Venerable Pope Pius IX
Page 35 (paraphrased): Question: Didn't Father Feeney belittled the teaching of Pope Pius IX that there are souls in Heaven who died in the state of sanctifying grace, but never received the Sacrament of Baptism ["after the promulgation of the Gospel" is understood]?
Answer: First we should note that the Church was never blessed with a Supreme Pontiff who proclaimed and defended the defined dogma, Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus, more often or more vigorously than Pius IX. We also remind our readers that he was a very brave and holy pope; he has been declared "Blessed", and his cause for canonization is being promoted at this very time.
Pius IX reigned as Holy Roman Pontiff for thirty-two years (1846 to 1878), longer than any other Vicar of Christ except Saint Peter. In certain statements he made in official — though not infallible — pronouncements during his Pontificate, he seemed, to some liberals, to excuse the invincibly ignorant from the necessity of membership in the Catholic Church for salvation. His three most quoted statements follow:
Singulari Quadam (December 9, 1854), an Allocution* :
". . . those who are affected by ignorance of the true religion, if it is invincible ignorance, are not subject to any guilt in this matter before the eyes of the Lord."
* An Allocution is a solemn form of address, delivered by the pope from the throne, to cardinals in secret consistory.
Singulari Quidem (March 17, 1856), an Encyclical to the Austrian Episcopate:
". . . the Catholic Church . . . is the temple of God, outside of which, except with the excuse of invincible ignorance, there is no hope of life or salvation."
Quanto Conficiamur Moerore (August 10, 1863), an Encyclical to the Italian Episcopate:
". . . they who labor in invincible ignorance of our most holy religion and who . . . live an honest and upright life, can, by the operating power of divine light and grace, attain eternal life, since God . . . will by no means suffer anyone to be punished with eternal torment who has not the guilt of deliberate sin."
Liberals have never tired of using these utterances by Pio Nono to "prove" their claim that he supported the then-mounting opinion that "invincible ignorance" was an effective substitute for both Faith and Baptism as requirements for salvation.
Taken by themselves and out of the body of the complete text, as liberals and modernists are wont to do, these statements do seem to verify that claim. As a matter of fact, even "in context" their true meaning is not quickly and easily perceived, as we shall now see in the following passages. First, we will look at Singulari Quadam:
"It must, of course, be held as a matter of faith that outside the apostolic Roman Church no one can be saved, that the Church is the only ark of salvation, and that whoever does not enter it will perish in the flood.
On the other hand, it must likewise be held as certain that those who are affected by ignorance of the true religion, if it is invincible ignorance, are not subject to any guilt in this matter before the eyes of the Lord.
Now, then, who could presume in himself an ability to set the boundaries of such ignorance, taking into consideration the natural differences of peoples, lands, native talents, and so many other factors? Only when we have been released from the bonds of this body and see God just as He is (1 John 3:2) shall we really understand how close and beautiful a bond joins divine mercy with divine justice. But as long as we dwell on earth, encumbered with this soul-dulling, mortal body, let us tenaciously cling to the Catholic doctrine that there is one God, one faith, one baptism (Eph. 4:5); To proceed with further inquiry is contrary to divine law.*"
* The Latin text uses the noun "nefas", which means something contrary to divine law, sinful, unlawful, abominable; an impious or wicked deed.
At this point, liberals and modernists usually end the quote, claiming that, since Pope Pius IX himself taught the Pelagian doctrine of salvation by invincible ignorance, the dogma Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus was no longer tenable. But they ignore the words of the Holy Father that followed immediately:
"Nevertheless, as charity demands, let us pray continually for the conversion to Christ of all nations everywhere. Let us devote ourselves to the salvation of all men as far as we can, for the hand of the Lord is not shortened (Isa. 59:1). The gifts of heavenly grace will assuredly not be denied to those who sincerely want and pray for refreshment by the divine light.
These truths need to be fixed deeply in the minds of the faithful so that they cannot be infected with doctrines tending to foster the religious indifferentism which We see spreading widely, with growing strength, and with destructive effect upon souls."
There is no break with the Tradition of the Church in these words of Pius IX. Nor is there a denial of the dogma on salvation. In his essay, "On Exonerating Pelagius" (see our issue of Res Fidei dated November, 1991), Brother Thomas Mary Sennott explains:
The teaching here is exactly the same as that of Saint Thomas Aquinas. Pope Pius says that persons "affected by ignorance of the true religion, if it is invincible ignorance, are not subject to any guilt in this matter," the "matter" being the sin of unbelief; or as Saint Thomas puts it, "When such unbelievers are damned, it is on account of other sins, which cannot be taken away without faith, but not because of unbelief."
But concerning a person of good will involved in invincible ignorance, Pius says, "the gifts of heavenly grace will assuredly not be denied to those who sincerely want and pray for refreshment by the divine light;" or as Saint Thomas states, "it pertains to Divine Providence to furnish everyone with what is necessary for salvation, provided that on his part there is no hindrance." There is complete continuity of Tradition then, in the teaching of Saint Thomas and of Pope Pius IX.
And, we might add, there is also complete continuity of Tradition that God will provide the waters of Baptism to anyone and everyone who truly desires them. With Pope Pius, we "cling to the Catholic doctrine that there is one God, one faith, one Baptism," because "to proceed with further inquiry is contrary to divine law." Is it not "further inquiry" to speculate about substitutes for Baptism?
Now we turn to Singulari Quidem:
"The Church declares openly that all man’s hope, all his salvation, is in Christian faith, in that faith which teaches the truth, dissipates by its divine light the darkness of human ignorance, works through charity; that it is at the same time in the Catholic Church, who, because she keeps the true worship, is the inviolable sanctuary of faith itself and the temple of God, outside of which, except with the excuse of invincible ignorance, there is no hope of life or of salvation."
In this Encyclical to the Bishops of Austria, Pio Nono offers no qualifications to the phrase "except with the excuse of invincible ignorance," as he did in Singulari Quadam fifteen months earlier, and as he will do in Quanto Conficiamur Moerore seven and one-half years later. We may certainly assume that this was not an intended omission by the Holy Father. And we remind the reader again that there was no engagement here of his grace of infallibility.
Here is the third, and last of these texts, Quanto Conficiamur Moerore:
"And here, beloved Sons and Venerable Brothers, We should mention again and censure a very grave error in which some Catholics are unhappily engaged, who believe that men living in error, and separated from the true faith and from Catholic unity, can attain eternal life.
Indeed, this is certainly quite contrary to Catholic teaching.
It is known to Us and to you that they who labor in invincible ignorance of our most holy religion and who, zealously keeping the natural law and its precepts engraved in the hearts of all by God, and being ready to obey God, live an honest and upright life, can, by the operating power of divine light and grace, attain eternal life, since God Who clearly beholds, searches, and knows the minds, souls, thoughts, and habits of all men, because of His great goodness and mercy, will by no means suffer anyone to be punished with eternal torment who has not the guilt of deliberate sin.
But, the Catholic dogma that no one can be saved outside the Catholic Church is well-known; and also that those who are obstinate toward the authority and definitions of the same Church, and who persistently separate themselves from the unity of the Church, and from the Roman Pontiff, the successor of Peter, to whom "the guardianship of the vine has been entrusted by the Savior," cannot obtain eternal salvation."
There are four sentences in this passage from Pope Pius IX’s famous encyclical. Let us analyze each one of them:
1st.) In the first sentence, the Holy Father states that he must censure "a very grave error" into which some Catholics have fallen, which is to believe that "men living in error, and separated from the true Faith and from Catholic unity, can attain eternal life." This sentence clearly explains that anyone who holds a doctrine contrary to Catholic doctrine, or who does not embrace the Catholic Faith and Catholic unity, is not going to achieve salvation.
2nd.) In sentence two, he repeats, for emphasis, that any position contrary to what he stated in the first sentence is extremely erroneous.
However, it would seem from the first sentence that a person seeking salvation would have to know of the Catholic Faith and the Church, and would have to accept them without qualification. This appears to be a hard saying because many persons seem to be in a condition of "invincible ignorance," having never even heard of the Catholic Faith. So the Pope immediately addresses this matter of invincible ignorance in sentence three.
3rd.) He describes the case of a good-living but invincibly ignorant person. He says that this person can reach eternal life "by the operating power of divine light and grace." But, since he has just stated emphatically, in the first sentence, that nobody can attain eternal life while "separated from the true Faith and from Catholic unity," the phrase, "by the operating power of divine light and grace," necessarily means that God will not fail to provide such a person of good will with what he needs in order to end this separation. Included in what God will provide in order for that person to be welcomed into the true Faith and Catholic unity, where alone he "can attain eternal life," will certainly be the sacrament of Baptism. This is exactly what God miraculously provided for Cornelius the Centurion, for the Eunuch of Candace, and for Saul of Tarsus, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.
The Holy Father then points to God’s justice and mercy to explain why He helps such worthy, though invincibly ignorant, persons. He states that God "will by no means suffer anyone to be punished with eternal torment who has not the guilt of deliberate sin." (our emphasis)
Note that the Pope did not say that God would not punish with eternal punishment anyone "who has not the guilt of deliberate sin." Pius IX did not say this because he knew, as does every Catholic, that the loss of the Beatific Vision suffered by an unbaptized infant is, indeed, eternal punishment for a little baby who never committed a deliberate sin. An infant who dies unbaptized does suffer eternal punishment (only the loss of the Beatific Vision), but not eternal torment (pain of the senses due to deliberate sin). Why God decrees this is known only to Him, but that He does decree it is part of Catholic truth.
To conclude from the third sentence that Pope Pius IX believed that an invincibly ignorant person can receive what is necessary for salvation without being incorporated into the Church by the actual reception of the sacrament of Baptism, is to misrepresent totally what he actually stated. And, as noted, such a conclusion also ignores his strict condemnation in the first sentence of those "who believe that men living in error, and separated from the true Faith and from Catholic unity, can attain eternal life."
4 th.) Finally, in the last sentence, the Holy Father reaffirms that those who are aware of the Church and her well known doctrine on salvation, yet stubbornly reject her authority and refuse to enter into her unity, simply cannot obtain eternal salvation.
That Father Feeney and Sister Catherine always had great admiration and respect for Pio Nono is made evident by Sister’s comments in her splendid book, Our Glorious Popes:
There is no question in the mind of anyone who innocently and chastely reads the writings and utterances of Pope Pius IX but that he believed, without any qualification, the fundamental doctrine that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. In the year 1863, when he was faced with all the arguments which the liberals were pushing against him concerning the poor ignorant native who through invincible ignorance must be saved outside the body of the Church, Pope Pius IX, in his encyclical, Quanto Conficiamur, declared that he knew, about this ignorant native, all the arguments in favor of his deliverance from eternal damnation, he had heard all about this invincible ignorance — about which the liberals were so hopeful — but despite all this, he held that, unless this ignorance in a person of good will were dissolved and clarified by the light of Faith, it could not bring him to salvation. . . .
The modern liberals of our time in Catholic life have never paid any attention to anything else which Pope Pius IX has said except this little half-bow of charity toward the ignorant native. And, that the Holy Father knew that the liberals of his own day were misunderstanding him, is made clear by the Syllabus of Errors, which was issued in the following year, in which he sets down, without qualification, that it is condemned even to hope for the salvation of such men without the Faith.
THE SYLLABUS OF ERRORS CONDEMNED BY PIUS IX #17; #18:
"17. Good hope at least is to be entertained of the eternal salvation of all
those who are not at all in the true Church of Christ." -- condemned.
"18. Protestantism is nothing more than another form of the same true
Christian religion, in which form it is given to please God equally as in the
Catholic Church". -- condemned
Nothing but a desire to live comfortably in a non-Catholic society, not to offend and not to make enemies, . . . can explain the Catholic liberals’ selection, in our time, of two or three vaguely worded sentences in all the volumes of Pope Pius’ utterances, and the use of these sentences to build up a whole new liberal attack on a many times defined dogma of the Church, thereby entering well into the plans of the Church’s enemies.
Pope Pius IX, . . . who learned at such bitter cost that liberalism in any of its forms, and religious liberalism in particular, leads to chaos and revolution, strove during every year of his reign to place before the faithful the truths of salvation.
