Yes, how well you understand! Praise God! This, among others, is the Church’s teaching:
Pius IX, in his encyclical Quanto conficiamur moerore addressed to the Italian bishops, said:
It is known to us and to you that those who are in invincible ignorance of our most holy religion, but who observe carefully the natural law, and the precepts graven by God upon the hearts of all men, and who being disposed to obey God lead an honest and upright life, may, aided by the light of divine grace, attain to eternal life; for God who sees clearly, searches and knows the heart, the disposition, the thoughts and intentions of each, in His supreme mercy and goodness by no means permits that anyone suffer eternal punishment, who has not of his own free will fallen into sin.
The scriptures are full of examples of Jesus’ compassion, healing, and forgiveness of sin. These few come to mind, and I note strongly that Jesus did not send these people afterwards to the Jewish leaders, commanding that they become a Jew, in order to be officially part of His flock. I note also in this first example from Luke, that Jesus angered the Jews when He explained that outsiders received God’s blessings, and not those in Israel. I suspect it was a matter of the heart being “circumcised”, as you put it.
Luke 4:25, In truth I say to you, there were many widows in the days of Elias in Israel, when heaven was shut up three years and six months, when there was a great famine throughout all the earth. And to none of them was Elias sent, but to Sarepta of Sidon, to a widow woman. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet: and none of them was cleansed but Naaman the Syrian. And all they in the synagogue, hearing these things, were filled with anger.
Luke 8:26, Now the man, out of whom the devils were departed, besought him that he might be with him. But Jesus sent him away, saying: Return to thy house, and tell how great things God hath done to thee. And he went through the whole city, publishing how great things Jesus had done to him.
[Jesus did not permit him to follow him, nor did he instruct him to become a Jew and be circumcised. He became an apostle in his own land, and although scripture does not teach us what happened to these folks, I rather doubt that after the graced encounter with Our Lord, that they failed to live uprightly and become damned.]
Jn. 4:28, The woman therefore left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men there: Come, and see a man who has told me all things whatsoever I have done. Is not he the Christ? They went therefore out of the city, and came unto him.
Lk. 7:47, Wherefore I say to thee: Many sins are forgiven her, because she hath loved much. But to whom less is forgiven, he loveth less. And he said to her: Thy sins are forgiven thee. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves: Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman: Thy faith hath made thee safe, go in peace.
[If this woman was Mary Magdalene, as we believe, we know she became a saint – yet she, too, was not instructed to “go therefore and become a Jew.”]
I’m not advocating that one should not enter the Catholic Church if they receive the gift faith from God to do so, and I believe we are entrusted with a mission to evangelize as far as we are able. However, I oppose those who, from these examples of Jesus, say that the scriptures *prove *entrance into the RCC is the only way of salvation.
God bless you.
