Is there salvation outside the Roman Catholic Church?

(All scripture quotes are from the NASB unless otherwise noted)

     This is a very important question that needs to be answered. Does the Roman Catholic Church teach that salvation is only through their church? Well, if you speak to your everyday Roman Catholic, they might say that you don't have to be a member of their church to be saved. You might actually get them to agree that you only need to trust in Jesus Christ for your salvation, but is that what the official teachings of the Roman Catholic Church are? That's the first thing that we need to establish.

     Let's take a look back at some historical documents and statements from within the Roman Catholic Church to see what was said and taught about this topic:

• There is indeed one universal church of the faithful, outside of which nobody at all is saved, in which Jesus Christ is both priest and sacrifice. (4th Lateran Council of 1215, topic #1 - Confession of Faith)

     As you can see, at the 4th Lateran Council of 1215 the statement above was documented as to what the Roman Catholic Church believed about non-Catholics at the time. Not long after this council, Pope Boniface VIII made the following proclamation in one of his writings known as the Unam Sanctam:

• Urged by faith, we are obliged to believe and to maintain that the Church is one, holy, catholic, and also apostolic. We believe in her firmly and we confess with simplicity that outside of her there is neither salvation nor the remission of sins. (Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam of 1302)

     These words cannot be denied. They are very strong and very definitive. Well, as time went on, so to did the belief in the Roman Catholic Church alone for salvation. The council of Florence brought us the following decree:

• It firmly believes, professes and preaches that all those who are outside the catholic church, not only pagans but also Jews or heretics and schismatics, cannot share in eternal life and will go into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless they are joined to the catholic church before the end of their lives; that the unity of the ecclesiastical body is of such importance that only for those who abide in it do the church's sacraments contribute to salvation and do fasts, almsgiving and other works of piety and practices of the Christian militia produce eternal rewards; and that nobody can be saved, no matter how much he has given away in alms and even if he has shed his blood in the name of Christ, unless he has persevered in the bosom and the unity of the catholic church. (Council of Florence session 11 - February 4, 1442) 

     The council of Florence made a more specific proclamation about who is included in this group of non-Catholics that would go into the "everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels". They included: pagans, Jews, heretics and schismatics. Even though they don't mention non-Catholic Christians, I am sure that Protestants are included as part of the group that goes into the everlasting fire because we are technically outside the Roman Catholic Church (maybe we are part of the heretical group). Surely, as time went on we will begin to see the Roman Catholic Church having a less drastic opinion of other Christians who are not part of their church. Let's fast forward to the 1800's and see what Pope Pius IX had to say on the subject:

• We must hold as of the faith, that out of the Apostolic Roman Church there is no salvation; that she is the only ark of safety, and whosoever is not in her perishes in the deluge; we must also, on the other hand, recognize with certainty that those who are invincible in ignorance of the true religion are not guilty for this in the eyes of the Lord. And who would presume to mark out the limits of this ignorance according to the character and diversity of peoples, countries, minds and the rest? (Pope Pius IX, in an allocution on December 9th, 1854)

     Okay, we still see the statement that there is no salvation outside the Roman Catholic Church, but we see here that the Pope of this era actually included a caveat in his statement, that people through their own ignorance who do not realize that the Roman Catholic Church is in possession of the one and only true religion, are given somewhat of a "pass" on being condemned. I'm not sure how much ignorance of the Roman Catholic religion a person would need to have in order to be placed into this category, but at least it looks like they are loosening up on who and how someone is excluded.

     If we move on into the 20th century, we have an opportunity to look at a council that was suppose to bring unity to all churches...namely The 2nd Vatican Council (or Vatican II). Let's see what was documented at this council:

• This Sacred Council wishes to turn its attention firstly to the Catholic faithful. Basing itself upon Sacred Scripture and Tradition, it teaches that the Church, now sojourning on earth as an exile, is necessary for salvation. Christ, present to us in His Body, which is the Church, is the one Mediator and the unique way of salvation. In explicit terms He Himself affirmed the necessity of faith and baptism and thereby affirmed also the necessity of the Church, for through baptism as through a door men enter the Church. Whosoever, therefore, knowing that the Catholic Church was made necessary by Christ, would refuse to enter or to remain in it, could not be saved. (Vatican II, Dogmatic Constitution on the Church "Lumen Gentium" #14 - November 21, 1964)

     It seems like they back-peddled a little bit again with this statement. The Roman Catholic Church is still the only church that brings salvation to all Christians, and if you do not enter through or remain in it, you can not be saved.

     The Roman Catholic would probably say that the Catechism of the Catholic Church is the "official" document of their church today, and that's what should be followed. So does the CCC address this topic? We'll it sure does, and here is what it says:

• To reunite all his children, scattered and led astray by sin, the Father willed to call the whole of humanity together into his Son's Church. The Church is the place where humanity must rediscover its unity and salvation. The Church is "the world reconciled." She is that bark which "in the full sail of the Lord's cross, by the breath of the Holy Spirit, navigates safely in this world." According to another image dear to the Church Fathers, she is prefigured by Noah's ark, which alone saves from the flood..."Outside the Church there is no salvation"  (Catechism of the Catholic Church, article# 845)

     It looks like the CCC is pretty much affirming what has been stated by past Popes and past councils of the Roman Catholic Church. But what about that caveat from Pope Pius IX? Is it present in the CCC? Let's see...

     Well, it looks like those who honestly seek for God, but don't know Christ and the Roman Catholic Church can still achieve eternal salvation. Honestly, I don't know how someone can seek God without coming to the knowledge of Jesus Christ and the Gospel, but I guess I will leave that up to the Roman Catholics to figure out.

     Speaking of Popes, I wonder if there are any documents that the present Pope has been involved in that might address this topic? As of July 2007, Pope Benedict XVI, who is the present Pope, was involved in authoring (1) document that we could find that addressed this subject, and this is what was said of where salvation can be obtained for all Christians:

• Above all else, it must be firmly believed that "the Church", a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. (August, 2000 - "DOMINUS IESUS", Chapter VI #20)

• The Church is the "universal sacrament of salvation", since, united always in a mysterious way to the Saviour Jesus Christ, her Head, and subordinated to him, she has, in God's plan, an indispensable relationship with the salvation of every human being. (August, 2000 - "DOMINUS IESUS", Chapter VI #20)

     If that wasn't bad enough, let's look at what was stated by then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger about what was wrong with the non-Catholic churches directly:

• On the other hand, the ecclesial communities which have not preserved the valid Episcopate and the genuine and integral substance of the Eucharistic mystery, are not Churches in the proper sense; however, those who are baptized in these communities are, by Baptism, incorporated in Christ and thus are in a certain communion, albeit imperfect, with the Church. Baptism in fact tends per se toward the full development of life in Christ, through the integral profession of faith, the Eucharist, and full communion in the Church. (August, 2000 - "DOMINUS IESUS", Chapter IV #17)  

     If I am reading this correctly, any church that does not have a valid Episcopate (bishops, priests, etc), and does not hold to the Roman Catholic mystery of the Eucharist, "are not churches in the proper sense". Luckily for us, we are linked to the Roman Catholic Church through baptism, which gives us an "imperfect" communion with them. Boy am I relieved about that...(insert sarcasm here).

     Now that we have established what the Roman Catholic Church teaches about this topic, let's go to a place that most Roman Catholics don't like to go when it comes to solving theological disagreements...THE BIBLE.

• "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. (John 10:9)

• Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me. (John 14:6)

• "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. (John 3:17)

• "And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

• They said, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household." (Acts 16:31)

     As you can see, the bible clearly states that our salvation is through Jesus Christ. Not through any specific church, denomination or organization. This is what the Jehovah's Witnesses and Mormons teach. Now we know that the Roman Catholic Church teaches the same thing. This is the clear difference between the Protestants and the Roman Catholics. I have never heard a Protestant say, "You need to be in the Baptist church to be saved", or "You need to be in the Methodist church to be saved", etc. That's because being a member of a specific church is NOT what saves you...faith in Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice is what saves you. So the next time anyone tells you that you need to be a member of their church, denomination or organization to be saved...turn and run as fast as you can!!!  (Share this article with a friend)

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