“There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved.” Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, 1215 (D 430)
“We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.” Pope Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam, 1302 (D 468)
“The most Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can have a share in life eternal; but that they will go into the eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless before death they are joined with Her; and that so important is the unity of this ecclesiastical body that only those remaining within this unity can profit by the sacraments of the Church unto salvation, and they alone can receive an eternal recompense for their fasts, their almsgivings, their other works of Christian piety and the duties of a Christian soldier. No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pour out his blood for the Name of Christ, can be saved, unless he remain within the bosom and the unity of the Catholic Church.” Pope Eugene IV, Cantate Domino, 1441 (D 714)
Pope Pius IX, Nostis et Nobiscum #10 “See to it that the faithful have fixed firmly in their minds this dogma of our most holy religion: the absolute necessity of the Catholic faith for attaining salvation.”
Vatican I “This true Catholic faith, outside which no one can be saved, which I now freely profess and truly hold, I do promise and swear that I will most constantly keep and confess whole and inviolate with the help of God until the last breath of my life, and that I will take great care that it be held, taught, and preached by my inferiors and by those who are placed under my charge.” Papal Oath
Do you want more?
God has rules and if you don’t obey them you may not end up in heaven. Jesus appointed the Church to speak for Him until He returns on the last day. If you think you can disobey God and not pay the price for doing so, you will be in for a really big surprise at the end of your earthly life.What does any of that matter if I don’t have to follow the rules of the Catholic church to go to Heaven? Why should I worry about having to get up and go to church every Sunday morning, and go confess my sins if I can be saved without doing that?
That is not what Jesus says.I don’t think you have to believe in God to be saved.
He who believes in him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John (RSV) 3:18)
The Church teaches that we human cannot tell who is saved or not.I disagree. Isn’t the CCC seems supposed to be the truth about what the CC believes? And the words seem pretty clear to me. Are you saying they have another meaning?
The Church and her ministers have the correct interpretation.We’re told to read the CCC, but who is supposed to tell us what it means? As Catholics we rely on the CC to interpret scripture, so I would presume that the CCC is part of that interpretation. Why would it say something so clearly, but be interpreted as “it depends”
Makes no sense to me. Who has the correct interpretation?
What if I obey the rules without being Catholic? Does a person have to be Catholic to be saved? Earlier in this thread several posters said that you don’t have to be Catholic to be saved… So I’m just asking what the point is to being Catholic if it doesn’t matter in the end?God has rules and if you don’t obey them you may not end up in heaven. Jesus appointed the Church to speak for Him until He returns on the last day. If you think you can disobey God and not pay the price for doing so, you will be in for a really big surprise at the end of your earthly life.
Who told you it doesn’t make a difference. The Church possess the fulness of the truth. Following Truth is what gets you to heaven. Why would you follow the ways of someone else if they didn’t have the whole truth?So a person “gets to” go to Mass or they get to go to Hell?
I’m asking why be Catholic if it makes no difference concerning salvation?
No one is saved without being Catholic as there is only way to heaven and that through Jesus. Normally this happens through His Church.Can a person be saved without being Catholic? If they can, then what’s the point in being Catholic… Why not just believe in Jesus and not worry about rules?
Can the members of the Catholic church know the interpretation? Does catholic teaching require interpretation all the time?The Church and her ministers have the correct interpretation.
Only if you misinterpret it.All these fiery old gentlemen were very clear: no salvation outside the Church.
Conservative Catholics agree with them, except that article 847 of the CCC contradicts their belief.
Both are useless if you don’t follow them.Conservative Catholics want it both ways: they want the old doctrine but they also, to
their credit, recognize its inhuman cruelty. So they have added article 847, changing the
eschatological status of several billion people.
What presumption.
A shelf full of catechisms is of less value than a single beatitude.
read this thread. If people can be saved without being Catholic, then it does not make a difference.Who told you it doesn’t make a difference. The Church possess the fulness of the truth. Following Truth is what gets you to heaven. Why would you follow the ways of someone else if they didn’t have the whole truth?
So everyone has to be Catholic to go to Heaven?No one is saved without being Catholic as there is only way to heaven and that through Jesus. Normally this happens through His Church.
Following the Church’s rules is the way one is to “believe in Jesus”.
Already answered several times.read this thread. If people can be saved without being Catholic, then it does not make a difference.
So everyone has to be Catholic to go to Heaven?
That’s what everyone on this thread is looking for!!! Instead we’re getting replies that are 180 degrees apart or some that never answer the question at allThe Church teaches that we human cannot tell who is saved or not.
The Church and her ministers have the correct interpretation.
Answered by you? There are several different answers on this thread, that is the source of my confusion. I was just looking for a straightforward answer.Already answered several times.
What didn’t you understand about the answers?
Do you understand what it means to be Catholic? If you do, the answer was provided in posts 2, 3, 9, 17 and 61.Answered by you? There are several different answers on this thread, that is the source of my confusion. I was just looking for a straightforward answer.
Some answers have said you don’t need to be Catholic to be saved, others have said that you do. Which is it?
What?Do you understand what it means to be Catholic? If you do, the answer was provided in posts 2, 3, 9, 17 and 61.
No it wasn’t. Why do you think questions keep coming in. The answers in the posts you reference do not answer the basic question that keeps being asked. Can a protestant be saved?Do you understand what it means to be Catholic? If you do, the answer was provided in posts 2, 3, 9, 17 and 61.