Which dogmas do we have that with certainty excludes universalism?

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WOW! What arrogance!
You have NOT shown a Church teaching on this matter and yes if there was such a teaching it would be in the CCC.
 
Even when Jesus says of Judas, the traitor, “It would be better for that man if he had never been born,” (Mt. 26:24), His words do not allude for certain to eternal damnation.

This is the explicit teaching of Pope St. John Paul II from Crossing the Threshold of Hope. He is apparently at least sympathetic toward those of us who, like his friend von Balthasar, hold out hope for universal salvation. But he also acknowledges the tension, trying to justify that hope against certain passages of Scripture:

Can God, who has loved man so much, permit the man who rejects Him to be condemned to eternal torment? And yet, the words of Christ are unequivocal. In Matthew’s Gospel He speaks clearly of those who will go to eternal punishment (cf. Mt. 25:46). Who will these be? The Church has never made any pronouncement in this regard.

So it seems to me that we are both left with only hope and not certainty either way; those of us who hope that hell will be empty, and those of us who hold the conviction that hell will teeming with lost souls. In reality, both positions are just speculation. I prefer to hope for the salvation of all. As Pope St. John Paul II concludes:

Before all else, it is Love that judges. God, who is love, judges through love. It is Love that demands purification, before man can be made ready for that union with God which is his ultimate vocation and destiny. Perhaps this is enough. Many theologians, in the East and West, including contemporary theologians, have devoted their studies to the Last Things. The church still has its eschatological awareness. It still leans man to eternal life. If the church should cease to do so, it would cease being faithful to its vocation, to the New Covenant, which God has made with it in Jesus Christ.
 
MarkRome said:
Please ask your priest or bishop if the Church has declared that Judas is in hell. Or just search Catholic Answers. The Church has not declared anyone to be in hell, including Judas.
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The Church does not identify the particular damned humans by name, however it does teach that hell exists and those that died in mortal sin are there. One should not cease to hope for his personal salvation from God while alive.
1035 The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, “eternal fire.” …
1864 “Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” …
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MNathaniel said:
Shall I go on?
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But aren’t these objections like the other brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son, who essentially says to the Father, “I was always good, and yet you you reward my brother, who was so very bad.”? But the Prodigal Son did repent. Who’s to say that at the moment of death, each of us who die in sin will have our eyes opened by God’s grace, and cleared of all the impediments of this life, so that the choice for God will appear so obvious, so irresistible? Who’s to say that at that moment of death all who haven’t already done so will repent, when faced with the full light of God’s love and mercy? To deny this possibility is to deny the power of God, who wants that none should perish but that all attain eternal life.

I’m also reminded of the parable of the workers in the vineyard, where the ones who arrive late get the same reward as the ones who started work early. When the early workers object, the owner tells them he is free to do as he so pleases. Is this not also a teaching on the Last Things, that we should not hold a grudge against those who are saved by the skin of their teeth, saved at the last possible moment?

You might object that this is not fair, and I would reply that the necessary purification of Purgatory will see to justice. It is certainly better to leave this life not needing such an extreme purification.
 
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By dismissing the teaching of Pope St. John Paul II, and refusing to even consider the proposal of Hans Urs von Balthasar, you seem to want only the Church of an earlier time, selecting only those teachings which support your position, and not the Church which we are in now. That is your choice. But the hope of universal salvation has always existed since the beginning of the Church. Think of St. Gregory of Nyssa, for example, who unlike Origen was never condemned for his views on the salvation of all.
 
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Your conclusions are in conflict with the full teaching of the Church. You are, however, free to hold such an opinion. I freely admit that it has been the majority opinion throughout time, thanks in large part to St. Augustine, though I personally cannot understand why anyone would want to see a full hell.

But the hope of universal salvation is valid, and so the possibility must also be valid. I know this is so, or else the Church would have issued an official monitum, or warning, against von Balthasar and his book, Dare We Hope. It never has, and I dare say it never will, because the hope is valid, just as the possibility is valid.
 
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If it is a Church teaching ALL Catholics would be bound to believe it on pain of mortal sin and that is NOT the case.
Please don’t refer to private revelations of saints because they are not Church teachings.
Commentaries of Scripture, in the Church Fathers etc etc are not Church teachings.
Nothing you have shown us specifically states the Church teaches Judas is in Hell.
The Church does NOT, I repeat NOT, make any declarations/pronouncements that any specific individual is in Hell.
 
Vico said:
One should not cease to hope for his personal salvation from God while alive.
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Since we can’t know the state of an individual’s soul upon death, we can still hope and pray for his salvation even after his death.
 
But it says punishment, not judgment. It isn’t Church dogma that Judas is in hell. You may have your opinion about it, but the Church hasn’t said so.
 
You do NOT know church teaching better than a sainted POPE and a likely candidate for Doctor of the church in the future due to the immensity and brilliance of his works! Incredible!
 
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If a bishop or priest teaches that Judas is in hell then he is expressing his personal non-infallible opinion on the matter.
 
It is not. Your interpretation of scripture is not scripture. And the church, especially in the popes, and NOT you, is the legitimate interpreter of scripture. You do not know catholicism better than St. John Paul II. Enough sed.
 
And yet the church teaches private revelation is not infallible or binding in any way. You do not know Catholicism better than the saint and brilliant teacher and pope, our beloved St. JP II.
 
Your interpretations do not stand against a papal teaching. Whatever you quoted, your understanding of it has zero weight against our beloved pope and St, JP II. Quote all you want, we are not Sola scriptura followers and we know whose interpretations matter most. (Hint: Not yours!)
 
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MarkRome said:
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Vico:
One should not cease to hope for his personal salvation from God while alive.
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Since we can’t know the state of an individual’s soul upon death, we can still hope and pray for his salvation even after his death.
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The feeling of hope, yes, but prayers for salvation will not be needed for the saved or damned (as there is an immediate judgment). Prayers for the saved for the remission of temporal punishment in purgatory are useful.
 
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Fair enough, but Pope St. John Paul II knew all that when he taught the church has not declared Judas to be in hell. So his interpretation of all that follows.
 
Their opinions are not Church teachings.

St Thomas Aquinas did not believe in the Immaculate Conception.
 
Again I mention St. Gregory of Nyssa, venerated in both the Eastern and Western Churches as one of the Cappadocian Fathers, who fully expected an eventual universal salvation, and was never condemned for expressing this expectation. It was more than just hope with him, and the Church has allowed it to stand because he expressed it better than Origen. His teaching on universal salvation has never been fully extinguished, though as you point out, many have tried. The fact that this hope of universalism is experiencing a renewal today gives me much joy.
 
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I prefer this:

'O God! If I worship You for fear of Hell, burn me in Hell; and if I worship You in hope of Paradise, exclude me from Paradise.

‘But if I worship You for Your Own sake, grudge me not Your everlasting Beauty.’ (Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya al-Qaysiyya).

Agreed, the Exalted is not a liar!
 
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