Is there salvation outside the Church? Part I

Hi C153! I’m Leonardo Quimson, 19 years old, from UST. What does the Church mean by the statement extra ecclesiam nulla salus (outside the Church there is no salvation)? Can you explain it further? Thank you!

From the Editor: Thank you for asking a very good question. Your question will be answered by an article in two parts, one this week and another the week after next.

By Rev. Fr. Henry Bocala

At a time when “interfaith dialogue” and “religious freedom” are in vogue, one might frown upon such Catholic maxim as extra ecclesiam nulla salus (outside the Church there is no salvation). More than once a student in my doctrine class raised his hand to point out that this phrase sounds “politically incorrect” and might better be dropped from the Catholic vocabulary. I knew he was not the first nor would he be the last to feel uneasy about it, so I explained it to him the best I could, in more or less the following words.

Christ did not found the Church as a political party that people can freely support or dump with impunity. He established it as a necessary means of salvation, for God wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim 2:4). Without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6), and we receive the gift of faith in and through the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.

“So only Catholics are going to be saved? Is that what you mean, Father?” “I did not say that,” was my answer. “A person, who for reasons beyond his control, may not have heard of Christ nor seen a priest nor entered a church all his life, can still be saved if he lived an upright life.” God dispenses His saving grace in mysterious ways, even outside the confines of the visible Church. No man can limit the divine activity.

However, if someone is saved, that salvation still comes through the Church, even though no Christian has ever seen him. Everybody of course has the duty to seek the truth and in today’s global village, it is not hard to find the true Church if someone earnestly searches for it. Everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened (Mt 7:8).

Fr. Henry is a priest of Opus Dei with a doctorate in canon law (summa cum laude). He is the author of Arise and Walk available at St. Paul’s and through its website arisewalk.com.