BobRyan
Well-Known Member
In Vatican II they were walking a fine line.
1. They could not repudiate all their previous "salvation only inside the Catholic church" nor lessen it to the point that people would feel free to reject the essential principle of being a member of the RCC.
2. But they needed to open a way for non-Catholics to be "saved" or risk isolating themsevles -
1. They could not repudiate all their previous "salvation only inside the Catholic church" nor lessen it to the point that people would feel free to reject the essential principle of being a member of the RCC.
2. But they needed to open a way for non-Catholics to be "saved" or risk isolating themsevles -
Catholic Digest. May 1994. Fr. Ken Ryan … page 124
I ask the lead question for the month of May---
“Your June 1993 issue had a most interesting question regarding the New Covenant. Your answer said that people come under the New Covenant by joining the Catholic Church and taking part in the Catholic Mass, but said nothing about there being any other ways of entering the New Covenant or about limiting salvation to those under the New Covenant. Are there (in Catholic thought) any other ways of salvation, and if there are, doesn’t that fact make the Catholic New Covenant (joining the Catholic church and attending Mass) unnecessary?” Bob.
The Answer – By Fr. Ken Ryan
“Not in Catholic theology. God is fair to everyone so He offers His salvation to everyone. THE invitation is issued through the New Covenant[/b], and human acceptance of the invitation is properly expressed by membership in the Catholic Church And participation in Christ’s sacrifice of Himself in the Mass. The New Covenant, in its Catholic meaning, is the ordinary way of salvation (getting to heaven).
God’s expressed command is that everyone belong to the Catholic Church[/b] He founded. “He who hears Me” was spoken to the 70 disciples whom He had organized to speak for Him in places He did not personally visit.
The invitation to membership in the New Covenant is for all people in general, but the acceptance has to be by the individual. One certainly can’t decline an invitation he or she has never heard of. Accordingly, the Catholic Church does not deny the possibility of salvation except to those who have heard the invitation, understood its meaning, and nevertheless rejected it. Those who have never heard it, never understood it, or never made any deliberate rejection of the invitation can still be saved in some extraordinary way., some way other than joining the Catholic Church and participating in the Mass. All these possible ways can be summarized by saying that all persons who sincerely try to have a properly informed conscience and then follow that conscience in their moral actions can be saved by this extraordinary way God offers to all.
New Covenant as a term is much more prevalent in non-Catholic popular literature than it is in Catholic writings, and has various meanings. But it was Christ Himself who identified it with the Mass which non-Catholics have rejected.
“This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood” was spoken at the Last Supper (the first Mass).
So, according to Catholic thought the New Covenant is the ordinary way to heaven, commanded for our use by Christ, which nevertheless allows salvation by the extraordinary action of God.