Babies & infants

[dbradio]

When a baby is aborted, or dies in infancy (both before baptism), what does our Church teach about these instances? What do we believe happens to these babies, especially since limbo is not valid and in neither case can the subject be a sinner beyond original sin?

Please note if you are a priest, religious, or theologian.

I’d prefer catechism/dogma answers as opposed to
maybes or probables, please. Answers which may be traced to a stated (catechism) accepted reference, including scripture, of course, in according with Church teaching.

Thank you

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

dbradio:

When a baby is aborted, or dies in infancy (both before baptism), what does our Church teach about these instances? What do we believe happens to these babies, especially since limbo is not valid and in neither case can the subject be a sinner beyond original sin?

Please note if you are a priest, religious, or theologian.

I’d prefer catechism/dogma answers as opposed to
maybes or probables, please. Answers which may be traced to a stated (catechism) accepted reference, including scripture, of course, in according with Church teaching.

Thank you

The Catechism simply states that we don’t know what happens to them. But that we should hope that God may have a way to save them. The Scriptures and the clear infallible teaching of the Church is" No unbaptized person can enter the Kingdom" (John 3:5). It is also infallible teaching that no person with only Original Sin and without personal sin is condemned to Hell.

 

[thomist]

One of my theology professors (in a real Catholic seminary!), in answer to just that question, said: “The Church commends them to the mercy of God.”

Pope John Paul II wrote that the souls of aborted children “are with the Lord, praying for their mothers’ conversions”.

Christ’s sacrifice extrends to all human beings - and is effective, barring conscious refusal of its effect.

Beyond this, the Church really hasn’t said much. But this is certainly enough for me to believe that infants who die before conscientious use of reason experience God’s Grace through Jesus’ Sacrifice and respond eagerly to that Love, and are thus ‘saved’. I know from decades of experience in this life that babies respond eagerly to authentic love at the natural level - how much more so it must be, it seems to me, at the supernatural level.