Today at St. Peter's Square, the Holy Father spoke to pilgrims gathered there. Much of his talk was nice-sounding, except for this: "It is beautiful to think of this, to think of Heaven. And we will all meet there. All of us, All of us...Up there...all of us."
All of us? Dare I opine that his certitude may be, at best, a bit premature? Or has he bought into the "no one is in hell" heresy? No one's salvation is assured. Before any of us dies, we may have the misfortune of committing a mortal sin. If one dies with an unrepented mortal sin, that individual will go to hell. That remains Church teaching.
I go to Mass on Sundays and whenever I can make weekday Mass. I confess once or twice a month and pray daily. I know I need the graces from these to avoid mortal sin (and for other reasons of course). Even at that, I don't dare presume that I'll make it to heaven for I know myself too well. What then, can be said for those who completely disdain the salvific graces procured by Christ's death and resurrection, and mediated by the Church? While I hope the Holy Father was only intending to be encouraging, such language can very well have the consequence of lulling mortal sinners into false complacency while they hop and skip merrily to eternal perdition.
Providentially (and through Pewsitter) I came across this post from Athanasius Contra Mundum regarding what to do if a member of the magisterium errs. This webmaster draws from St. Thomas Aquinas. It's well worth your time to read it, and explains the reasons why I bring these matters to the forefront.
Wednesday, November 26, 2014
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I believe that the vague teachings of VII have something to do with this. Please understand, I'm not a sede nor do I attend an SSPX church, but in reading the document from 2007 "RESPONSES TO SOME QUESTIONS REGARDING CERTAIN ASPECTS OF THE DOCTRINE ON THE CHURCH" I believe that some of the Bishops know that there is a general lack of teachings from most parishes and therefore, everyone is ignorant. Those who are ignorant, God forgives and they go to heaven.
ReplyDeleteWe need clear Catholic teachings regarding this mistake. We are not getting it.
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20070629_responsa-quaestiones_en.html
"Those who are ignorant, God forgives." That depends on if they're invincibly ignorant. If they have made no effort whatsoever to learn the faith on their own (with the internet there is no real excuse not to), they have some culpability most likely. We can't say how much guilt they have, one way or the other.
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