Pope John Paul II declared that the only way to salvation is through the Catholic Church. Are all others lost?

Question

Dear friends, thank-you ever so much for all your answers. I may have misunderstood some declaration of ther Catholic Church that caused a lot of discussion among protestant Church leaders in my country in Europ some time ago. But it is still difficult to know exactly what the Church really means. Especially when comparing with statements by earlier popes, that are very clear about no salvation outside the Church. Anyhow, thank-you for answering. Hope our faith and knowledge will grow all the time.

Answer 1

No.

The Catholic Church teaches:

+ 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

Good query. Yes, John Paul the Second remains to be viewed first-rate. He goes to be a saint! I do not suppose he was once very immodest. That is simply my opinion. He is a pope to be remembered. Even if he was once Catholic, he visited alot of one-of-a-kind forms of church buildings and humans with different religions, similar to Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, and he was once a Tibetan Buddhist! Sure, he could have been concerned in a few abuse scandels, however he did ask for forgiveness honestly, and as I say, the Christian and/ or Catholic method is to forgive and to be given humans. He expressed appreciate to others, similar to a Soviet chief, and whilst he was once practically killed, he forgave the humans. I consider, with all my center, that the Catholics who brought on havoc are sorry for what they did. Being adversarial in the direction of the church isn't going to aid. It will simply rationale extra resentment to a couple humans who're blameless and had not anything to do with it. People make errors! Think approximately the apostle, Paul, for illustration. Didn't he attempt to kill the Christians? Later, nonetheless, he repented and become the sunshine of the Lord. The important factor to narrate on is, Christians and Catholics each love and appreciate God.

Answer 3

Yes. Bitter pill to swallow. All other churches must return to Rome, to be under the authority of the Pope , to be part of One, Holy , Apostolic , Catholic church in order to be saved.
The Catholic Church has solemnly defined three times by infallible declarations that outside the Catholic Church there is no salvation.
'There is one universal Church of the faithful, outside of which no one at all can be saved.' Pope Innocent III, ex cathedra, (Fourth Lateran Council, 1215).
'We declare, say , define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.' Pope Boniface VIII, (Unam Sanctam, 1302).
One cant tamper with declarations made ex-cathedra. So even if one disagrees with it it still remains strongly valid in the church and cannot be changed by anyone. Even if a later Pope should disagree with an ex-cathedra statement it would not change the fact.

Answer 4

Depends on who you believe.

There are two standard answers you'll get- the sweet sounding Jesuit answer that says "no, there are many paths.." and "yes, Jesus only founded one church and all others are part of it whether they admit to it or not."

The second answer is closer to the underlying church law (canon law) of the church which basically states any person who is not Catholic and refused to become Catholic can be tortured and burned alive- something the Catholic Church and its various dictators have been only too happy to do over the ages.

Of course, no organization has a monopoly on salvation or God, but when you're dealing with spin and fear- there is no greater organization than the vatican.

For the truth on why all have a right to salvation and heaven- see http://one-heaven.org

Answer 5

SALVATION is ONLY through Jesus Christ!! Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." (Doesnt even mention the catholic church at all!) The Catholic church also says they gave us the first bible! So the Catholic Church tried to take credit for what the Lord did without their help. There was no "church" of any kind to claim responsibility for it. God inspired individuals to bring God's word to the people.
REMEMBER Jesus' words of warning in Matthew 24? In this End Times' prophecy chapter, Jesus warned three times that people living at the End of the Age would be facing unparalleled deception. In His third warning, Jesus said: "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets , and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect." [Matthew 24:24]

Answer 6

If he did say that, he is terribly wrong. Jesus said, " I am the way, the truth, and the light. No man cometh to the Father except through me". Jesus is not the catholic Church. Salvation comes when you accpt Jesus' sacrifice of death on th cross as your personal payment for sin. Right then, you are saved. No church needed. Church is important for you to grow from that point in your faith, but church is not neccessary to get to Heaven. when Jesus died, the curtain that separated the laypeople from the innermostpart of the temple was ripped. This signified that we do not need any man to intercess between us and God. We have direct access to Him through prayer ( to God, not saints) and His written Holy word - the Bible. No pope needed.

Answer 7

Jesus founded only one church ... the Catholic Church ... to lead all to salvation by his grace ... and all the other Christian churches remain a part of that one church ... whether they choose to admit it or not.

Does John Paul II's statement make more sense now?

Answer 8

Sounds like John lost his Bible. JESUS said "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the father except through ME." not the Catholice Church.

Answer 9

You misunderstand the statement Christ is known through The Holy Apostolic Catholic Church the holder of all truths regarding faith and morals other denominations which have left home still know who Christ is but that knowledge came through the Church
Salvation comes from God alone; but because we receive the life of faith through the Church, she is our mother: "We believe the Church as the mother of our new birth, and not in the Church as if she were the author of our salvation." Because she is our mother, she is also our teacher in the faith.
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.

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.
"Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men."

Answer 10

He either did not say that, or you mis-understood him.

The Catholic Church does NOT teach that only Catholics go to heaven.

If you are not sure about what Catholics believe, check the Catechism of the Catholic Church, ALL of our beliefs are in there.

Peace and God Bless!