And people who have not even heard of Jesus? Do they “automatically go to hell” ? I heard a quote from one saint that the path to hell is stacked with the skulls of unbaptized babies or something like that… if so… isn’t that a little unfair?
I am positive that quote about infants’ skulls was never said by a Saint. Richard Baxter (1600s) and Jonathan Edwards (1700’s) are both responsible for this quote. Neither of whom were Catholic and especially not Saints.
Regarding unbaptized infants, the popular explanation, whch has now been de-emphasized but never abandoned, is that unbaptized infants go to Limbo. Limbo (meaning border, or edge) is outside of hell, and so the infants experience eternal happiness, although incomplete happiness because they are never united with God in heaven. While this is not a dogma of the Roman Catholic Church, it is one logical explanation. On the other hand, we maintain a hope that the unbaptized babies go straight to heaven. No Catholic (who has authority to teach w/in the Church) has ever promulgated the idea that unbaptized infants go to hell. So no worries there.
If someone is unbaptized and has heard of Christ, then they go to hell barring some special circumstances. These would include:
- they were about to be baptized, but died suddenly.
- They were martyred for the Roman Catholic Church
Keep in mind that Our Lord has informed us of the necessity of baptism for salvation.
Those who have not heard of Jesus are invincibly ignorant, assuming that they have no means of learning of Him via the internet or books of any sort. So if someone lives a moral life and obeys the natural law, without ever having a chance to learn of Christ, they may go to heaven if the Lord wills such a thing. We maintain this hope. Otherwise, if they have heard of Him and reject Him as their Lord, then they go to hell. Period.
In this day-and-age one would be hard-pressed to find an individual who can honestly claim invincible ignorance.
Judging by your name, I would assume that you are Catholic. As someone who has such profound and serious responsibility as yourself (considering you were given the one true faith that can save souls), you would be prudent never to claim that a brother or sister of ours has said something as heinous as your above quote. A simple Google search would have elucidated that the quote is from puritans, not Catholics.
Also, considering this is the year of faith and the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has asked us to read the Catechism of the Catholic Church, you should crack it open and learn about our Faith a little more. The Catechism is explicit on this subject.
I would just add to reiterate and to provide a general rule: Baptism is necessary for salvation. Period.
If someone is not baptized then they go to hell, unless they are infants who have not committed any sin against God personally. These either go to Limbo for eternity or heaven for eternity. The most logical explanation is that they go to Limbo for eternity. Otherwise, waiting to baptize infants would not be a mortal sin for parents.
God Bless
