salvation

The Dogma that there is No Salvation Outside the Catholic Church and without the Catholic Faith and refuting baptism of desire

-The most comprehensive book, facts, arguments and articles on the Catholic Church�s dogmatic teaching Outside the Church There is No Salvation and the baptism of desire controversy-

By Bro. Peter Dimond

Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation [PDF FILE] � complete book- This is the most comprehensive book that has been written on this dogma.� This book answers all of the major objections on the baptism and salvation issue.� It contains the most important papal pronouncements on this issue, a whole history of the �baptism of desire� controversy, many detailed sections covering all angles of the �invincible ignorance� objection, a section responding to every objection you�ve probably heard of on this topic and many that you haven�t.� This is the first and only book to have covered all of the dogmatic definitions on this topic about salvation from the ecumenical councils (including the little-known ones from the Council of Vienne and the Fifth Lateran Council � see section 1).� Look through the Table of Contents if you are looking for a particular issue or objection.� But we strongly recommend that people obtain this book from us for only $4.00 so that they can have all the quotations in book form.

Pope Gregory XVI, Summo Iugiter Studio, May 27, 1832, on no salvation outside the Church: �You know how zealously Our predecessors taught that article of faith which these dare to deny, namely the necessity of the Catholic faith and of unity for salvation� Omitting other appropriate passages which are almost numberless in the writings of the Fathers, We shall praise St. Gregory the Great who expressly testifies that THIS IS INDEED THE TEACHING OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.� He says: �The holy universal Church teaches that it is not possible to worship God truly except in her and asserts that all who are outside of her will not be saved.�� Official acts of the Church proclaim the same dogma.� Thus, in the decree on faith which Innocent III published with the synod of Lateran IV, these things are written: �There is one universal Church of all the faithful outside of which no one is saved.�� Finally the same dogma is also expressly mentioned in the profession of faith proposed by the Apostolic See, not only that which all Latin churches use, but also that which� other Eastern Catholics use.� We did not mention these selected testimonies because We thought you were ignorant of that article of faith and in need of Our instruction.� Far be it from Us to have such an absurd and insulting suspicion about you.� But We are so concerned about this serious and well known dogma, which has been attacked with such remarkable audacity, that We could not restrain Our pen from reinforcing this truth with many testimonies.�

Pope Eugene IV, The Council of Florence, �Exultate Deo,� Nov. 22, 1439:� �Holy baptism, which is the gateway to the spiritual life, holds the first place among all the sacraments; through it we are made members of Christ and of the body of the Church.� And since death entered the universe through the first man, �unless we are born again of water and the Spirit, we cannot,� as the Truth says, �enter into the kingdom of heaven� [John 3:5].� The matter of this sacrament is real and natural water.�

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Interesting new quotes and points on the salvation issue

You can order the 336-page book on No Salvation Outside the Catholic Church here for only $4.00

Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation

By Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B.

�By far the best and most in-depth book that has ever been written on the Catholic Church�s infallible teaching on the necessity of the Catholic Faith and the Sacrament of Baptism for salvation.� (from many who have read it)

Permission is granted to make copies of this book or to quote sections from it, but the author�s name must be given.� The book is available in softback from Most Holy Family Monastery. Get a copy of the new book for only $4.00 or 10 copies for $25.00 or 24 copies for $50.00 (prices include shipping).

Listing of Sections (CLICK ON ANY SECTION BELOW TO GO DIRECTLY TO IT)

Introduction

1.� The Chair of St. Peter on Outside the Church There is No Salvation � page 8

2.� The Keys of St. Peter and his Unfailing Faith � page 9

� The Chair of St. Peter Speaks the Truth that Christ Himself Delivered � page 12

3.� Believe Dogma as it was once declared � page 13

4.� Other Popes on Outside the Church There is No Salvation � page 15

5. The Sacrament of Baptism is the only Way into the Church � page 18

6. The One Church of the Faithful � page 19

7. Subjection to the Church/Roman Pontiff � page 23

8. The Sacrament of Baptism is Necessary for Salvation � page 24

9. Water is Necessary for Baptism and John 3:5 is literal � page 25

10.� Infants Cannot Be Saved Without Baptism � page 28

11. Those who Die in Original Sin or Mortal Sin Descend into Hell � page 30

12. There is only One Baptism, Not Three � page 31

13. The Athanasian Creed � page 33 � and There is No Salvation for members of Islam, Judaism or other heretical or schismatic non-Catholic sects - page 36

● Specific Catholic Teaching against Judaism � page 37

● Specific Catholic Teaching against Islam � page 38

● Specific Catholic Teaching against Protestant and schismatic sects � page 39-41

●� Concerning those validly baptized as infants by members of non-Catholic sects � 41

14.� Baptism of Desire and Baptism of Blood � Erroneous traditions of Man � page 42

� The Fathers are unanimous from the beginning on Water Baptism� page 43

� Not all of the Fathers always remained consistent with their own affirmation and the universal Tradition on the absolute necessity of Water Baptism� page 49

� The theory of baptism of blood � a tradition of man� page 51

� Two of the earliest statements on baptism of blood� page 55

� Unbaptized Saints? � the Acts of Martyrs � page 57

� The Forty Martyrs of Sebaste � page 58

� St. Emerentiana � pages 60-61

� St. Alban and his converted guard� page 62

� Summarizing the Facts on Baptism of Blood� page 63

� Miraculous Baptisms� page 64

� The Theory of Baptism of Desire � a tradition of man� page 68

� �St.� Augustine� page 69

� �St. Ambrose� page 72

� �St. Gregory Nazianz �page 76

�� ◦ St. Gregory Nazianz and the Roman Breviary � page 77

� �St. John Chrysostom� page 77

� �Liturgical Tradition and Apostolic Burial Tradition� page 79

� �Pope St. Siricius� page 80

� �The Middle Ages� page 81

� �St. Bernard� page 82

� St. Thomas Aquinas � page 85

� The Dogmatic Council of Vienne (1311-1312) � page 87

� St. Thomas Aquinas rejected �Invincible Ignorance� � page 88

15. Pope St. Leo the Great Ends the Debate � page 89

● Pope Leo the Great infallibly declares that the water of baptism is inseparable from the spirit of justification

16.� Major Objections:

- Sess. 6, Chap. 4 of the Council of Trent� page 95

� Aut used to mean �and� in the context of Councils� page 97

� An interesting E-Mail regarding this passage of Trent� page 99

- The Dogma, Pope Pius IX and Invincible Ignorance� page 105

� What about Pope Pius IX? � page 107

� Singulari Quadem (an allocution to the Cardinals) � page 107

� Quanto Conficiamur Moerore� page 110

� Invincible Ignorance becomes a destructive heresy, obliterating the necessity of the Catholic Faith all over the world� page 114

1. St. Paul (p. 115), Fr. Francisco de Vitoria (p. 115), St. Augustine and St. Prosper (p. 116) against Invincible Ignorance

� Other Popes and Saints against Invincible Ignorance� page 117

1. Pope Benedict XIV, Pope St. Pius X, Pope Paul III, Pope Gregory the Great, Fr. De Smet, Pope Pelagius I, etc. against Invincible Ignorance

� Sacred Scripture against Invincible Ignorance, and evidence of the Immediate Dissemination of the Gospel throughout the whole world� page 121

1. St. Justin Martyr, Acts of the Apostles, St. Paul�s epistles, St. Irenaeus, St. Clement, Tertullian, etc. on the immediate dissemination of the Gospel

2. Acts 2:47: the Lord added daily to the Church such as should be saved (p. 125)

3. Early evidence in China and North and South America

� Salvation for the �Invincibly Ignorant� reduced to its absurd principle � page 128

� Jesus Christ against Invincible Ignorance� page 129

- The �Private Interpretation� Objection� page 131

17.� Some Other Objections � page 134

� The Catechism of the Council of Trent� page 134

� Sess. 7, Can. 4 on the Sacraments� Actually refutes baptism of desire as can be seen when it is compared with similar dogmatic canons - page 139

� Pope Innocent II� page 144

� Pope Innocent III� page 146

� St. Alphonsus Liguori� page 148

� Trent�s Teaching on the Necessity of Penance vs. its Teaching on the Necessity of Baptism� page 155

� The Argument From Silence� page 158

� The 1917 Code� page 159

� The Argument that Baptism is impossible for some to receive� page 163

� The Errors of Michael Du Bay� page 163

� How can baptism of desire be contrary to dogma when� - page 167

� Cornelius the Centurion� page 169

� The Good Thief and the Holy Innocents� page 170

� The �You Can�t Judge� Heresy� page 171

� The �Objective-Subjective� Heresy� page 172

� The �Within but not a Member� objection of Msgr. Joseph Clifford Fenton � page 174

� Bayside, Medjugorje and Other False Apparitions� page 176

� The Brown Scapular� page 178

18.� The Soul of the Church Heresy � page 179

19.� Baptism of Desire vs. the Universal and Constant Teaching of Theologians � page 182

� Tuas Libenter and the so-called common consent of theologians� page 182

� The very theologians they bring forward disprove their position� page 188

� Theologians are unanimous that only the water baptized are part of the Church� page 190

� Theologians unanimously define the Catholic Church as a union of Sacraments� page 193

� Universal Tradition on Baptism affirmed even by modern heretical catechisms� page 198

� The Baltimore Catechism � page 198-199

� The Catechism attributed to Pope St. Pius X� page 200

20.� Exultate Deo Also Ends the Debate � page 202

21.� The New Testament is Clear that the Sacrament of Baptism is Indispensable for Salvation� page 205

� The Great Commission: Matthew 28 and Mark 16� page 205

� Romans 5 and 6� page 206

� 1 Corinthians 12:13� page 207

� Galatians 3 � Faith is Baptism� page 208

� Titus 3:5 � Baptism Saves Us� page 210

� Ephesians 4:5� page 211

� Acts 2 and the First Papal Sermon� page 212

� Acts 16 � The jailer and his entire house are baptized immediately � page 213

� 1 Peter 3:20-21 � Water Baptism and the Ark� page 213

22.� Other Scriptural Considerations � page 215

� The Baptism of God� page 215

� John 3:5 vs. John 6:54� page 216

23.� All True Justice and the Causes of Justification � page 216

� All true justice meets up with the sacraments� page 216

� The instrumental and the efficient causes of Justification� page 217

24.�� Catholics must believe and profess that the Sacramental System as a whole is necessary for salvation (de fide) � page 219

25.� St. Isaac Jogues and St. Francis Xavier Against Invincible Ignorance and on the Necessity of Baptism � page 220

26.� The Case of Father Feeney � page 232

27.� Protocol 122/49� (Suprema haec sacra)� page 235

28.� Heresy Before Vatican II � page 245

29.� Mystici Corporis � page 250

30.� Pope Pius XII, Father Feeney and the Dogma � page 254

31.� The Verdict is in: Boston Leads the Way in a Massive Priestly Scandal that Rocks the Nation� page 261

32.� The Heretics Testify� page 268

33.� A Note to Those Who Believe in Baptism of Desire � page 273

34.� The Degenerate Result of Heresy against this Dogma� page 276

35.� Recent Attacks � page 281

� The Errors of the Current St. Benedict Center� page 281

� The Society of St. Pius X� page 287 (Against the Heresies � p. 287; Open Letter to Confused Catholics � p. 289; Time Bombs of the Second Vatican Council � page 290; Bishop Fellay says Hindus can be saved � page 290; Baptism of Desire � p. 291; Is Feeneyism Catholic? � p. 295)

� The Society of St. Pius V� page 304

� The CMRI and other priests� page 309

36.� Conclusion � page 314

Appendix�

�� The Form of Baptism � page 317

�� The Profession of Faith for converts to the Catholic Faith � page 318

� The Apostles� Creed � page 320

Endnotes� page 320

INTRODUCTION

�� The dogma Outside the Catholic Church There is No Salvation and the necessity of the Sacrament of Baptism can actually be covered in one page (see section 1 and section 8).� This is because this truth is exactly the same as defined by our first pope:

�� the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ� Nor is there salvation in any other.� For there is no other name, under heaven, given to men, whereby we must be saved.� (Acts 4:12).�

�� There is no salvation outside of Jesus Christ, and the Catholic Church is His Mystical Body.� Since there is no entering into the Catholic Church of Christ without the Sacrament of Baptism, this means that only baptized Catholics who die in the state of grace (and those who become baptized Catholics and die in the state of grace) can hope to be saved � period.

�If anyone abideth not in me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he burneth.� (John 15:6)

�� The only reason that this document that you are looking at is approximately 300 pages long, and delves into a variety of issues in great detail, is simply because of the almost unceasing attacks against � and almost universal denial of � these otherwise simply expressed truths in our day.�

�� The reader will notice that I�ve gone out of my way to answer every single significant objection raised against the true meaning of Outside the Church There is No Salvation and the necessity of the Sacrament of Baptism, while the people who write books and articles against these truths almost never address any of the arguments from the teaching of the Church that we bring forward, simply because they cannot refute the facts.��

�� Some of the liberals who read this document will also make the objection that it is �bitter� or �uncharitable.�� But this is not true.�� The �foundation of charity is faith pure and undefiled� (Pope Pius XI, Mortalium Animos, #9).� The statements in this document relating to Outside the Church There is No Salvation are made out of a desire to be faithful to Jesus Christ and His truth.� A Catholic tells his neighbor the truth on this issue without compromise simply because he loves his neighbor.�

Pope Pius XI, Mortalium Animos #9, Jan. 6, 1928: �Everyone knows that John himself, the Apostle of love, who seems to reveal in his Gospel the secrets of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and who never ceased to impress on the memories of his followers the new commandment �Love one another,� altogether forbade any intercourse with those who professed a mutilated and corrupt form of Christ�s teaching: �If any man come to you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into the house nor say to him: God speed you� (II John 10).�

�� A Catholic who refuses to denounce heresy and heretics (when necessary) is not acting charitably, but uncharitably.

Pope Leo XIII, Sapientiae Christianae #14, Jan. 10, 1890: �St. Thomas maintains: �Each one is under obligation to show forth his faith, either to instruct and encourage others of the faithful, or to repel the attacks of unbelievers.� To recoil before an enemy, or to keep silence when from all sides such clamors are raised against truth, is the part of a man either devoid of character or who entertains doubt as to the truth of what he professes to believe.�

�� The reader will also notice that each numbered section of this document was intended to be, for the most part, complete in itself; that is to say, one can read an individual section of this document and find the relevant citations from the teaching of the Church re-quoted for him without having to find them in a different part of the document.�

�� I strongly encourage the reader to read the entire document, because the subjects dealt with in this document are all important; but, in my opinion, the most important sections of this document that the reader definitely does not want to miss are: 1- 4, 6-8, 13-16, 18, 21, 24-27, 31- 34.

�� The reader will see that the conclusions that are formed in this document are formed on the basis of the infallible teaching of the Chair of St. Peter.� Those who reject these facts, therefore, are not simply rejecting my opinions; they are rejecting the teaching of the Chair of St. Peter (the dogmatic teachings of the Catholic Church).

Pope Gregory XVI, Mirari Vos (# 13), Aug. 15, 1832: �With the admonition of the apostle that �there is one God, one faith, one baptism� (Eph. 4:5) may those fear who contrive the notion that the safe harbor of salvation is open to persons of any religion whatever.� They should consider the testimony of Christ Himself that �those who are not with Christ are against Him,� (Lk. 11:23) and that they disperse unhappily who do not gather with Him. �Therefore, �without a doubt, they will perish forever, unless they hold the Catholic faith whole and inviolate� (Athanasian Creed).

-Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B. (May 3, 2004),

�2^nd edition (Oct. 30, 2006)

1. The Chair of St. Peter on Outside the Catholic Church There is No Salvation

�� The following statements on Outside the Catholic Church There is No Salvation are from the highest teaching authority of the Catholic Church.� They are ex cathedra Papal decrees (decrees from the Chair of St. Peter).� Therefore, they constitute the teaching given to the Catholic Church by Jesus Christ and the Apostles.� Such teachings are unchangeable and are classified as part of the solemn magisterium (the extraordinary teaching authority of the Catholic Church).

Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, Constitution 1, 1215, ex cathedra: �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.�[i]

Pope Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam, Nov. 18, 1302, ex cathedra:

�With Faith urging us we are forced to believe and to hold the one, holy, Catholic Church and that, apostolic, and we firmly believe and simply confess this Church outside of which there is no salvation nor remission of sin� Furthermore, we declare, say, define, and proclaim to every human creature that they by absolute necessity for salvation are entirely subject to the Roman Pontiff.�[ii]

Pope Clement V, Council of Vienne, Decree # 30, 1311-1312, ex cathedra:

�Since however there is for both regulars and seculars, for superiors and subjects, for exempt and non-exempt, one universal Church, outside of which there is no salvation, for all of whom there is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism��[iii]

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, Sess. 8, Nov. 22, 1439, ex cathedra:

�Whoever wishes to be saved, needs above all to hold the Catholic faith; unless each one preserves this whole and inviolate, he will without a doubt perish in eternity.�[iv]

�

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, �Cantate Domino,� 1441, ex cathedra:

�The Holy Roman Church 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 Church before the end of their lives; that the unity of this 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 blood in the name of Christ, unless he has persevered in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church.�[v]

Pope Leo X, Fifth Lateran Council, Session 11, Dec. 19, 1516, ex cathedra:

�For, regulars and seculars, prelates and subjects, exempt and non-exempt, belong to the one universal Church, outside of which no one at all is saved, and they all have one Lord and one faith.�[vi]

Pope Pius IV, Council of Trent, �Iniunctum nobis,� Nov. 13, 1565, ex cathedra: �This true Catholic faith, outside of which no one can be saved� I now profess and truly hold��[vii]

Pope Benedict XIV, Nuper ad nos, March 16, 1743, Profession of Faith: �This faith of the Catholic Church, without which no one can be saved, and which of my own accord I now profess and truly hold��[viii]

Pope Pius IX, Vatican Council I, Session 2, Profession of Faith, 1870, ex cathedra: �This true Catholic faith, outside of which none can be saved, which I now freely profess and truly hold��[ix]

2. The Keys of St. Peter and his Unfailing Faith

�� It is a fact of history, scripture and tradition that Our Lord Jesus Christ founded His universal Church (the Catholic Church) upon St. Peter.��

Matthew 16:18-19-�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.�

�� Our Lord made St. Peter the first pope, entrusted to him His entire flock, and gave him supreme authority in the universal Church of Christ.�

John 21:15-17-�Jesus saith to Simon Peter: Simon, son of John, lovest thou me?� He saith to him: Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee.� He saith to him: Feed my lambs.� He saith to him again: Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? He saith to him: Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee.� He saith to him: Feed my lambs.� He saith to him a third time: Simon, son of John, lovest thou me?� Peter was grieved, because he had said to him the third time: Lovest thou me? And he said to him: Lord, thou knowest all things: thou knowest that I love thee.� He said to him: Feed my sheep.�

�� And with the supreme authority that Our Lord Jesus Christ conferred upon St. Peter (and his successors, the popes) comes what is called Papal Infallibility.� Papal Infallibility is inseparable from Papal Supremacy � there was no point for Christ to make St. Peter the head of His Church (as Christ clearly did) if St. Peter or his successors, the popes, could err when exercising that supreme authority to teach on a point of Faith.� The supreme authority must be unfailing on binding matters of Faith and morals or else it is no true authority from Christ at all.�

�� Papal Infallibility does not mean that a pope cannot err at all and it does not mean that a pope cannot lose his soul and be damned in Hell for grave sin.� It means that the successors of St. Peter (the popes of the Catholic Church) cannot err when authoritatively teaching on a point of Faith or morals to be held by the entire Church of Christ.� We find the promise of the unfailing faith for St. Peter and his successors referred to by Christ in Luke 22.

Luke 22:31-32- �And the Lord said: Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have all of you, that he may sift you as wheat: But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren.�

�� Satan desired to sift all the Apostles (plural) like wheat, but Jesus prayed for Simon Peter (singular), that his faith fail not.� Jesus is saying that St. Peter and his successors (the popes of the Catholic Church) have an unfailing faith when authoritatively teaching a point of faith or morals to be held by the entire Church of Christ.�

Pope Pius IX, Vatican Council I, 1870, ex cathedra:
�SO, THIS GIFT OF TRUTH AND A NEVER FAILING FAITH WAS DIVINELY CONFERRED UPON PETER AND HIS SUCCESSORS IN THIS CHAIR��[x]

�Pope Pius IX, Vatican Council I, 1870, ex cathedra:
�� the See of St. Peter always remains unimpaired by any error, according to the divine promise of our Lord the Savior made to the chief of His disciples: �I have prayed for thee [Peter], that thy faith fail not ...��[xi]

And this truth has been held since the earliest times in the Catholic Church.��

Pope St. Gelasius I, epistle 42, or Decretal de recipiendis et non recipiendis libris, 495: �Accordingly, the see of Peter the Apostle of the Church of Rome is first, having neither spot, nor wrinkle, nor anything of this kind (Eph. 5:27).�[xii]

�� The word �infallible� actually means �cannot fail� or �unfailing.�� Therefore, the very term Papal Infallibility comes directly from Christ�s promise to St. Peter (and his successors) in Luke 22, that Peter has an unfailing Faith.� Though this truth was believed since the beginning of the Church, it was specifically defined as a dogma at the First Vatican Council in 1870.

Pope Pius IX, Vatican Council I, 1870, Session 4, Chap. 4:

��the Roman Pontiff, when he speaks ex cathedra [from the Chair of Peter], that is, when carrying out the duty of the pastor and teacher of all Christians in accord with his supreme apostolic authority he explains a doctrine of faith or morals to be held by the universal Church... operates with that infallibility with which the divine Redeemer wished that His Church be instructed in defining doctrine on faith and morals; and so such definitions of the Roman Pontiff from himself, but not from the consensus of the Church, are unalterable.�[xiii]

�� But how does one know when a pope is exercising his unfailing Faith to infallibly teach from the Chair of St. Peter?� The answer is that we know from the language that the pope uses or the manner in which the pope teaches.� Vatican I defined two requirements which must be fulfilled: 1) when the pope is carrying out his duty as pastor and teacher of all Christians in accord with his supreme apostolic authority; 2) when he explains a doctrine on faith or morals to be held by the entire Church of Christ.�� A pope can fulfill both of these requirements in just one line, by anathematizing a false opinion (such as many dogmatic councils) or by saying �By our apostolic authority we declare�� or by saying �We believe, profess, and teach� or by using words of similar importance and meaning, which indicate that the pope is teaching the whole Church on Faith in a definitive and binding fashion.

�� So, when a pope teaches from the Chair of Peter in the manner stipulated above he cannot be wrong.� If he could be wrong, then the Church of Christ could be officially led into error, and Christ�s promise to St. Peter and His Church would fail (which is impossible).� That which is taught from the Chair of Peter by the popes of the Catholic Church is the teaching of Jesus Christ Himself.� To reject that which is taught by the popes from the Chair of Peter is simply to despise Jesus Christ Himself.��

Luke 10:16- �He that heareth you, heareth me: and he that despiseth you despiseth me��

Matthew 18:17 -�And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican.�

Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum, 1896:

�� Christ instituted a living, authoritative and permanent Magisterium� If it could in any way be false, an evident contradiction follows; for then God Himself would be the author of error in man.�[xiv]

THE CHAIR OF PETER SPEAKS THE TRUTH THAT CHRIST HIMSELF DELIVERED

�� The truths of faith which have been proclaimed by the popes speaking infallibly from the Chair of Peter are called dogmas.� The dogmas make up what is called the deposit of Faith.� And the deposit of Faith ended with the death of the last apostle.�

Pope St. Pius X, Lamentabile, The Errors of the Modernists #21: �Revelation, constituting the object of Catholic faith, was not completed with the apostles.�[xv] - Condemned

�� This means that when a pope defines a dogma from the Chair of Peter he does not make the dogma true, but rather he proclaims what is already true, what has already been revealed by Christ and delivered to the Apostles.� The dogmas are therefore unchangeable, of course.� One of these dogmas in the deposit of Faith is that Outside the Catholic Church There is No Salvation.� Since this is the teaching of Jesus Christ, one is not allowed to dispute this dogma or to question it; one must simply accept it.� It does not matter if one doesn�t like the dogma, doesn�t understand the dogma, or doesn�t see justice in the dogma.� If one doesn�t accept it as infallibly true then one simply does not accept Jesus Christ, because the dogma comes to us from Jesus Christ.�

Pope Leo XIII, Satis Cognitum (# 9), June 29, 1896:

�� can it be lawful for anyone to reject any one of those truths without by that very fact falling into heresy? � without separating himself from the Church? � without repudiating in one sweeping act the whole of Christian teaching?� For such is the nature of faith that nothing can be more absurd than to accept some things and reject others.� Faith, as the Church teaches, is that supernatural virtue by which� we believe what He has revealed to be true, not on account of the intrinsic truth perceived by the natural light of human reason [author: that is, not because it seems correct to us], but because of the authority of God Himself, the Revealer, who can neither deceive nor be deceived� But he who dissents even in one point from divinely revealed truth absolutely rejects all faith, since he thereby refuses to honor God as the supreme truth and the formal motive of faith.�[xvi]

�� Those who refuse to believe in the dogma Outside the Church There is No Salvation until they understand how there is justice in it are simply withholding their Faith in Christ�s revelation.� Those with the true Faith in Christ (and His Church) accept His teaching first and understand the truth in it (i.e., why it is true) second.� A Catholic does not withhold his belief in Christ�s revelation until he can understand it.� That is the mentality of a faithless heretic who possesses insufferable pride.� St. Anselm sums up the true Catholic outlook on this point.

St. Anselm, Doctor of the Church, Prosologion, Chap. 1: �For I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but I believe in order to understand.� For this also I believe, that unless I believed, I should not understand.�[xvii]

Romans 11:33-34- �O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God!� How incomprehensible are his judgments, and how unsearchable his ways!� For who hath known the mind of the Lord?� Or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him, and recompense shall be made him?�

Isaias 55:8-9- �For my thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways my ways, saith the Lord.� For as the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are my ways exalted above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts.�

3.� Believe Dogma as it was once declared

�� There is only one way to believe dogma: as holy mother Church has once declared.

Pope Pius IX, First Vatican Council, Sess. 3, Chap. 2 on Revelation, 1870, ex cathedra: �Hence, also, that understanding of its sacred dogmas must be perpetually retained, which Holy Mother Church has once declared; and there must never be a recession from that meaning under the specious name of a deeper understanding.�[xviii]

�� This definition of the First Vatican Council is critically important for dogmatic purity, because the primary way the Devil attempts to corrupt Christ�s doctrines is by getting men to recede (move away) from the Church�s dogmas as they were once declared.� There is no meaning of a dogma other than what the words themselves state and declare, so the Devil tries to get men to �understand� and �interpret� these words in a way that is different from how holy mother Church has declared them.�

�� Many of us have dealt with people who have attempted to explain away the clear meaning of the definitions on Outside the Church There is No Salvation by saying, �you must understand them.�� What they really mean is that you must understand them in a way different from what the words themselves state and declare.� And this is precisely what the First Vatican Council condemns.� It condemns their moving away from the understanding of a dogma which holy mother Church has once declared to a different meaning, under the specious (false) name of a �deeper understanding.�

�� Besides those who argue that we must �understand� dogmas in a different way than what the words themselves state and declare, there are those who, when presented with the dogmatic definitions on Outside the Church There is No Salvation, say, �that is your interpretation.�� They belittle the words of a dogmatic formula to nothing other than one�s private interpretation.� And this also is heresy.

Pope St. Pius X, Lamentabile, The Errors of the Modernists, July 3, 1907, #22:

�The dogmas which the Church professes as revealed are not truths fallen from heaven, but they are a kind of interpretation of religious facts, which the human mind by a laborious effort prepared for itself.�- Condemned[xix]

Pope St. Pius X, Lamentabile, The Errors of the Modernists, July 3, 1907, #54:

�The dogmas, the sacraments, the hierarchy, as far as pertains both to the notion and to the reality, are nothing but interpretations and the evolution of Christian intelligence, which have increased and perfected the little germ latent in the Gospel.�- Condemned[xx]

�� Dogmas of the faith, like Outside the Church There is No Salvation, are truths fallen from heaven; they are not interpretations.� To accuse one who adheres faithfully to these truths fallen from heaven of engaging in �private interpretation� is to speak heresy.�

�� The very point of a dogmatic DEFINITION is to DEFINE precisely and exactly what the Church means by the very words of the formula.� If it does not do this by those very words in the formula or document (as the Modernists say) then it has failed in its primary purpose � to define � and was pointless and worthless.�

�� Anyone who says that we must interpret or understand the meaning of a dogmatic definition, in a way which contradicts its actual wording, is denying the whole point of the Chair of Peter, Papal Infallibility and dogmatic definitions.� He is asserting that dogmatic definitions are pointless, worthless and foolish and that the Church is pointless, worthless and foolish for making such a definition.�

�� Also, those who insist that infallible DEFINITIONS must be interpreted by non-infallible statements (e.g., from theologians, catechisms, etc.) are denying the whole purpose of the Chair of Peter.� They are subordinating the dogmatic teaching of the Chair of Peter (truths from heaven) to the re-evaluation of fallible human documents, thereby inverting their authority, perverting their integrity and denying their purpose.�

Pope Gregory XVI, Mirari Vos (#7), Aug. 15, 1832: �� nothing of the things appointed ought to be diminished; nothing changed; nothing added; but they must be preserved both as regards expression and meaning.�[xxi]

�� Thus, there is no �strict� or �loose� interpretation of Outside the Church There is No Salvation, as the liberal heretics like to emphasize; there is only what the Church has once declared.�

4.� Other Popes on Outside the Church There is No Salvation

�� In addition to the ex cathedra (from the Chair of Peter) proclamations of the popes, a Catholic must also believe what is taught by the Catholic Church as divinely revealed in her Ordinary and Universal Magisterium (Magisterium = the teaching authority of the Church).

Pope Pius IX, Vatican I, Sess. III, Chap. 3, ex cathedra: �Further, by divine and Catholic faith, all those things must be believed which are contained in the written word of God and in tradition, and those which are proposed by the Church, either in a solemn pronouncement or in her ordinary and universal teaching power, to be believed as divinely revealed.�[xxii]

�� The teaching of the Ordinary and Universal Magisterium consists of those doctrines which popes, by their common and universal teaching, propose to be believed as divinely revealed.� For instance, in their common and universal teaching, approximately 10 popes have denounced the heretical concept of liberty of conscience and worship as contrary to revelation.� A Catholic cannot reject that teaching.� The teaching of the Ordinary and Universal Magisterium can never contradict the teaching of the Chair of Peter (the dogmatic definitions), of course, since both are infallible.� Thus, the Ordinary and Universal Magisterium does not actually have to be considered at all in regard to Outside the Church There is No Salvation, because this dogma has been defined from the Chair of Peter and nothing in the Ordinary and Universal Magisterium can possibly contradict the Chair of Peter.� So beware of those heretics who try to find ways to deny the Church�s dogmatic teaching on Outside the Church There is No Salvation by calling fallible, non-magisterial statements which contradict this dogma, part of the �Ordinary and Universal Magisterium,� when they aren�t.� This is a clever ploy of the heretics.�

�� But the following quotations from many popes are reaffirmations of the dogma Outside the Church There is No Salvation.� These teachings of the popes are part of the Ordinary and Universal Magisterium � and are therefore infallible � since they reiterate the universal teaching of the Chair of St. Peter on the Catholic dogma Outside the Church There is No Salvation.

�

Pope St. Gregory the Great, quoted in Summo Iugiter Studio, 590-604:

�The holy universal Church teaches that it is not possible to worship God truly except in her and asserts that all who are outside of her will not be saved.�[xxiii]

Pope Innocent III, Eius exemplo, Dec. 18, 1208:

�By the heart we believe and by the mouth we confess the one Church, not of heretics, but the Holy Roman, Catholic, and Apostolic Church outside of which we believe that no one is saved.�[xxiv]

Pope Clement VI, Super quibusdam, Sept. 20, 1351:

�In the second place, we ask whether you and the Armenians obedient to you believe that no man of the wayfarers outside the faith of this Church, and outside the obedience to the Pope of Rome, can finally be saved.�[xxv]

Pope St. Pius V, Bull excommunicating the heretic Queen Elizabeth of England, Feb. 25, 1570: �The sovereign jurisdiction of the one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, outside of which there is no salvation, has been given by Him [Jesus Christ], unto Whom all power in Heaven and on Earth is given, the King who reigns on high, but to one person on the face of the Earth, to Peter, prince of the Apostles... If any shall contravene this Our decree, we bind them with the same bond of anathema.�[xxvi]

Pope Leo XII, Ubi Primum (# 14), May 5, 1824:

�It is impossible for the most true God, who is Truth itself, the best, the wisest Provider, and the Rewarder of good men, to approve all sects who profess false teachings which are often inconsistent with one another and contradictory, and to confer eternal rewards on their members� by divine faith we hold one Lord, one faith, one baptism� This is why we profess that there is no salvation outside the Church.�[xxvii]

Pope Leo XII, Quod hoc ineunte (# 8), May 24, 1824: �We address all of you who are still removed from the true Church and the road to salvation.� In this universal rejoicing, one thing is lacking: that having been called by the inspiration of the Heavenly Spirit and having broken every decisive snare, you might sincerely agree with the mother Church, outside of whose teachings there is no salvation.�[xxviii]

Pope Gregory XVI, Mirari Vos (# 13), Aug. 15, 1832:� �With the admonition of the apostle, that �there is one God, one faith, one baptism� (Eph. 4:5), may those fear who contrive the notion that the safe harbor of salvation is open to persons of any religion whatever.� They should consider the testimony of Christ Himself that �those who are not with Christ are against Him,� (Lk. 11:23) and that they disperse unhappily who do not gather with Him. �Therefore, �without a doubt, they will perish forever, unless they hold the Catholic faith whole and inviolate (Athanasian Creed).�[xxix]

Pope Gregory XVI, Summo Iugiter Studio (# 2), May 27, 1832:

�Finally some of these misguided people attempt to persuade themselves and others that men are not saved only in the Catholic religion, but that even heretics may attain eternal life.�[xxx]

Pope Pius IX, Ubi primum (# 10), June 17, 1847: �For �there is one universal Church outside of which no one at all is saved; it contains regular and secular prelates along with those under their jurisdiction, who all profess one Lord, one faith and one baptism.�[xxxi]

Pope Pius IX, Nostis et Nobiscum (# 10), Dec. 8, 1849: �In particular, ensure that the faithful are deeply and thoroughly convinced of the truth of the doctrine that the Catholic faith is necessary for attaining salvation. (This doctrine, received from Christ and emphasized by the Fathers and Councils, is also contained in the formulae of the profession of faith used by Latin, Greek and Oriental Catholics).�[xxxii]

Pope Pius IX, Syllabus of Modern Errors, Dec. 8, 1864 - Proposition 16: �Man may, in the observance of any religion whatever, find the way of eternal salvation, and arrive at eternal salvation.�[xxxiii] � Condemned

Pope Leo XIII, Tametsi futura prospicientibus (# 7), Nov. 1, 1900:� �Christ is man�s �Way�; the Church also is his �Way�� Hence all who would find salvation apart from the Church, are led astray and strive in vain.�[xxxiv]

Pope St. Pius X, Iucunda sane (# 9), March 12, 1904: �Yet at the same time We cannot but remind all, great and small, as Pope St. Gregory did, of the absolute necessity of having recourse to this Church in order to have eternal salvation��[xxxv]

Pope St. Pius X, Editae saepe (# 29), May 26, 1910: �The Church alone possesses together with her magisterium the power of governing and sanctifying human society.� Through her ministers and servants (each in his own station and office), she confers on mankind suitable and necessary means of salvation.�[xxxvi]

Pope Pius XI, Mortalium Animos (# 11), Jan. 6, 1928:� �The Catholic Church is alone in keeping the true worship.� This is the fount of truth, this is the house of faith, this is the temple of God: if any man enter not here, or if any man go forth from it, he is a stranger to the hope of life and salvation.�[xxxvii]

5.� The Sacrament of Baptism is the only Way into the Church

�� The Catholic Church has always taught that receiving the Sacrament of Baptism is the only way into Christ�s Church, outside of which there is no salvation.

Pope Julius III, Council of Trent, On the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance, Sess. 14, Chap. 2, ex cathedra: �But in fact this sacrament [Penance] is seen to differ in many respects from baptism.� For, apart from the fact that the matter and form, by which the essence of a sacrament is constituted, are totally distinct, there is certainly no doubt that the minister of baptism need not be a judge, since the Church exercises judgment on no one who has not previously entered it by the gate of baptism.� For what have I to do with those who are without (1 Cor. 5:12), says the Apostle.� It is otherwise with those of the household of the faith, whom Christ the Lord by the laver of baptism has once made �members of his own body� (1 Cor. 12:13).�[xxxviii]

�� This definition is particularly significant because it proves that only through water baptism is one incorporated into the Body of the Church.� The significance of this will become clearer in the later sections where it is proven that Body membership is necessary for salvation.

Pope Eugene IV, The Council of Florence, �Exultate Deo,� Nov. 22, 1439, ex cathedra:� �Holy baptism, which is the gateway to the spiritual life, holds the first place among all the sacraments; through it we are made members of Christ and of the body of the Church.� And since death entered the universe through the first man, �unless we are born again of water and the Spirit, we cannot,� as the Truth says, �enter into the kingdom of heaven� [John 3:5].� The matter of this sacrament is real and natural water.�[xxxix]

Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis (# 22), June 29, 1943:�� �Actually only those are to be numbered among the members of the Church who have received the laver of regeneration [water baptism] and profess the true faith.�[xl]

Pope Pius XII, Mystici Corporis (# 27), June 29, 1943: �He (Christ) also determined that through Baptism (cf. Jn. 3:5) those who should believe would be incorporated in the Body of the Church.�[xli]

Pope Pius XII, Mediator Dei (# 43), Nov. 20, 1947: �In the same way, actually that baptism is the distinctive mark of all Christians, and serves to differentiate them from those who have not been cleansed in this purifying stream and consequently are not members of Christ, the sacrament of holy orders sets the priest apart from the rest of the faithful who have not received this consecration.�[xlii]

��

6.� The One Church of the Faithful

Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, Constitution 1, 1215, ex cathedra: �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.�[xliii]

�� The first dogmatic definition from the Chair of Peter on Outside the Church There is No Salvation (from Pope Innocent III) taught that the Catholic Church is the one Church �of the faithful,� outside of which no one at all is saved.� But who are �the faithful�?� Can one who has not been baptized be considered part of �the faithful�?� If we look to Catholic Tradition, the answer is a resounding �no.�

�� As many of you know, the Catholic Mass is divided into two parts: the Mass of the Catechumens (those preparing to be baptized) and the Mass of the Faithful (those baptized).�

�� In the early Church, the unbaptized catechumens (i.e., those who had not received the Sacrament of Baptism) had to leave after the Mass of the catechumens, when the faithful professed the Creed.� The unbaptized were not allowed to stay for the Mass of the faithful, because it is only by receiving the Sacrament of Baptism that one becomes one of the faithful.� This is the teaching of Tradition.

Casimir Kucharek, The Byzantine-Slav Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom:

��In Canon 19 of the Synod of Laodicea (A.D. 343-381), for example, we read: �After the sermons of the bishops, the prayer for the catechumens is to be said by itself first; when the catechumens have gone out, the prayer for those who are doing penance; and after these� there should then be offered the three prayers of the faithful��[xliv]

�� Here we see the 4^th century Synod of Laodicea affirming the tradition that unbaptized catechumens were to depart from the Liturgy before the Mass of the Faithful began.� And this distinction between the Mass of the Catechumens and the Mass of the Faithful was a staple in the ancient rites of the Catholic Church.� Hence, Fr. Casimir Kucharek, in his large work on the Byzantine-Slav Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, says that the Liturgy of the Catechumens is �present in all Rites��[xlv]� In other words, all of the ancient Catholic rites testified to the fact that no unbaptized person could be considered part of the faithful because they all dismissed unbaptized catechumens before the Mass of the Faithful began!�

�

�� Hence Fr. Casimir Kucharek further writes:

�[St.] Athanasius mentions that they (catechumens) were not allowed to be present at the mysteries, while Cyril of Alexandria speaks of their departure before the more solemn parts of the service.�[xlvi]

�� The Catholic Encyclopedia acknowledges the same teaching of Tradition.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, �Faithful,� Vol. 5, p. 769: �St. Augustine (says): �Ask a man: are you a Christian?� If he be a pagan or Jew, he will reply: I am not a Christian.� But if he say: I am a Christian, ask him again: are you a catechumen, or one of the faithful?��[xlvii]

�� In the third century, the early Church father Tertullian criticized the custom of certain heretics who disregarded this crucial distinction between the unbaptized and the faithful.

The Catholic Encyclopedia, �Catechumen,� Vol. 3, p. 430: �Tertullian reproaches the heretics with disregarding it; among them, he says, �one does not know which is the catechumen and which the faithful, all alike come [to the mysteries], all hear the same discourses, and say the same prayers.�[xlviii]�

�� Finally, I will quote a prayer from the ancient Byzantine-Slav Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom.� The prayer was recited at the dismissal of the catechumens before the Mass of the Faithful began.

Byzantine-Slav Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, Dismissal of the Catechumens: �Let us, the faithful, pray for the catechumens, that the Lord have mercy on them� Lord and God, Jesus Christ, as the salvation of mankind: look down upon your servants, the catechumens, who bow their heads before you.� In due time make them worthy of the waters of regeneration, the forgiveness of their sins, and the robe of immortality.� Unite them to your holy, catholic, and apostolic church, and number them among your chosen flock.�[xlix]

�� Here we see that the ancient eastern rite liturgy of St. John Chrysostom makes a forceful distinction between the unbaptized (the catechumens) and the faithful.� It confirms that because the catechumens are not baptized into the faithful, they are not forgiven their sins or united to the Catholic Church.� The unbaptized do not belong to the one Church of the faithful.� This is part of the ancient Catholic Faith.� And obviously this fact is not proven to be part of the ancient Catholic Faith simply because an early Church father stated it � for a statement from a given early Church father doesn�t prove this definitively; but rather it is proven because the testimonies of the aforementioned saints are in perfect harmony with the clear teaching of Catholic liturgical worship, which divides the Mass of Catechumens from the Mass of the Faithful.� It is, therefore, the teaching and rule of Catholic worship that no unbaptized person is to be considered part of the faithful.� And this is why all who died without the Sacrament of Baptism were refused Christian burial everywhere in the universal Church since the beginning.

�� And because this was the universal rule of worship in the Catholic Church, it was the expression of the universal Faith and Tradition of the Catholic Church.

Pope Pius XI, Quas Primas (# 12), Dec. 11, 1925: �The perfect harmony of the Eastern liturgies with our own in this continual praise of Christ the King shows once more the truth of the axiom: Legem credendi lex statuit supplicandi.� The rule of faith is indicated by the law of our worship.�[l]

�� Therefore, it would be contrary to Tradition to assert that a person who has not received the Sacrament of Baptism is part of the faithful.�

St. John Chrysostom (Hom. in Io. 25, 3), (4^th Century):

�For the Catechumen is a stranger to the Faithful� One has Christ for his King; the other sin and the devil; the food of one is Christ, of the other, that meat which decays and perishes� Since then we have nothing in common, in what, tell me, shall we hold communion?� Let us then give diligence that we may become citizens of the city above� for if it should come to pass (which God forbid!) that through the sudden arrival of death we depart hence uninitiated [unbaptized], though we have ten thousand virtues, our portion will be none other than hell, and the venomous worm, and fire unquenchable, and bonds indissoluble.�

St. Ambrose, (4^th Century) Bishop and Doctor of the Church:

�I shall now begin to instruct you on the sacrament you have received; of whose nature it was not fitting to speak to you before this; for in the Christian what comes first is faith.� And at Rome for this reason those who have been baptized are called the faithful (fideles).�[li]

�� This teaching of Tradition is why in the Traditional Rite of Baptism, the unbaptized catechumen is asked what he desires from holy Church, and he answers �Faith.�� The unbaptized catechumen does not have �the Faith,� so he begs the Church for it in the �Sacrament of Faith� (Baptism), which alone makes him one of �the faithful.�� This is why the Sacrament of Baptism has been known since apostolic times as �the Sacrament of Faith.�

Catechism of the Council of Trent, On Baptism � Effects of Baptism:

�� Baptism �. the Sacrament of faith�.�[lii]

Catechism of the Council of Trent, On Baptism � Second Effect: Sacramental Character: �� Baptism� By it we are qualified to receive the other Sacraments, and the Christian is distinguished from those who do not profess the faith.�[liii]

Pope Clement VI, Super quibusdam, Sept. 20, 1351:

�� all those who in baptism have received the same Catholic faith...�[liv]

Pope Paul III, Council of Trent, Session 6, Chap. 7 on Justification, ex cathedra:

�� THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM, WHICH IS �THE SACRAMENT OF FAITH� THIS FAITH, IN ACCORDANCE WITH APOSTOLIC TRADITION, CATECHUMENS BEG OF THE CHURCH BEFORE THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM, when they ask for �faith which bestows life eternal,� (Rit. Rom., Ordo Baptismi).�[lv]

��

�� And with these facts in mind (that a catechumen �begs� for the faith because he isn�t part of the faithful), remember the definition of Pope Innocent III at the Fourth Lateran Council: �There is indeed one universal Church of the faithful, outside of which nobody at all is saved�� The original Latin reads: �Una vero est fidelium universalis ecclesia, extra quam nullus omnino salvatur�� The Latin words nullus omnino mean �absolutely nobody.�� Absolutely nobody outside the one Church of the faithful is saved.� Since the one Church of �the faithful� only includes those who have received the Sacrament of Baptism � as apostolic tradition, liturgical tradition and Church dogma show � this means that absolutely nobody is saved without the Sacrament of Baptism.

7.� Subjection to the Church/Roman Pontiff

�� The second definition from the Chair of Peter on Outside the Church There is No Salvation came from Pope Boniface VIII in the Bull Unam Sanctam.

Pope Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam, Nov. 18, 1302, ex cathedra:

�With Faith urging us we are forced to believe and to hold the one, holy, Catholic Church and that, apostolic, and we firmly believe and simply confess this Church outside of which there is no salvation nor remission of sin� Furthermore, we declare, say, define, and proclaim to every human creature that they by absolute necessity for salvation are entirely subject to the Roman Pontiff.�[lvi]

�� This means infallibly that every human creature must be subject to the Roman Pontiff for salvation.� Obviously, this does not mean that one must be subject to an antipope for salvation, which is what we have today.� It means that everyone must be subject to the true pope, if and when we have one.�

�� But how are infants subject to the Roman Pontiff?� This is a good question.� Notice that Pope Boniface VIII did not declare that every human creature must know the Roman Pontiff, but that every human creature must be subject to the Roman Pontiff.� Infants become subject to the Roman Pontiff by their baptism into the one Church of Christ, of which the Roman Pontiff is the head.

Pope Leo XIII, Nobilissima (# 3), Feb. 8, 1884:

�The Church, guardian of the integrity of the Faith � which, in virtue of its authority, deputed from God its Founder, has to call all nations to the knowledge of Christian lore, and which is consequently bound to watch keenly over the teaching and upbringing of the children placed under its authority by baptism��[lvii]�

�� Children are placed under the authority of the Church by baptism.� Thus, by their baptism they are made subject to the Roman Pontiff, since the Roman Pontiff possesses supreme authority in the Church (First Vatican Council, de fide).� This proves that baptism is actually the first component in determining whether or not one is subject to the Roman Pontiff.� If one has not been baptized, then one cannot be subject to the Roman Pontiff, because the Church exercises judgment (i.e., jurisdiction) over no one who has not entered the Church through the Sacrament of Baptism (de fide).

Pope Julius III, Council of Trent, On the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance, Sess. 14, Chap. 2, ex cathedra: �� since the Church exercises judgment on no one who has not previously entered it by the gate of baptism.� For what have I to do with those who are without (1 Cor. 5:12), says the Apostle.� It is otherwise with those of the household of the faith, whom Christ the Lord by the laver of baptism has once made �members of his own body� (1 Cor. 12:13).�[lviii]

�� It is not possible, therefore, to be subject to the Roman Pontiff without receiving the Sacrament of Baptism, since the Church (and the Roman Pontiff) cannot exercise judgment (jurisdiction) over an unbaptized person (de fide, Trent).� And since it is not possible to be subject to the Roman Pontiff without the Sacrament of Baptism, it is not possible to be saved without the Sacrament of Baptism, since every human creature must be subject to the Roman Pontiff for salvation (de fide, Boniface VIII).

8.� The Sacrament of Baptism is Necessary for Salvation

�� To further show that the Sacrament of Baptism is necessary for salvation, I will quote numerous other infallible statements from the Chair of St. Peter.

Pope Paul III, The Council of Trent, Sess. 7, Can. 5 on the Sacrament of Baptism, ex cathedra: �If anyone says that baptism [the Sacrament] is optional, that is, not necessary for salvation (cf. Jn. 3:5): let him be anathema.�[lix]

�� This infallible dogmatic definition from the Chair of St. Peter condemns anyone who says that the Sacrament of Baptism is not necessary for salvation.� The Sacrament of Baptism is necessary for all for salvation, first of all, because, as the Council of Trent defines, all men (except the Blessed Virgin Mary) were conceived in a state of original sin as a result of the sin of Adam, the first man.� The Sacrament of Baptism is also necessary for all for salvation because it is the means by which one is marked as a member of Jesus Christ and incorporated into His Mystical Body.� And in defining the truth that all men were conceived in the state of Original Sin, the Council of Trent specifically declared that the Blessed Virgin Mary was an exception to its decree on Original Sin.[lx]� But in defining the truth that the Sacrament of Baptism is necessary for salvation, the Council of Trent made no exceptions at all.

Pope Eugene IV, The Council of Florence, �Exultate Deo,� Nov. 22, 1439:� �Holy baptism, which is the gateway to the spiritual life, holds the first place among all the sacraments; through it we are made members of Christ and of the body of the Church.� And since death entered the universe through the first man, �unless we are born again of water and the Spirit, we cannot,� as the Truth says, �enter into the kingdom of heaven� [John 3:5].� The matter of this sacrament is real and natural water.�[lxi]

Pope Innocent III, Fourth Lateran Council, Constitution 1, 1215, ex cathedra: �But the sacrament of baptism is consecrated in water at the invocation of the undivided Trinity � namely, Father, Son and Holy Ghost � and brings salvation to both children and adults when it is correctly carried out by anyone in the form laid down by the Church.�[lxii]

Pope Benedict XIV, Nuper ad nos, March 16, 1743, Profession of Faith: �Likewise (I profess) that baptism is necessary for salvation, and hence, if there is imminent danger of death, it should be conferred at once and without delay, and that it is valid if conferred with the right matter and form and intention by anyone, and at any time.�[lxiii]

Pope Pius XI, Quas Primas (# 15), Dec. 11, 1925 :� �Indeed this kingdom is presented in the Gospels as such, into which men prepare to enter by doing penance; moreover, they cannot enter it except through faith and baptism, which, although an external rite, yet signifies and effects an interior regeneration.�[lxiv]�

�� We see here that one cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven without faith and the external rite of baptism (i.e., the Sacrament of Baptism).

9.� Water is Necessary for Baptism and John 3:5 is literal

�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)

��

�� The Catholic Church is the guardian and interpreter of the Sacred Scriptures.� She alone has been given the power and authority to infallibly determine the true sense of the sacred texts.

Pope Pius IX, First Vatican Council, Sess. 3, Chap. 2 on Revelation, 1870:

�� We, renewing the same decree, declare this to be its intention: that, in matters of faith and morals pertaining to the instruction of Christian Doctrine, that must be considered as the true sense of Sacred Scripture which Holy Mother Church has held and holds, whose office it is to judge concerning the true understanding and interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures; and, for that reason, no one is permitted to interpret Sacred Scripture itself contrary to this sense, or even contrary to the unanimous consent of the Fathers.�[lxv]

�� But not every scripture is understood by the Catholic Church in the literal sense.� For example, in Matthew 5:29, Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that if our eye scandalizes us we should pluck it out, for it is better that it should perish than our whole body in Hell.�

Matt. 5:29- �And if thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee.� For it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than thy whole body be cast into hell.�

�� But Our Lord�s words here are not to be understood literally.� His words are spoken figuratively to describe an occasion of sin or something in life that may scandalize us and be a hindrance to our salvation.� We must pluck it out and cut it off, says Our Lord, because it is better to be without it than to perish altogether in the fires of Hell.

�� On the other hand, other verses of scripture are understood by the Church in the literal sense.� For example:

Matt. 26:26-28 �And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke: and gave to his disciples, and said: Take ye, and eat.� This is my body.� And taking the chalice, he gave thanks, and gave to them, saying: Drink ye all of this.� For this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins.�

�� When Our Lord Jesus Christ says in Matthew 26:26: �This is My Body,� and in Matthew 26:28: �This is My Blood,� His words are understood by the Catholic Church exactly as they are written, for we know that Our Lord Jesus Christ was indeed referring to His actual Body and Blood, not a symbol or a figure.�

�� So the question is: How does the Catholic Church understand the words of Jesus Christ in John 3:5- 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?� Does the Catholic Church understand these words as they are written or in some other way?� Does the Catholic Church understand these words to mean that every man must be born again of water and the Holy Ghost to be saved, as Our Lord says?� The answer is clear: every single dogmatic definition that the Catholic Church has issued dealing with Our Lord�s words in John 3:5 understands them literally, exactly as they are written.

Pope Eugene IV, The Council of Florence, �Exultate Deo,� Nov. 22, 1439, ex cathedra:� �Holy baptism, which is the gateway to the spiritual life, holds the first place among all the sacraments; through it we are made members of Christ and of the body of the Church.� And since death entered the universe through the first man, �unless we are born again of water and the Spirit, we cannot,� as the Truth says, �enter into the kingdom of heaven� [John 3:5].� The matter of this sacrament is real and natural water.�[lxvi]

�� This means that Our Lord Jesus Christ�s declaration that no man can be saved without being born again of water and the Holy Ghost is a literal dogma of the Catholic Faith.

Pope Paul III, The Council of Trent, Can. 2 on the Sacrament of Baptism, Sess. 7, 1547, ex cathedra:� �If anyone shall say that real and natural water is not necessary for baptism, and on that account those words of Our Lord Jesus Christ: �Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit� [John 3:5], are distorted into some sort of metaphor: let him be anathema.�[lxvii]

Pope Paul III, The Council of Trent, Can. 5 on the Sacrament of Baptism, Sess. 7, 1547, ex cathedra: �If anyone says that baptism [the sacrament] is optional, that is, not necessary for salvation (cf. Jn. 3:5): let him be anathema.�[lxviii]

Pope Paul III, The Council of Trent, On Original Sin, Session V, ex cathedra:� �By one man sin entered into the world, and by sin death... so that in them there may be washed away by regeneration, what they have contracted by generation, �For unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God [John 3:5].�[lxix]

Pope St. Zosimus, The Council of Carthage XVI, on Original Sin and Grace:� �For when the Lord says: �Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he shall not enter into the kingdom of God� [John 3:5], what Catholic will doubt that he will be a partner of the devil who has not deserved to be a coheir of Christ.� For he who lacks the right part will without doubt run into the left.�[lxx]

Pope Gregory IX, Cum, sicut ex, July 8, 1241, to Sigurd of Nidaros:

�Since as we have learned from your report, it sometimes happens because of scarcity of water, that infants of your lands are baptized in beer, we reply to you in the tenor of those present that, since according to evangelical doctrine it is necessary �to be reborn from water and the Holy Spirit� (Jn. 3:5) they are not to be considered rightly baptized who are baptized in beer.�[lxxi]

10.� Infants Cannot Be Saved Without Baptism

�� The teaching of the Catholic Church already cited shows that no one can be saved without the Sacrament of Baptism.� Obviously, therefore, this means that children and infants also cannot get to Heaven without Baptism because they are conceived in a state of original sin, which cannot be removed without the Sacrament of Baptism.� But this truth of the Catholic Church is denied by many people today.� They look at the horrible tragedy of abortion � the millions of slaughtered children � and they conclude that these children must be headed to Heaven.� But such a conclusion is heretical.� The worst part of abortion is the fact that these children are barred from entrance into Heaven, not that they don�t get to live in this pagan world.� Satan delights in abortion because he knows that these souls can never get to Heaven without the Sacrament of Baptism.� If aborted children went straight to Heaven without the Sacrament of Baptism, as many today believe, then Satan wouldn�t be behind abortion.

�� The Church teaches that aborted children and infants who die without baptism descend immediately into Hell, but that they do not suffer the fires of Hell.� They go to a place in Hell called the limbo of the children.� The most specific definition of the Church proving that there is no possible way for an infant to be saved without the Sacrament of Baptism is the following one from Pope Eugene IV.

Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, Session 11, Feb. 4, 1442, ex cathedra: �Regarding children, indeed, because of danger of death, which can often take place, when no help can be brought to them by another remedy than through the sacrament of baptism, through which they are snatched from the domination of the Devil [original sin] and adopted among the sons of God, it advises that holy baptism ought not be deferred for forty or eighty days, or any time according to the observance of certain people��[lxxii]

� ��Pope Eugene IV here defined from the Chair of Peter that there is no other remedy for infants to be snatched away from the dominion of the devil (i.e., original sin) other than the Sacrament of Baptism.� This means that anyone who obstinately teaches that infants can be saved without receiving the Sacrament of Baptism is a heretic, for he is teaching that there is another remedy for original sin in children other than the Sacrament of Baptism.

Pope Martin V, Council of Constance, Session 15, July 6, 1415 - Condemning the articles of John Wyclif� - Proposition 6: �Those who claim that the children of the faithful dying without sacramental baptism will not be saved, are stupid and presumptuous in saying this.�[lxxiii] - Condemned

�� This is a fascinating proposition from The Council of Constance.� Unfortunately, this proposition is not found in Denzinger, which only contains some of the Council�s decrees, but it is found in a full collection of the Council of Constance.� The arch-heretic John Wyclif was proposing that those (such as ourselves) are stupid for teaching that infants who die without water (i.e., sacramental) baptism cannot possibly be saved.�� He was anathematized for this assertion, among many others.� And here is what the Council of Constance had to say about John Wyclif�s anathematized propositions, such as #6 above.

Pope Martin V, Council of Constance, Session 15, July 6, 1415: �The books and pamphlets of John Wyclif, of cursed memory, were carefully examined by the doctors and masters of Oxford University� This holy synod, therefore, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, repudiates and condemns,