Right, New Avent addressed the last sentence also.
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Last paragraph is a point acknowledged by St Thomas, a question pondered a very long time and imho correctly applied, and often incorrectly understood. We have to acknowledge this a “possibility” in what we do not know for fact.
In the year 2012 do you know any one saved by invincible ignorance, the baptism of desire, a good conscience, seeds of the word, imperfect communion with the Church?
If you do not know any of these cases in 2012 can they be considered exceptions to the dogma extra ecclesiam nulla salus and the Syllabus of Errors?
Thus the issue is that we do not know who on earth will be saved by invincible ignorance, so not all need to convert but only those who know; who are not in invincible ignorance. This is the catch. Only God can judge who knew what. and did not. Thus the premise being we cannot condemn souls out of our assumption.
For example this point has been argued with Protestants and “wrongly”, I might add, that “they know” the Church exists and therefore through their own free-will ignore the teaching of the Church to their demise. We cannot know, what another knows to repeat.
Lumen Gentium is correct in saying only those ‘who know’.
And this is not new theology or as suggested a “contradiction” and would have without a doubt been know by the Pope at the time of the Bull in question.
St. Augustine’s position is also consistent with Vatican II. "When we speak of within and without in relation to the Church, it is the position of the heart that we must consider, not that of the body…. All who are within [the Church] in heart are saved in the unity of the ark (On Baptism, Against the Donatists 5:28 [39] [A.D. 394]).
Clement of Rome, wrote, “Let us go through all generations and learn that in generation after generation the Master has given a place of repentance for those willing to turn to him. Those who repented for their sins, appeased God in praying, and received salvation, even though they were aliens to God” (Letter to the Corinthians, no. 7)
St Paul teaches we are judged by our intentions. “Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. Then every man will receive his commendation from God” (1 Corinthians 4:5).
St Thomas as I posted his comment above refers to the Apostle Paul here.
Romans 2:13-16, “For it is not the hearers of the Law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the Law who will be justified. When Gentiles who have not the Law do by nature what the Law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the Law. They show that what the Law requires is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or perhaps excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.”
No Salvation outside the Church is to be understood as the Church itself understands it. For our Lord did not leave it to private judgment to explain what is contained in the deposit of faith, but to the doctrinal authority of the Church.
Justin Martyr - We have been taught that Christ is the first-begotten of God, and we have declared him to be the Logos of which all mankind partakes [John 1:9].
Those, therefore, who lived according to reason [Greek, logos} were really Christians, even though they were thought to be atheists, such as, among the Greeks, Socrates, Heraclitus, and others like them. . . .
Those who lived before Christ but did not live according to reason [logos] were wicked men, and enemies of Christ, and murderers of those who did live according to reason [logos], whereas those who lived then or who live now according to reason [logos] are Christians. Such as these can be confident and unafraid (First Apology 46 [A.D. 151]).
The Early Church Fathers taught that those outside of the Catholic Church had no hope of salvation. That is, if they heard the gospel and knowingly rejected it. However, they made an allowance for those who, through no fault of their own, didn’t know any better. They didn’t see God as being legalistic. Rather they saw a merciful God who judged men by what they did with what they had. Or as Paul teaches us in 1 Corinthians 4:5, men will be judged by the purposes of their hearts as noted above.
Eastern Orthodox bishop has expressed this doctrine as follows:
Extra Ecclesiam nulla salus. All the categorical strength and point of this aphorism lies in its tautology. Outside the Church there is no salvation, because salvation is the Church" (G. Florovsky, “Sobornost: the Catholicity of the Church”, in The Church of God, p. 53). Does it therefore follow that anyone who is not visibly within the Church is necessarily damned? Of course not; still less does it follow that everyone who is visibly within the Church is necessarily saved. As Augustine wisely remarked: “How many sheep there are without, how many wolves within!” (Homilies on John, 45, 12) While there is no division between a “visible” and an “invisible Church”, yet there may be members of the Church who are not visibly such, but whose membership is known to God alone. If anyone is saved, he must in some sense be a member of the Church; in what sense, we cannot always say. —Kallistos Ware, as linked already in this thread.
