Catholic group excommunicated for teaching salvation wrong?

[Rocko414]

I was listening to my local Catholic radio station the other day. I’m not sure what the program was but the guest mentioned that in the 1950’s there was a Catholic group that was excommunicated for teaching that only Catholics are saved. They were basically taking the “no salvation outside the Catholic Church” idea too far. He didn’t go into much detail, but it really sparked my curiosity.

I would really like to know more about this because it could be a really good point to propose to my uncle, who has fallen into schism and now believes (for many reasons) the post Vatican II Church is not valid. One of his points is that the Church used to teach “no salvation outside the Catholic Church” but after Vatican II it teaches otherwise. I tried explaining to him that the teaching has never changed and that it has always been understood that while salvation comes from the Catholic Church it is not limited to its formal members and that if a protestant were saved they would find it was by means of the Catholic Church. But he wouldn’t accept that.

So if I had something solid to show him like the excommunication of a group of Catholics who taught exactly what he believes is true - BEFORE Vatican II took place - maybe we could get somewhere. But this little bit of information I have now won’t be very useful. I hope someone here will be able to point me in the right direction to find more information about it.

Thank you!

 

[Steve40]

I was listening to my local Catholic radio station the other day. I’m not sure what the program was but the guest mentioned that in the 1950’s there was a Catholic group that was excommunicated for teaching that only Catholics are saved. They were basically taking the “no salvation outside the Catholic Church” idea too far. He didn’t go into much detail, but it really sparked my curiosity.

I would really like to know more about this because it could be a really good point to propose to my uncle, who has fallen into schism and now believes (for many reasons) the post Vatican II Church is not valid. One of his points is that the Church used to teach “no salvation outside the Catholic Church” but after Vatican II it teaches otherwise. I tried explaining to him that the teaching has never changed and that it has always been understood that while salvation comes from the Catholic Church it is not limited to its formal members and that if a protestant were saved they would find it was by means of the Catholic Church. But he wouldn’t accept that.

So if I had something solid to show him like the excommunication of a group of Catholics who taught exactly what he believes is true - BEFORE Vatican II took place - maybe we could get somewhere. But this little bit of information I have now won’t be very useful. I hope someone here will be able to point me in the right direction to find more information about it.

Thank you!

The Church Doctrine “Outside The Church There is No Salvation” is in the Catechism still today. The basis of this teaching is in the Grace of the Sacrements for the sake of our salvation. As Scriipture says

1. Unless you are born of water and spirit you won’t be saved. Jesus is refering to the waters of Baptism here, Baptism is necessary for salvation.
2. Those sins which the successors of the Apostals retain are retained and those forgiven are forgiven. How can we recieve the Sacrement of Penence and the Grace of God’s forgiveness if they do not hear our sins. Confession can be necessary for salvation.
3. Unless you eat His Body and Drink His Blood you shall have no life within you. Recieving Christ in the Flesh is necessary for salvation.

Anyone who teaches that an individual is saved apart from the Sacrements attacks the salvific reality of the Sacrements that Christ has given us.

 

[jkpreece]

The Church still believes this today. The way I was taught (and if I am wrong, please correct me)was that it is a culpability issue. If the person realizes that the Catholic Church is the one and true Church yet that person remains outside, s/he is commiting grave sin for many reasons. The other portion of this is that God alone knows the heart, therefore he alone has final say on the judgment of the soul.

 

[PaulinVA]

They were the Feeneyites, who followed a Father Feeney up in New England.

 

[jpm1977]

I would look here, and you can see that early Church fathers held it was normatively necessary to be a part of the Catholic church to be saved, there could be salvation outside the Church. The main point was that if you knowingly rejected the Church knowing it was the truth, you couldn’t be.

I quote one part of the article here:

while it is normatively necessary to be a Catholic to be saved (see CCC 846; Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 14), there are exceptions, and it is possible in some circumstances for people to be saved who have not been fully initiated into the Catholic Church (CCC 847).

Notice that the same Fathers who declare the normative necessity of being Catholic also declare the possibility of salvation for some who are not Catholics.

These can be saved by what later came to be known as “baptism of blood” or " baptism of desire" (for more on this subject, see the Fathers Know Best tract, The Necessity of Baptism).

The Fathers likewise affirm the possibility of salvation for those who lived before Christ and who were not part of Israel, the Old Testament People of God.

However, for those who knowingly and deliberately (that is, not out of innocent ignorance) commit the sins of heresy (rejecting divinely revealed doctrine) or schism (separating from the Catholic Church and/or joining a schismatic church), no salvation would be possible until they repented and returned to live in Catholic unity.

If your uncle is in schism, he could be in as much danger as those non-Catholics he thinks are unequivocally damned. Rather than point to Vatican II (which he probably rejects), I would point to the early positions of the Church dating back to antiquity as cited in the link.

Hope this helps!

 

[Rocko414]

Thank you all for your replies. It was most helpful!

 

[Steve40]

They were the Feeneyites, who followed a Father Feeney up in New England.

Feeney was never excommunicated. I think he was sensured and that is not because what he was say was docrinally incorrect. It was because he disobeyed his superiors and continued to teach Outside the Church There Is No Salvation. I don’t think he was accused of teaching error just disobedience.

His group was growing and it bothered some prominant Protestants. They in turn pressured Church leadership and the leadership sided with world.

Fr Feeney’s group still exists and they are in communion with their Bishop and the Church. Go to the link below to see their publications.

saintbenedict.com/the_order/brothers.php