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PJM
Guest
Catholic sins as per Christ Mandate [John 20:19-23] are forgiven through the Sacrament of Confession.
HOW ARE NON-CATHOLIC CHRISTYIANS SINS FORGIVEN?
HOW ARE NON-CATHOLIC CHRISTYIANS SINS FORGIVEN?
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Will_B
Guest
By the Grace of God, through His Mercy.
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R_C
Guest
The ordinary means of forgiving sins is the Sacrament 
The only clear indication of hope we find - as far as I know - is a statement from s. Thomas Aquinas: “Deus non alligatur Sacramentis”.
Which means that God established the Sacraments through Christ as the ordinary means of sanctification and salvation, but His own hands are not tied by His own sacraments.
The Church acknowledges that a Christian born in a non-Catholic ecclesiastic community is not in formal heresy, but a brother in Christ, for he did not abandon the Catholic doctrine to follow an error or errors.
Therefore we assume that all non-Catholic Christians born into their communities embrace Christ to the best of their ability, but the error within their particular doctrine keeps them from knowing about the Sacrament of Reconciliation and recurring to it.
Holy Church teaches that contrition arising from sorrow from having offended God (rather than merely from fear of the pains of hell), united to the intention of confessing as soon as possible, remits mortal sins. However, God does not ask for the impossible: therefore we could stretch our ecumenism so far as to say that it is conceivable that the Lord would mercifully forgive those who sincerely repent of their sins (even mortal) but do not seek confession in good faith due to the errors found in their doctrine. We trust in God’s divine providence for them just as we do for non-Christians who are partially or entirely unaware of the Gospel and/or of the Church.
Our Church Fathers were not so accommodating when referring to those who, having been members of the Catholic Church, willfully abandoned her to join other assemblies.
The only clear indication of hope we find - as far as I know - is a statement from s. Thomas Aquinas: “Deus non alligatur Sacramentis”.
Which means that God established the Sacraments through Christ as the ordinary means of sanctification and salvation, but His own hands are not tied by His own sacraments.
The Church acknowledges that a Christian born in a non-Catholic ecclesiastic community is not in formal heresy, but a brother in Christ, for he did not abandon the Catholic doctrine to follow an error or errors.
Therefore we assume that all non-Catholic Christians born into their communities embrace Christ to the best of their ability, but the error within their particular doctrine keeps them from knowing about the Sacrament of Reconciliation and recurring to it.
Holy Church teaches that contrition arising from sorrow from having offended God (rather than merely from fear of the pains of hell), united to the intention of confessing as soon as possible, remits mortal sins. However, God does not ask for the impossible: therefore we could stretch our ecumenism so far as to say that it is conceivable that the Lord would mercifully forgive those who sincerely repent of their sins (even mortal) but do not seek confession in good faith due to the errors found in their doctrine. We trust in God’s divine providence for them just as we do for non-Christians who are partially or entirely unaware of the Gospel and/or of the Church.
Our Church Fathers were not so accommodating when referring to those who, having been members of the Catholic Church, willfully abandoned her to join other assemblies.
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PJM
Guest
=R_C;10948401]The ordinary means of forgiving sins is the Sacrament
So how CAN God treat them differently than he Demands for Catholics?
Does NOT God have to make judgment based on what HE makes possible for one to know; rather than what one chooses to accept?
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clem456
Guest
God is God. He does as He wills, most of which we cannot comprehend or understand. Why ask why? God gives us confession, we can rejoice in that. If God also wishes to be generous in his mercy to others without confession, it is also an occasion to rejoice. It is no skin off our backs, as they say. It is skin off Jesus’ back.
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PJM
Guest
So then why did Jesus Create the Sacrament of Confession as a mandate?
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Ad_Orientem
Guest
Catholics aren’t all treated the same, either. Does God expect an infant to recite the Lord’s prayer, or a mentally retarded person to know the Creed? Does he expect a 90-year-old man to do the same physical mortifications as a 30-year-old? What if someone gets hit by a bus on the way to Confession, or dies a catechumen?
Non-Catholics have an even worse disability, spiritually speaking. It would not at all be out of keeping with God’s character to give them a certain leniency, and extraordinary helps, so long as they remain, through no fault of their own, out of the Church. Staying out deliberately is another matter.
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ccmcmg
Guest
Is it because we have knowingly embraced and accepted the Catholic Church and Her teachings which are the truth, that we must held to that standard?
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PJM
Guest
Nicely done
THANK you,
Patrick
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PJM
Guest
So then my CATHOLIC friend, why did Jesus Institute the Sacrament of Confession?
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clem456
Guest
Correct me if I am wrong…The assumption you seem to be making is that because Jesus instituted the forgiveness of sins through Confession, God’s mercy and forgiveness is bound by that. The Church does not hold that position.
For me as a Catholic, aware of the sacrament of confession, I must attend, I WANT to attend confession. But if God wishes to be merciful to the Non-Catholic in ways knowable to Him only, that’s none of my concern, and let’s praise God that he is merciful.
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PJM
Guest
God CAN do any good thing
But using Priest follows the Tradition of the OT and exist because it is what God Wills
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