Forgiveness outside of the Church?

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Catholic_Cadet

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Here’s my question:
Aside from Baptism, is it possible for a Protestant to obtain forgiveness of mortal sins (or, for those raised believing in Once Saved Always Saved, whether they can commit one at all), since they do not have confession? My guess would be yes, on grounds of invincible ignorance regarding the methods of forgiveness (but with one heck of a long time in purgatory).
 
It’s my understanding that if someone outside of the Church were to make a perfect act of contrition then they could be restored to grace. For a Catholic, perfect contrition also restores one to grace but as I understand it would have to entail some sort of desire for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. For a non-Catholic “invincibly ignorant” of the Church or God’s desire for him to be a member, presumably this desire for the Sacrament is not needed.

A state of perfect contrition for one’s sin is not necessarily the easiest thing to attain, and therefore the gift of the Sacrament of Reconciliation (requiring only attrition for one’s sin) is an immense gift from God, and an invaluable aid as we work out our salvation, attaining not only forgiveness for our sin but an increase in Sanctifying Grace to help us fight further sin and strengthen our desire for God.
 
Read documents relating to salvation ouside of the Church very carefully, it applies the possibility of salvation to those outside of the Church and it relates mostly to those who have not heard of Christ so to speak, for those who are adults in other Christian type denominations it has always been the attituded of the Church (if you read historical documents), that there is very little chance of salvation outside of the Catholic faith for non catholics (read protestants etc)

Don’t let anyone else tell you otherwise, The treatment of many a protestant in the past centuries testify to the above. The main reason they were treated that way was because the Church believed that people leaving the catholic Church and converting to protestant faiths cost those very people their salvation.

The Church of recent times has been very soft in its use of language, go back to the earliest Church and up to recent decades and you will see that the Church had a most forceful view and more or less a most definitive view of the result of people becoming non catholic.

In Christ

Tim hayes
 
The way I understand it is as such:
Code: 
 The sacrament of confession is the normal means of being forgiven of mortal sins, however, if there is something obstructing that person from going, that person desires to go, and he has perfect contrition in his heart, then that person has been reconciled to God.

In the case of protestants, they very well may have perfect contrition in there heart.  Now if they don't know that they need to go to confession, that's certainly something that obstructs them from going, and if they desire God's forgiveness, they then implicitly very much do desire to go to confesssion.

So yeah, non-Catholic Christians can be forgiven of mortal sins, it's just a much more uncertain thing for them, whereas if they were a Catholic, they'd be much more certain of God's forgiveness, and therefore much more assured of their salvation.
 
Catholic Cadet:
Here’s my question:
Aside from Baptism, is it possible for a Protestant to obtain forgiveness of mortal sins (or, for those raised believing in Once Saved Always Saved, whether they can commit one at all), since they do not have confession? My guess would be yes, on grounds of invincible ignorance regarding the methods of forgiveness (but with one heck of a long time in purgatory).
Click to expand...
  1. Perefect contrition
  2. Desire to Confess, doesn’t matter if the are protestant. However such a desire (in votum, really) may be implicit, that is if they knew it was required they would have done it. Not have might have done, or would have had a vague desire to do it, btu would have. In votum means a vow
They would also have to be invincibly ignorant as regard the moral obligation to Confess sins. On top of that, they would have to be contrite for all mortal sins, including their heresy and schism and failure to elicit the faith, or else be invincibly ignorant on all of these (yes one could be invincibly ignorant of Confession, but not of their here, etc).
 
Ichthus said:
1. Perefect contrition
  1. Desire to Confess, doesn’t matter if the are protestant. However such a desire (in votum, really) may be implicit, that is if they knew it was required they would have done it. Not have might have done, or would have had a vague desire to do it, btu would have. In votum means a vow
They would also have to be invincibly ignorant as regard the moral obligation to Confess sins. On top of that, they would have to be contrite for all mortal sins, including their heresy and schism and failure to elicit the faith, or else be invincibly ignorant on all of these (yes one could be invincibly ignorant of Confession, but not of their here, etc).
Click to expand...

So in practical terms, all Protestants are damned?
 
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