| Traditional Roman Catholicism |
| The Only Way To Heaven |
"He that shall find me shall find Life, and shall have salvation from the Lord." (Prov.
8:35)
(From the Mass of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Sept. 8)
OUTSIDE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH THERE IS NO SALVATION
"Outside the Church there is no salvation" is a doctrine of the Catholic Faith that was
taught by Jesus Christ to His Apostles, preached by the Fathers, defined by popes
and councils and piously believed by the faithful in every age of the Church. This tract
contains some of the proofs of this dogma which all Catholics are bound to believe, or
else forfeit their own salvation.
THE HIGHEST AUTHORITY OF THE CHURCH
"There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside of which no one at all is
saved." (Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, 1215.)
"We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the
salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff." (Pope
Boniface VIII, the Bull Unam Sanctum, 1302.)
"The most Holy Roman Catholic Church firmly believes, professes, and preaches that
none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews
and heretics and schismatics, can have a share in life eternal; but that they will go into
the eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless before death
they are joined with Her; and that so important is the unity of this ecclesiastical body
that only those remaining within this unity can profit by the sacraments of the Church
unto salvation, and they alone can recieve an eternal recompense for their fasts, their
almsgivings, their other works of Christian piety and the duties of a Christian soldier.
No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pour out his blood
for the Name of Christ, can be saved, unless he remain within the bosom and unity of
the Catholic Church." (Pope Eugene IV, the Bull Cantate Domino, 1441.)
THE FATHERS AND DOCTORS OF THE CHURCH
Before the popes infallibly defined this dogma, it was believed by all the faithful. Here
is just a handful of passages from the works of the Christian writers through the
centuries, showing that they believed this dogma:
Saint Cyprian (died A.D. 258): "He who has turned his back on the Church of Christ
shall not come to the rewards of Christ; he is an alien, a worldling, an enemy. You
cannot have God for your Father if you have not the Church for your mother. Our Lord
warns us when he says: 'he that is not with Me is against Me, and he that gathereth
not with Me scattereth.' Whosoever breaks the peace and harmony of Christ acts
against Christ; whoever gathers elsewhere than in the Catholic Church scatters the
Church of Christ." (Unity of the Catholic Church)
Lactantius (died A.D. 310): "It is the Catholic Church alone which retains true worship.
This is the foundation of truth, this is the abode of the Faith, this is the temple of God;
into which if anyone shall not enter, or from which anyone shall go out, he is a
stranger to the hope of life and eternal salvation." (The Divine Institutes)
Saint Augustine (died A.D. 430): "No man can find salvation except in the Catholic
Church. Outside the Catholic Church one can have everything except salvation. One
can have honor, one can have the sacraments, one can sing alleluia, one can answer
amen, one can have faith in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Ghost, and preach it too, but never can one find salvation except in the Catholic
Church." (Sermo ad Caesariensis Ecclesiae plebem)
Saint Fulgentius (died A.D. 533): "Most firmly hold and never doubt that not only
pagans, but also all Jews, all heretics, and all schismatics who finish this life outside
of the Catholic Church, will go into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
angels." (Enchriridion Patristicum)
Pope Pelagius II (A.D. 578-590): "Consider the fact that whoever has not been in the
peace and unity of the Church cannot have the Lord. Although given over to flames
and fires, they burn, or, thrown to wild beasts, they lay down their lives, there will not
be for them that crown of faith but the punishment of faithlessness. Such a one can
be slain, he cannot be crowned. If slain outside the Church, he cannot attain the
rewards of the Church." (Denzinger 246-247)
Pope Saint Gregory the Great (A.D. 590-604): "Now the holy Church universal
proclaims that God cannot be truly worshipped saving within herself, asserting that all
they that are without her shall never be saved." (Moralia)
Saint Thomas Aquinas (died A.D. 1274): "There is no enterning into salvation outside
the Church, just as in the time of the deluge there was none outside the ark, which
denotes the Church." (Summa Theologiae)
Saint Peter Canisius (died A.D. 1597): "Outside of this communion - as outside the
ark on Noah - there is absolutely no salvation for mortals: not for Jews or pagans who
never recieved the faith of the Church, nor for heretics who, having recieved it,
corrupted it; neither for the excommunicated or those who for any other serious cause
deserve to be put away and separated from the body of the Church like pernicious
members...for the rule of Cyprian and Augustine is certain: he will not have God for
his Father who would not have the Church for his mother." (Cathechismi Latini et
Germanici)
THE BIBLE
The same truth that is taught above by the Fathers and doctors of the Church is also
attested to in Holy Scripture. All of the following verses teach us that Faith, Baptism
(the entrance into the Church), and subjection to the authority of the Church are all
necessary for salvation.
"And He said to them: Go ye into the whole world, and preach the Gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not
shall be condemned." (Mark 16:15-16)
"Jesus answered: Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water
and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3:5)
"But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyeself in the
house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
(1 Tim. 3:15)
"And if he will not hear them: tell the church. And if he will not hear the church, let him
be to thee as the heather and the publican." (Matt. 18:17)
"And Jesus coming spoke to them saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in
earth. Going therefore teach ye all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold I am with you all days, even until the
consummation of the world." (Matt. 28:18-20)
"And I say to thee: That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the
kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also
in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in
heaven." (Matt. 16:18)
"Without Faith, it is impossible to please God." (Heb. 11:16)
"Whosoever shall not recieve you, nor hear your words, going forth out of that house
or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it shall be more
tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgement, than for that city." (Matt.
10:14)
CATHOLIC DOGMA
What is a dogma of the Catholic Faith? The Maryknoll Catholic Dictionary of 1965
defines it as "A truth of faith or morals authoritatively proposed by the Church as
revealed by God and requiring the belief of the faithful." Just as Jesus Christ is
"yesterday, and today; and the same forever," (Heb. 13:8) so are His teachings,
which the Church infallibly transmits to Her children. Dogma cannot change.
In his encylical Pascendi Dominici Gregis (1907), Pope St. Pius X condemned a
heresy he called "Modernism," which is still with us today. In the encylical, the Holy
Father said Modernism teaches us that "the formulas which we call dogma must be
subject to these vicissitudes, and are, therefore, liable to change. Thus the way is
open to the intrinsic evolution of dogma. Here we have an immense structure of
sophisms which ruin and wreck all religion." According to the only canonized pope of
the last 500 years, the idea that dogma can change will ruin all religion. Thus, it is
forbidden for any Catholic to even think dogma can change.
Though this liberal heresy is condemned, and though countless popes and saints have
taught us that truth cannot change, most Catholics today are Liberals and/or
Modernists. Most of them reject the Church's teachings on one or more points. From
the Church's teaching against contraception, divorce, and abortion to the Real
Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, there are few Catholic teachings which are not
under assault in these terrible times.
The Catholic Faith is an integral whole, like the seamless garment our Lord wore. To
tear one doctrine out of the whole would be to alter that which was made by God's
Hands, and thus, as we said above, to forfeit one's salvation. We stress again that
the dogma "outside the Church there is no salvation" has been infallibly taught and all
Catholics must believe it by Faith. Since dogma cannot change or evolve, this article
of Faith is just as true now as it ever was. As the ancient Athanasian Creed says,
"Whoever wishes to be saved must above all, keep the Catholic faith; for unless a
person keeps this faith whole and entire he will undoubtedly be lost forever..."
8:35)
(From the Mass of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Sept. 8)
OUTSIDE THE CATHOLIC CHURCH THERE IS NO SALVATION
"Outside the Church there is no salvation" is a doctrine of the Catholic Faith that was
taught by Jesus Christ to His Apostles, preached by the Fathers, defined by popes
and councils and piously believed by the faithful in every age of the Church. This tract
contains some of the proofs of this dogma which all Catholics are bound to believe, or
else forfeit their own salvation.
THE HIGHEST AUTHORITY OF THE CHURCH
"There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside of which no one at all is
saved." (Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, 1215.)
"We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the
salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff." (Pope
Boniface VIII, the Bull Unam Sanctum, 1302.)
"The most Holy Roman Catholic Church firmly believes, professes, and preaches that
none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews
and heretics and schismatics, can have a share in life eternal; but that they will go into
the eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless before death
they are joined with Her; and that so important is the unity of this ecclesiastical body
that only those remaining within this unity can profit by the sacraments of the Church
unto salvation, and they alone can recieve an eternal recompense for their fasts, their
almsgivings, their other works of Christian piety and the duties of a Christian soldier.
No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pour out his blood
for the Name of Christ, can be saved, unless he remain within the bosom and unity of
the Catholic Church." (Pope Eugene IV, the Bull Cantate Domino, 1441.)
THE FATHERS AND DOCTORS OF THE CHURCH
Before the popes infallibly defined this dogma, it was believed by all the faithful. Here
is just a handful of passages from the works of the Christian writers through the
centuries, showing that they believed this dogma:
Saint Cyprian (died A.D. 258): "He who has turned his back on the Church of Christ
shall not come to the rewards of Christ; he is an alien, a worldling, an enemy. You
cannot have God for your Father if you have not the Church for your mother. Our Lord
warns us when he says: 'he that is not with Me is against Me, and he that gathereth
not with Me scattereth.' Whosoever breaks the peace and harmony of Christ acts
against Christ; whoever gathers elsewhere than in the Catholic Church scatters the
Church of Christ." (Unity of the Catholic Church)
Lactantius (died A.D. 310): "It is the Catholic Church alone which retains true worship.
This is the foundation of truth, this is the abode of the Faith, this is the temple of God;
into which if anyone shall not enter, or from which anyone shall go out, he is a
stranger to the hope of life and eternal salvation." (The Divine Institutes)
Saint Augustine (died A.D. 430): "No man can find salvation except in the Catholic
Church. Outside the Catholic Church one can have everything except salvation. One
can have honor, one can have the sacraments, one can sing alleluia, one can answer
amen, one can have faith in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Ghost, and preach it too, but never can one find salvation except in the Catholic
Church." (Sermo ad Caesariensis Ecclesiae plebem)
Saint Fulgentius (died A.D. 533): "Most firmly hold and never doubt that not only
pagans, but also all Jews, all heretics, and all schismatics who finish this life outside
of the Catholic Church, will go into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
angels." (Enchriridion Patristicum)
Pope Pelagius II (A.D. 578-590): "Consider the fact that whoever has not been in the
peace and unity of the Church cannot have the Lord. Although given over to flames
and fires, they burn, or, thrown to wild beasts, they lay down their lives, there will not
be for them that crown of faith but the punishment of faithlessness. Such a one can
be slain, he cannot be crowned. If slain outside the Church, he cannot attain the
rewards of the Church." (Denzinger 246-247)
Pope Saint Gregory the Great (A.D. 590-604): "Now the holy Church universal
proclaims that God cannot be truly worshipped saving within herself, asserting that all
they that are without her shall never be saved." (Moralia)
Saint Thomas Aquinas (died A.D. 1274): "There is no enterning into salvation outside
the Church, just as in the time of the deluge there was none outside the ark, which
denotes the Church." (Summa Theologiae)
Saint Peter Canisius (died A.D. 1597): "Outside of this communion - as outside the
ark on Noah - there is absolutely no salvation for mortals: not for Jews or pagans who
never recieved the faith of the Church, nor for heretics who, having recieved it,
corrupted it; neither for the excommunicated or those who for any other serious cause
deserve to be put away and separated from the body of the Church like pernicious
members...for the rule of Cyprian and Augustine is certain: he will not have God for
his Father who would not have the Church for his mother." (Cathechismi Latini et
Germanici)
THE BIBLE
The same truth that is taught above by the Fathers and doctors of the Church is also
attested to in Holy Scripture. All of the following verses teach us that Faith, Baptism
(the entrance into the Church), and subjection to the authority of the Church are all
necessary for salvation.
"And He said to them: Go ye into the whole world, and preach the Gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not
shall be condemned." (Mark 16:15-16)
"Jesus answered: Amen, amen I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water
and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God." (John 3:5)
"But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyeself in the
house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
(1 Tim. 3:15)
"And if he will not hear them: tell the church. And if he will not hear the church, let him
be to thee as the heather and the publican." (Matt. 18:17)
"And Jesus coming spoke to them saying: All power is given to me in heaven and in
earth. Going therefore teach ye all nations: baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you. And behold I am with you all days, even until the
consummation of the world." (Matt. 28:18-20)
"And I say to thee: That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the
kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also
in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in
heaven." (Matt. 16:18)
"Without Faith, it is impossible to please God." (Heb. 11:16)
"Whosoever shall not recieve you, nor hear your words, going forth out of that house
or city, shake off the dust from your feet. Amen, I say to you, it shall be more
tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgement, than for that city." (Matt.
10:14)
CATHOLIC DOGMA
What is a dogma of the Catholic Faith? The Maryknoll Catholic Dictionary of 1965
defines it as "A truth of faith or morals authoritatively proposed by the Church as
revealed by God and requiring the belief of the faithful." Just as Jesus Christ is
"yesterday, and today; and the same forever," (Heb. 13:8) so are His teachings,
which the Church infallibly transmits to Her children. Dogma cannot change.
In his encylical Pascendi Dominici Gregis (1907), Pope St. Pius X condemned a
heresy he called "Modernism," which is still with us today. In the encylical, the Holy
Father said Modernism teaches us that "the formulas which we call dogma must be
subject to these vicissitudes, and are, therefore, liable to change. Thus the way is
open to the intrinsic evolution of dogma. Here we have an immense structure of
sophisms which ruin and wreck all religion." According to the only canonized pope of
the last 500 years, the idea that dogma can change will ruin all religion. Thus, it is
forbidden for any Catholic to even think dogma can change.
Though this liberal heresy is condemned, and though countless popes and saints have
taught us that truth cannot change, most Catholics today are Liberals and/or
Modernists. Most of them reject the Church's teachings on one or more points. From
the Church's teaching against contraception, divorce, and abortion to the Real
Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, there are few Catholic teachings which are not
under assault in these terrible times.
The Catholic Faith is an integral whole, like the seamless garment our Lord wore. To
tear one doctrine out of the whole would be to alter that which was made by God's
Hands, and thus, as we said above, to forfeit one's salvation. We stress again that
the dogma "outside the Church there is no salvation" has been infallibly taught and all
Catholics must believe it by Faith. Since dogma cannot change or evolve, this article
of Faith is just as true now as it ever was. As the ancient Athanasian Creed says,
"Whoever wishes to be saved must above all, keep the Catholic faith; for unless a
person keeps this faith whole and entire he will undoubtedly be lost forever..."
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