Is it true that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church?

Answer 1

Most people, notable CJ, misconstrue the meaning of that phrase.

When the Church teaches extra ecclesiam, nulla salus, it does not say that non-Catholics cannot be saved. In fact, it affirms the contrary. The purpose of the teaching is to tell us how Jesus Christ makes salvation available to all human beings.


Extra ecclesiam, nulla salus does not mean that only faithful Roman Catholics can be saved. The Church has never taught that. So where does that leave non-Catholics and non-Christians?

Jesus told his followers, "I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed my voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd" (John 10:16). After his Resurrection, Jesus gave the threefold command to Peter: "Feed my lambs. . . . Tend my sheep. . . . Feed my sheep" (John 21:15–17). The word translated as "tend" (poimaine) means "to direct" or "to superintend"—in other words, "to govern." So although there are sheep that are not of Christ’s fold, it is through the Church that they are able to receive his salvation.

People who have never had an opportunity to hear of Christ and his Church—and those Christians whose minds have been closed to the truth of the Church by their conditioning—are not necessarily cut off from God’s mercy. Vatican II phrases the doctrine in these terms:
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 consciences—those too may achieve eternal salvation (LG 16).

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 (Gaudium et Spes 22).
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:
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 (CCC 1260).
Obviously, it is not their ignorance that enables them to be saved. Ignorance excuses only lack of knowledge. That which opens the salvation of Christ to them is their conscious effort, under grace, to serve God as well as they can on the basis of the best information they have about him.

Answer 2

Excellent answer Spiritroaming, You are exactly right about what the Church teaches and I am pleased that you cleared up all the misconceptions being spread by those hating His Church. May we all pray that they come to the truth of His Church and may the Lord have mercy on them and the Spirit lead them to the truth.

In Christ
fr. Joseph

Answer 3

there is no salvation outside of what Jesus Christ gave the world. What did he give us? Did he or did he not build a church? Did he establish works for us to do in his name? Did he give us sacraments? Did he die for us? Must we cooperate with Christ in order to go to heaven? To the catholic who knows the truth, the fullness of truth, and turns aside from it to something less than what Christ taught that person cannot be saved outside the church. to people like cj, who condems catholic people, he is subject to judgement himself, since he says we as a christian people are going to hell, who gave him the power to judge our hearts? So as you judge, so you too shall be judged, with what you measure unto others shall be measured out to you in return. For sincere christians of other faiths, if they have no reson to go searching for a fuller truth becuz they beleive they have it, and they follow Gods will to the best of their understanding they too shall be saved.

Answer 4

NO!
It is true, however, that the Catholic Church contains all the graces necessary for salvation.
Many of these graces can be found in other churches as well, but the CC is the only one that contains them all.

Answer 5

Psalm 146:3
Do not put YOUR trust in nobles,
Nor in the son of earthling man, to whom no salvation -

Acts 4:10-12
let it be known to all of YOU and to all the people of Israel, that in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom YOU impaled but whom God raised up from the dead, by this one does this man stand here sound in front of YOU.  This is ‘the stone that was treated by YOU builders as of no account that has become the head of the corner.’  Furthermore, there is no salvation in anyone else, for there is not another name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must get saved.”

Answer 6

No.
In fact, since Catholicism is a faith based on faith AND works,
some question now if it isn't one of those "another gospels" that the Apostle Paul warned the Galatians about.

Salvation is by grace through faith, according to the Bible.
Any salvation that REQUIRES more than that is suspect.
Since the R.C. Church REQUIRES membership for salvation, it is therefore suspect.

That siad, I know there are devout Catholics who are saved, but that is because they understand that Jesus is their Savior, not the Catholic Church. Jesus paid the price on the Cross, not the Vatican.

Answer 7

There is no salvation outside of any church for that matter...

Answer 8

Codswallow--as Rubeus Hagrid says

Answer 9

No
It's the oldest existing church in Christendom today.

But Jesus said to judge a tree by the fruitage it has.
He was directing that to the Pharisees.
When used to find the true faith, that instruction is very helpful.
The catholic church has to much innocent blood on it's hands to be the true faith.

Answer 10

acourding to the catholic belief yes.

but keep in mind this implies that heaven itself is part of the catholic church, so theirfore when you die and go to heaven you are a part of the catholic church.