The Heresy of Universal Salvation with a vengence!
The recent article in the Times (see link in title above) puts the heresy of universal salvationism in explicit terms:
This week a 30-strong Vatican international commission of theologians, which has been examining limbo, began its final deliberations. Vatican sources said it had concluded that all children who die do so in the expectation of “the universal salvation of God” and the “mediation of Christ”, whether baptised or not.
The theologians’ finding is that God wishes all souls to be saved, and that the souls of unbaptised children are entrusted to a “merciful God” whose ways of ensuring salvation cannot be known. “In effect, this means that all children who die go to Heaven,” one source said.
The commission’s conclusions will be approved formally by the Pope on Friday.
We should first note that the International Theological Commission has no Magisterial Authority whatsoever.
The denial of Limbo would not be heretical if one only denied the name, not the place, which is that part of Hell wherein one suffers eternal damnation, without torment, for the guilt of original sin.
To deny that there is such a place in Hell, would deny the teaching of St. Paul, which is infallible, that we are born sons of wrath, which by the common teaching of the Fathers means that we are conceived without the grace of justification on account of the sin of Adam. It would also likewise deny the truth of the Faith that God owes no one salvation, and the infallible teaching of Christ that many are called, but few are chosen. Thus not all are called, and not all are chosen.
To say that all unborn children are saved, therefore would be formally heretical, because all unborn children are much more than a few; indeed, it appears from modern science that such may even been the majority of all humans, since unborn children include even unimplanted conceived children, whose number is a vast multitude.
It would also result in many incongruous conclusions: namely that by birth we are subject to eternal damnation: or that in God's election of the saints, there is not providence to see them born so that they may merit.
Worse of all the denial of a place of limbo, in the sense that denial is being proposed, would mean that God's election is not only without a prevision of merits (as all Catholic theologians teach), but also without merits, that is, without any necessity of conformity of mind and will on the part of the elect to God's mind and will: which is a theological and metaphysical absurdity.
But even to say that such children have a hope of salvation or a hope of mercy, is an error pregnant with heresy: because it denies St. Paul's teaching that we are born sons of wrath, and hence are rightfully hateful to God, not on account of personal sin, but on account of not being in the state of grace, as God had foreordained for all men.
It also confuses the antecedent Will of God with the consequent Will of God. For God wishes all men to be saved, but He does not will that all men be saved: because He wills all men to be free, even if they choose to be damned, and in such a will it is theologically and metaphysically impossible to include an antecedent will that all the unborn be saved, without their consent.
However, as has always been taught there is a distinction between the theoretical and practical order; and it is always possible for God to justify souls in the womb. Christ and Mary, and other saints, it appears, had this grace. But if by exception, this is extended to all the unborn or even the hope of it to all, rather than to a few, a gross inequity results; because this grace must be exceptional, otherwise it is not a grace but a due. And to say that Christ merited the salvation of the elect, must always be understood by His words narrow and crooked is the way to Life and few there are who find it. If an unborn child cannot think or will, then how can he find somethign so difficult? Therefore if there is such a grace it must be rare. And ofcourse, hypothetically if any unborn child who dies such was elected, then he has such a grace, because as Christ says, no one can snatch them from My hand.
The media will no doubt and have already made much of this to destroy the Faith in souls, and to make of abortion another sacrament.
With this one doctrine, the fate of the salvation of the world hangs in the balance. Let us pray for the Pope!
This week a 30-strong Vatican international commission of theologians, which has been examining limbo, began its final deliberations. Vatican sources said it had concluded that all children who die do so in the expectation of “the universal salvation of God” and the “mediation of Christ”, whether baptised or not.
The theologians’ finding is that God wishes all souls to be saved, and that the souls of unbaptised children are entrusted to a “merciful God” whose ways of ensuring salvation cannot be known. “In effect, this means that all children who die go to Heaven,” one source said.
The commission’s conclusions will be approved formally by the Pope on Friday.
We should first note that the International Theological Commission has no Magisterial Authority whatsoever.
The denial of Limbo would not be heretical if one only denied the name, not the place, which is that part of Hell wherein one suffers eternal damnation, without torment, for the guilt of original sin.
To deny that there is such a place in Hell, would deny the teaching of St. Paul, which is infallible, that we are born sons of wrath, which by the common teaching of the Fathers means that we are conceived without the grace of justification on account of the sin of Adam. It would also likewise deny the truth of the Faith that God owes no one salvation, and the infallible teaching of Christ that many are called, but few are chosen. Thus not all are called, and not all are chosen.
To say that all unborn children are saved, therefore would be formally heretical, because all unborn children are much more than a few; indeed, it appears from modern science that such may even been the majority of all humans, since unborn children include even unimplanted conceived children, whose number is a vast multitude.
It would also result in many incongruous conclusions: namely that by birth we are subject to eternal damnation: or that in God's election of the saints, there is not providence to see them born so that they may merit.
Worse of all the denial of a place of limbo, in the sense that denial is being proposed, would mean that God's election is not only without a prevision of merits (as all Catholic theologians teach), but also without merits, that is, without any necessity of conformity of mind and will on the part of the elect to God's mind and will: which is a theological and metaphysical absurdity.
But even to say that such children have a hope of salvation or a hope of mercy, is an error pregnant with heresy: because it denies St. Paul's teaching that we are born sons of wrath, and hence are rightfully hateful to God, not on account of personal sin, but on account of not being in the state of grace, as God had foreordained for all men.
It also confuses the antecedent Will of God with the consequent Will of God. For God wishes all men to be saved, but He does not will that all men be saved: because He wills all men to be free, even if they choose to be damned, and in such a will it is theologically and metaphysically impossible to include an antecedent will that all the unborn be saved, without their consent.
However, as has always been taught there is a distinction between the theoretical and practical order; and it is always possible for God to justify souls in the womb. Christ and Mary, and other saints, it appears, had this grace. But if by exception, this is extended to all the unborn or even the hope of it to all, rather than to a few, a gross inequity results; because this grace must be exceptional, otherwise it is not a grace but a due. And to say that Christ merited the salvation of the elect, must always be understood by His words narrow and crooked is the way to Life and few there are who find it. If an unborn child cannot think or will, then how can he find somethign so difficult? Therefore if there is such a grace it must be rare. And ofcourse, hypothetically if any unborn child who dies such was elected, then he has such a grace, because as Christ says, no one can snatch them from My hand.
The media will no doubt and have already made much of this to destroy the Faith in souls, and to make of abortion another sacrament.
With this one doctrine, the fate of the salvation of the world hangs in the balance. Let us pray for the Pope!
posted by Br. Alexis Bugnolo at 10/04/2006 04:03:00 PM
9 Comments:
Brother Alexis, you have mentioned a critical issue, that this redefinition of the fate of unbaptised babies will be used by some to be more accepting of abortion. "Oh, it does not matter if I abort my baby because the Church says he will go right to heaven." This is a horrible consequence of "universal salvation" run amok.
Amok indeed, such an error seems also to be a fruit of that of evolution, and sees man's natural right and destiny to be saved, regardless of personal choice.
Which makes God unjust, and not the rewarder of the saints, but the servant of a humanity, whom God must entertain in Heaven for all eternity, whether He likes it or not.
I'm sure this has been asked and answered before, but is an in utero "baptism" efficacious? Could a priest successfully attempt such a baptism?
I cannot cite you an authority; but my prof. told that the answer to this one is NO. All baptisms before birth are invalid, by reason of the fact that Our Lord said "one must be born again" by the waters of baptism. "again" requires a first birth. And thus, by this interpretation, Our Lord was a prior excluding the unborn from the sacramental order.
It makes sense too: because if baptisms in utero were valid, then failure to obtain one would be sinful; and this would result in a whole set of considerations that would lead to absurd results, such as there being more of the elect in such times and places where this was possible, and thus making medical science a formal cause of eternal salvation.
Our Lord can take care of His own affairs; our meddling is not required.
On clarification: those attacking limbo seem to think that limbo always meant that all the unborn are damned: no one ever taught that. Because in all the Magisterial statements the Church always mentioned "those who die with original sin only", thus exluding those who by an extraordinary grace might be justified in the womb, but die before birth or before baptism after birth, and before attaining reason.
God bless you, Brother Bugnolo, for speaking the Truth that is Christ. I was hoping that you would comment on this. We are living through a great apostasy, which can no longer be denied. The wheat is being separated from the chaff. Today, sadly, many Catholics are clinging to their faith in spite of Rome. They have to remember the Church of their youth, as I do, a Church that was recognizable as Catholic. The modern Church no longer is. We're living in the catacombs, and like those early Christians, we must perservere through the intercession of Holy Mary, Saint Joseph, and all of the Archangels, Angels, and Saints before the throne of He Who will not be mocked indefinitely, not per my understanding of the faith rooted in the Great Tradition of the Church and Sacred Scripture. This is but another example of more confusion added to a Church who is already rife with it. God help us all! God bless you for your unswerving witness to the One True Faith! JMJ
stlouisIX,
No matter how bad it gets, we should never give up the immaculate name of Holy Mother Church and thus call the errant or cowardly clergy "the Church"; we must remember that the Church is everyone Pope, bishops, priests, religious, and most of all the laity. The faith remains uncorrupted in those who keep the Faith, and thus the Church never loses the faith.
So don't say, "The Church has lost the Faith", say rather "many have".
Well said, Brother Bugnolo. Must keep fighting the good fight for Christ and His Church. The difficulty that I see is that so many have been dumbed-down by error being accorded rights that it has never deserved via poor catechesis, they no longer are able to discern who is keeping the faith and who isn't. Much masquerades for Catholicism these days. For example, the misguided erroneously map the constant changes in the Novus Ordo on an almost daily basis, depending upon who is the "presider" to changing doctrine. Lex credendi, lex orandi is more than just a pithy phrase. It is axiomatic for the faith, which is why I believe that the Barque of Peter is not going to be righted until the Holy Mass of Pope Saint Pius V is returned to its rightful place as the primary form of worship for Catholics.
These poor souls see the woeful example of the Vatican congratulating the non-Catholic world on the feast days of its false gods, are told that Islam worships the One God, and that conversion is no longer necessary, per Vatican II, ala Cardinal Kasper, and that the Messiah is still to come for those who choose to believe that lie.
Today, it appears that one of the worst sins a Catholic can commit is thinking that conversion is necessary. The supernatural has been completely forgotten in favor of a "let's all get along" natural utopia that is a lie of the father-of-lies, who never sleeps, and who prowls the world like a raging lion for the ruin of souls. Mortal sin is seldom discussed in favor of a violation of the "dignity" of man. What about going to Heaven instead of hell, which is the only, repeat, only reason for the Church's existence?
All of this would be news to the Catholics that I grew up with in the pre-Vatican II Church of the 50s who understood perfectly clear that the One God was Triune, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and that the blood of the martyrs was due to Christ's admonishment to His disciples at the end of Matthew's Gospel, i.e., to convert the world to the True Faith, to particular include nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and that Fear of the Lord was a GIFT of the Holy Ghost, the beginning of Wisdom - all for salvation's sake!
Today, we see constant violations of the principle of non- contradiction by Catholics in name only, clergy and laity alike. The very name of Jesus Christ seems to be an embarrassment to this crowd who prefer to accommodate the world instead of standing in contradiction to it. What ever happened to preaching Christ Crucified? Now, there appears to be no need of that aforementioned forgotten Gift of the Holy Ghost, which has become an embarrassment to those in the Church who believe in universal salvation, as was pointed out by you.
One thing is for sure. We live in interesting times where seemingly all of the past heresies are being revisited collectively in the name of modernism.
For the love of God, please keep up your excellent scholastic catechesis. Not too many are doing that anymore, per my observations. You see the modernists who have infested the Church are also embarrassed by the likes of the Angelic Doctor who make them very uncomfortable with their errors.
Br. Alexis, I was hoping you could comment on the idea that man has both a natural and supernatural end and the effect of this idea on certain conceptions of "limbo". I have seen it put forth that limbo is a place of natural happiness, but that those in limbo are simply derived of their supernatural end. How can this be in any way compatible with beatitude?
Anonymous,
First when speaking about the natural and supernatural end of man, we must understand that his scholastic distinction regards NOT the ends of man, but the end of man.
Because man does not have 2 ends, he only has one end.
But this confused many who read St. Thomas, because the conceive the natural end and the supernatural end in a materialistic manner, and do not understand the proper distinctions used in Scholastic Theology.
Man's end is one, but it is also twofold.
It is one, because no being can have more than one end, really, because otherwise he would be destroyed, being compelled to 2 ends.
It is twofold, because man according to God's design is a creature which He willed for His own sake.
By being a creature he has a natural end.
But being willed for God's sake, he has a supernatural end.
When I say "for God's sake" I am not speaking about a general or common ordination to God, which all creatures must necessarily have, for otherwise they would not be creatures, and God would not be their creator.
I am rather speaking of a special ordination, which we Catholics call the order of grace, or of supernature.
Thus God never actually or really intended man to be only a natural being.
At the same time God is not required to have acted thus; he could have intended man to have only a natural end.
As a natural end man is ordered to creatures and to the Creator; he knows and communes with the Latter through the former.
But the question of Limbo is a theological question, and cannot be considered without a consideration of Revelation, because clearly man could not know of it with certainty in any other way, though, remember, Plato did posit the existence of Hell on account of his own realization that there must be an Eternal Justice.
And so we cannot say simply that those in Limbo are deprived of their supernatural end, for several reasons.
First, speaking strictly, the supernatural end of any particular man is not the same as that of any other. Because the general supernatural end of each particular man is founded upon God's antecedent will that all men be saved through Christ.
But God has not willed that this antecedent will be efficacious for all men, nor for all in the same manner.
Because God elects some to eternal life before the prevision of their merits, and thus predestines them to a life of grace and Beatitude.
But God reproves others, after the prevision of their demerits, and thus predestines them after death to eternal damantion.
And so some men have the supernatural end of Heaven, others of Hell, others of Limbo.
But those whose End is Heaven are predestined to go there. But God predestines no man to Hell or Limbo, without the consideration of either his own sin, or that of Adam, and his parents (e.g. in the case of abortion).
Therefore when St. Thomas says that thes souls (and after the general Resurrection the bodies) of those in Limbo enjoy a natural beatitude, he is obviously not speaking of beatitude in the same sense as the Beatitude of Heaven, which consists in the unbridled vision of God.
By beatitude in Limbo, St. Thomas means the enjoyment of those goods which man without grace can enjoy; but he speaks of a habitual enjoyment, which is more like a sleep than an actual awareness.
However, since I am no Thomist, I may have not expressed so exactly his views on the matter, so don't take it as such.
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