A Catholic question here?

Question

Do Roman Catholics believe that non-Christians and non-Catholic Christians can be saved?

I'm quite aware that Catholics are Christian. My question was whether or not non-Catholic Christians could be saved? You know, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox?

That is, could be saved, according to the Catholic Church.

Answer 1

Yes. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

+ About Non-Catholic Christian Churches: Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements. Christ's Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him.

+ About Judaism: "The Jewish faith, unlike other non-Christian religions, is already a response to God's revelation in the Old Covenant. To the Jews "belong the sonship, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and of their race, according to the flesh, is the Christ"; "for the gifts and the call of God are irrevocable.

+ About Islam: The plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Muslims; these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us they adore the one, merciful God, mankind's judge on the last day.

+ About other non-Christian religions: All nations form but one community. This is so because all stem from the one stock which God created to people the entire earth, and also because all share a common destiny, namely God. His providence, evident goodness, and saving designs extend to all against the day when the elect are gathered together in the holy city.

+ With love in Christ.

Answer 2

Yes, the Catholic Church teaches that it is possible for a non-Catholic to be saved through baptism of blood(Martyrdom/Death for the christian faith or virtue) and baptism of desire(desire for baptism of water). The early Church Fathers taught of the possiblity of salvation for those who lived before the time of Christ who were not part of the Chose People of God.

Answer 3

The Cathechism of the Catholic Church states in 1260 states as follows,"Since Christ died for all,and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny,which is divine,we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers,in a way known to God,of the Paschal mystery." (GS 22 p5;cf.LG16;AG7.Every man who is ignorant of the Gospel of Christ and of his Church,but seeks the truth and does the will of God in accordance with his understanding of it,can be saved.It may be supposed that such persons would have Desired Baptism explicitly if they had known its necessity.This is the official teaching of the Church.

Answer 4

I am Catholic. Our Church states that people that have been baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are Catholics. This is how Jesus told us to be baptized. Usually baptism in done by a Catholic priest in a Catholic Church but in some situations any Catholic can baptize another person who is dying and asks to be baptized. We must use pure, clean water and say that we are baptizing you in the name of the Father, and in the name of the Son, and in the name of the Holy Spirit. Then that person is then Catholic and will die being a Catholic if they truly believe in the Holy Trinity and that Jesus is their Redeemer. After they die, it's still up to Jesus to judge them.

According to our Church, a person can say that they believe in the Holy Trinity but if they aren't baptized in the name of the Trinity by another believing Catholic, their soul will be facing Jesus unbaptized the way He told us to be. It's still all up to Jesus to be the final and only Judge.

Our Church also believes in Purgatory, the place for stained souls to go to be purified before entering Heaven. All souls in Purgatory will end up in Heaven by it all depends on how stained their souls are and how long it takes for them to become pure. Only holy ones can enter Heaven. Absolutely no sin will enter Heaven.

When a non-Catholic person dies, we may not know for sure what their final words to God are. They might be praying during their last breathes and ask for forgiveness and tell God that they do believe in the Trinity. So they will not go to hell then. They'll go to Purgatory if Jesus judges them with sin still on their soul or to Heaven if God forgave all their sin before they died.

Answer 5

I am Catholic and I believe everyone can be saved. For us to say that God can only save someone if they are Catholic is to limit God's power. There is no limit to God's power so everyone can be saved. My priest even thinks that very few people will actually go to hell.

Answer 6

Like other Christians they believe anyone who accepts Jesus is saved.

Answer 7

This is a long read but answers your question:

From the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC). The 3-digit numbers are the paragraph numbers:

851 ... Indeed, God "desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the Truth"; that is, God wills the salvation of everyone through the knowledge of the Truth. Salvation is found in the Truth. Those who obey the prompting of the Spirit of Truth are already on the way of salvation. But the Church, to whom this truth has been entrusted, must go out to meet their desire, so as to bring them the Truth ....

Who belongs to the Catholic Church?

838 "The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized who are honored by the name of Christian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter."

Those "who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in a certain, although imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church."

With the Orthodox Churches, this communion is so profound "that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a common celebration of the Lord's Eucharist."

"Outside the Church there is no salvation"

846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers? Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:

Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches 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. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.

847 This affirmation is not aimed at those who, through no fault of their own, do not know Christ and his Church:

Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience—those too may achieve eternal salvation.

END OF CCC

Jesus said Faith AND Baptism is necessary for Salvation. (Mark 16:16).

Jesus offers Baptism through the Sacrament of water Baptism in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Those who "through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church" can be saved by receiving the "Baptism of Desire", which is not a Sacrament.

CCC 1257 "God has bound salvation to the sacrament of Baptism, but he himself is not bound by his sacraments."

Hope this helps.

Answer 8

Catholics ARE Christians. Why's that so difficult to understand? If you think Jesus is the son of god, you're Christian. I know that, and I'm not even religious!

Answer 9

I'm not a Catholic but I do believe that you can get saved even if you are catholic as long as you confessed that Jesus is Lord and he died for your sins and rose again and also as long as you confess your sins to Him he will forgive you.

Answer 10

According to the Catholic Church Catechism, anyone who believes that you are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone is anathama (accursed forevermore). Tell that to to the thief on the cross that Jesus took to Heaven. Only grace and faith could have saved him. What works were there to do but die on the cross?