the SSPX saying that the ex cathedra dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus states that everyone explicitly, de facto needs to be a member of the Catholic Church-but those who are in invincible ignorance or have the baptism of desire are explicit, de facto cases and so do not need to enter the church for salvation?
2. Is the SSPX saying that Lumen Gentium 16 refers to implicit or explicit salvation?
3. Is there an explicit baptism of desire?
4. When the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in the Fr. Peter C.Phan case said entry into the Church is necessary for salvation ‘except for those in invincible ignorance or the baptism of desire’ is it considered heresy for the SSPX?
5. In the Boston Case Archbishop Richard Cushing and the Jesuits considered the baptism of desire and invincible ignorance as explicit, knowable, and judgable and an exception to the infallible teaching. Should not the Boston Case be reviewed?
Would the SSPX agree if I said that everyone needs to be an explicit member (with the baptism of water and Catholic Faith) of the Catholic Church to avoid Hell and those who are in invincible ignorance or have the baptism of desire, will be known only to God?
There have been appeals to the Vatican to reopen the Boston Case. Since, Fr. Leonard Feeney said there is no baptism of desire. He was correct there is no explicit baptism of desire. The ex cathedra dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus as interpreted by the popes, Councils and saints said the same.
De jure in principle there is a Baptism of Desire understood by Fr.Leonard Feeney and the present Saint Benedict Center. It includes the desire for the Baptism of water. However this is accepted in principle. It is understood as implicit, a grace of God and only known to God.
De facto there is no baptism of desire that we can know of.So the Richard Cushing doctrine (explicit baptism of desire) is not part of the Catholic deposit of faith.
The secular media claim that Fr. Leonard Feeney was excommunicated for heresy. He was excommunicated for disobedience. He did not go to Rome when called. He was also disobedient to the Archbishop who never affirmed the dogma in public nor corrected the secular newspapers which stated that the Catholic Church has changed its teaching on extra ecclesiam nulla salus.
If the SSPX does not interpret Lumen Gentium 16 as referring to de jure, implicit salvation, then it is the Kung Deception. If they interpret Lumen Gentium 16 as referring to something defacto-personally-knowable then it is heresy.
If they do not see the Baptism of Desire as implicit then they would contradict the ex cathedra dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus.
The dogma refers to explicit entry into the Catholic Church, through the baptism of water and Catholic Faith, which is explicit and objectively verifiable.
The SSPX has been saying correctly that everyone needs to enter the Catholic Church for salvation but have also been using the mantra ‘except for those in invincible ignorance and the baptism of desire’.
It would be rational to say everybody(all non Catholics) with no exception need to enter the Catholic Church for salvation (to avoid Hell) and those who are in invincible ignorance or have the baptism of desire known only to God and He only will judge them.
The Baptism of Desire is always implicit. It is hypothetical, subjective and de jure.So how can the Baptism of desire and invincible ignorance contradict the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus i.e. everybody needs to be an explicit member of the Catholic Church to be saved? And if it did not contradict the dogma it would mean every Jew, Muslim or Buddhist is on the way to Hell.The infallible teaching says everyone explicitly needs the baptism of water to avoid Hell. It says everyone needs Catholic Faith, which is objective, it has to be learnt and one’s knowledge can be tested explicitly.
So the mantra is a deception when it suggests the baptism of water and invincible ignorance are explicit and can be judged in specific persons.
One cannot say that everyone needs explicit faith for salvation, with no exceptions, according to the ex cathedra dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus and at the same time say, that people can be saved explicitly through the baptism of desire.
However one can say that everyone needs explicit faith according to the ex cathedra dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus and at the same time say that people can be saved implicitly, in principle, as a theory, a concept, through the baptism of desire.
So Fr. Leonard Feeney said what popes, Councils and saints over the centuries repeated that everybody needs to explicitly be a member of the Catholic Church to be saved.
The dogma above does not say that only those who know can be saved or those who are in invincible ignorance do not have to enter the Church.
So the Letter of the Holy Office was endorsing the infallible teaching as it is and so was Fr.Leonard Feeney.
It is said that Fr. Leonard Feeney rejected the baptism of desire and so was a heretic. He was saying that there is no baptism of desire that one can know of explicitly. Explicit baptism of desire is the Richard Cushing heresy. It is contrary to the principle of non contradiction.
If the SSPC does not clarify its position on this issue then they are using the errors of those whom they call 'liberals'. It was Fr.Hans Kung who interpreted Lumen Gentium 16 as referring not to explicit but implicit salvation. This teaching is available in his books that can be read in the libraries of Catholic universities and seminaries in Rome.He used this false premise to say that LG 16, Vatican Council II also contradicted the dogma of the infallibility of the pope ex cathedra.This is the Kung Deception that needs to be exposed.
The Kung Deception has its basis in the 1940's when the Archbishop of Boston Cardinal Richard Cushing and the Jesuits at that time gave us the Cushing Doctrine. It indicates that the Baptism of Desire is explicit(like the baptism of water) and so contradicts the ex cathedra dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus.The Cushing Doctrine suggests that Fr.Leonard Feeney was wrong in saying everyone needed to enter the Catholic Church for salvationa and there were no exceptions like the Baptism of Desire(explicit).
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1. What does the Magisterium teach?
The Magisterium teaches that everyone with no exception needs to explicitly enter the Catholic Church through Catholic Faith and the Baptism of water to go to Heaven and avoid Hell (Ex cathedra extra ecclesiam nulla salus, Ad Gentes 7, Vatican Council II, Catechism of the Catholic Church n.836, Dominus Iesus 20 etc).
2.Lumen Gentium 16, Vatican Council II contradicts the above teaching (1)?
No, since LG 16 refers to those saved implicitly and not explicitly. Those with the baptism of desire, genuine invincible ignorance and a good conscience are known to God only. They are always implicit and subjective cases.There are no de facto cases of baptism of desire that we know of.
3.The Holy Spirit is also present in non-Catholic religions?
Yes, in only the good and holy things. There are also ‘errors, deficiencies and superstition’(Dominus Iesus) in these religions where the Holy Spirit cannot be present.Whatever good is found in these religions are a preparation for the Gospel, the members of these religions are oriented towards the Catholic Church and are all called to be members(Notification,Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith relative to Fr. Jacques Dupuis S.J , 2001)
4.Does everyone have to become a visible member of the Catholic Church for salvation?
The dogma says everyone needs to be a visible member of the Catholic Church for salvation.Pope Pius XII called it the 'infallible' teaching.
Now, among those things which the Church has always preached and will never cease to preach is contained also that infallible statement by which we are taught that there is no salvation outside the Church.Here it is:
However, this dogma must be understood in that sense in which the Church herself understands it. For, it was not to private judgments that Our Savior gave for explanation those things that are contained in the deposit of faith, but to the teaching authority of the Church.- (Letter of the Holy Office 1949). Emphasis added.
1. “There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved.” (Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, 1215). Ex cathedra.
2. “We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.” (Pope Boniface VIII, the Bull Unam Sanctam, 1302.).Ex cathedra.
3.“The most Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can have a share in life eternal; but that they will go into the eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless before death they are joined with Her; and that so important is the unity of this ecclesiastical body that only those remaining within this unity can profit by the sacraments of the Church unto salvation, and they alone can receive an eternal recompense for their fasts, their almsgivings, their other works of Christian piety and the duties of a Christian soldier. No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pour out his blood for the Name of Christ, can be saved, unless he remain within the bosom and the unity of the Catholic Church.” (Pope Eugene IV, the Bull Cantate Domino, 1441.) Ex cathedra – from the website Catholicism.org and “No Salvation outside the Church”: Link List, the Three Dogmatic Statements Regarding EENS http://nosalvationoutsideofthecatholicchurch.blogspot.com/
5.Only those who know and do not enter will go to Hell?
They will definitely go to Hell according to Ad Gentes7,Vatican Council II. However all non Catholics are oriented to Hell unless they explicitly convert into the Catholic Church.If there are any among them any who are in invincible ignorance etc it will known only to God.
Lionel Andrades, Catholic layman
E-mail: lionelandrades10@gmail.com
Blog: http://eucharistandmission.blogspot.com/
YouTube: http://it.youtube.com/LionelAndrades
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