marymary1975;12103627]I think you are just not reading and you are skipping things based on your biased vision. The principal doctrine of the church is that there is NO salvation outside of the catholic church. Conscious or not conscious there is no salvation outside the church. Many dont like it but that is the doctrine.
Good Evening MaryMary:
The Church, especially since Vatican II, has developed a thoroughly inclusive understanding of soteriology in relation to other faiths, that has an explicitly theological foundation and is not “political and business positions”.
The church does not have a “public relations” agenda that is substantially different from its actual doctrines. If it did, then it would be failing in its mission to preach the truth.
Many Catholics are not thoroughly accounted with the minutiae of church teachings, nor should one expect them to be, especially in such an opaque field of study as the salvation of non-believers and the “seeds of the word” doctrine of the Fathers which sees truth in other faiths implanted by the Holy Spirit.
St. Pope John Paul II explained that this approach to other religions is based upon sacred tradition, the church fathers and the very origins of the Christian revelation:
Quote:
"…You speak of many religions. Instead I will attempt to show the common fundamental element and the common root of these religions.
The Council defined the relationship of the Church to non-Christian religions in a specific document that begins with the words “Nostra aetate” (“In our time”). It is a concise and yet very rich document that authentically hands on the Tradition, faithful to the thought of the earliest Fathers of the Church.
From the beginning, Christian Revelation has viewed the spiritual history of man as including, in some way, all religions, thereby demonstrating the unity of humankind with regard to the eternal and ultimate destiny of man. The Council document speaks of this unity and links it with the current trend to bring humanity closer together through the resources available to our civilization. The Church sees the promotion of this unity as one of its duties: “There is only one community and it consists of all peoples. They have only one origin, since God inhabited the entire earth with the whole human race. And they have one ultimate destiny, God, whose providence, goodness, and plan for salvation extend to all. . . . Men turn to various religions to solve mysteries of the human condition, which today, as in earlier times, burden people’s hearts: the nature of man; the meaning and purpose of life; good and evil; the origin and purpose of suffering; the way to true happiness; death…and finally, the ultimate ineffable mystery which is the origin and destiny of our existence. From ancient times up to today all the various peoples have shared and continue to share an awareness of that enigmatic power that is present throughout the course of things and throughout the events of human life, and, in which, at times, even the Supreme Divinity or the Father is recognizable. This awareness and recognition imbue life with an intimate religious sense. Religions that are tied up with cultural progress strive to solve these issues with more refined concepts and a more precise language” (Nostra Aetate 1-2).
…
The words of the Council recall the conviction, long rooted in the Tradition, of the existence of the so-called semina Verbi (seeds of the Word), present in all religions. In the light of this conviction, the Church seeks to identify the semina Verbi present in the great traditions of the Far East, in order to trace a common path against the backdrop of the needs of the contemporary world. We can affirm that here the position of the Council is inspired by a truly universal concern…
In another passage the Council says that the Holy Spirit works effectively even outside the visible structure of the Church (cf. Lumen Gentium 13), making use of these very semina Verbi, that constitute a kind of common soteriological root present in all religions.
I have been convinced of this on numerous occasions, both while visiting the countries of the Far East and while meeting representatives of those religions, especially during the historic meeting at Assisi, where we found ourselves gathered together praying for peace.
Thus, instead of marveling at the fact that Providence allows such a great variety of religions, we should be amazed at the number of common elements found within them.…”
- Pope Saint John Paul II (1994), Crossing the Threshold of Hope
This is not a statement of PR bluff. He expressing a theological statement. If he is teaching error here then he is failing as a pontiff. Lumen Gentium is a dogmatic constitution and it explains that the Holy Spirit operates outside the church among non-believers. This is the document which states that Muslims worship the same God as Catholics. A dogmatic constitution of the Magisterium and not some paper produced by the Vatican City State.
Note this section:
Quote:
The Council defined the relationship of the Church to non-Christian religions in a specific document that begins with the words “Nostra aetate” (“In our time”). It is a concise and yet very rich document that authentically hands on the Tradition, faithful to the thought of the earliest Fathers of the Church.
From the beginning, Christian Revelation has viewed the spiritual history of man as including, in some way, all religions
It utterly contradicts what you have said above.
I actually would say that brother Servant is perceiving something that you are not.
“…Everyone who has joined the ranks of Christ must be a glowing point of light in the world, a nucleus of love, a leaven of the whole mass. He will be so in proportion to his degree of spiritual union with God…”
- Blessed Pope John XXIII, Pacem in Terris (1963)
