Hey CatholicMom,
The Church teaches as dogma, “no salvation outside the Church” and it means just that. However, there is a bit of nuance in this dogma and the controversy which surrounds it can be divided into two issues:
Invincible Ignorance and what is commonly called* Baptism of desire and of Blood*.
The first one, invincible ignorance, was an issue brought up by Pope Pius XI in Singulari Quadem,
“For it must be held by faith that outside the Apostolic Roman Church, no one can be saved; that this is the only ark of salvation; that he who shall not have entered therein will perish in the flood; but, on the other hand, it is necessary to hold for certain that they who labor in ignorance of the true religion, if this ignorance is invincible, are not stained by any guilt **in this matter ** in the eyes of God. Now, in truth, who would arrogate so much to himself as to mark the limits of such an ignorance, because of the nature and variety of peoples, regions, innate dispositions, and of so many other things? For, in truth, when released from these corporeal chains “we shall see God as He is” [1 John 3:2], we shall understand perfectly by how close and beautiful a bond divine mercy and justice are united; but, as long as we are on earth, weighed down by this mortal mass which blunts the soul, let us hold most firmly that, in accordance with Catholic teaching, there is “one God, one faith, one baptism” [Eph. 4:5];it is unlawful to proceed further in inquiry.”
Here, Pope Pius XI has told us that we must believe that outside the Apostolic Roman Church, there is no salvation. He also tells us that those who through no fault of their own, do not come into the Church, are not held responsible
for that before the eyes of God (mortal sin requires sufficient knowledge).
What it does
not say is that these people will automatically be given a pass; Pope Pius XI just make’s a statement of fact: that those who through no fault of their own, do not enter the Church do not commit a sin by not doing so.
He also makes an important point at the end; that we must teach that there is “one God, one faith, one baptism” and that
it is unlawful to speculate any further.
The second issue revolves around Baptism of Desire and Baptism of Blood. This is the teaching that someone can be united to the Church (in cases of emergency) through the desire (votum) for baptism. And that those who are unbaptized who die for Christ can be saved. This is an issue where a theologian from Boston, Fr. Feeney, got into a little trouble with.
That’s it, for now anyways, (don’t want to make it too long) since chances are, this topic will produce a lot of responses.
And believe me, they usually do.
Miguel.