Given from the Catholic Broadcasting Station 2SM Sydney Australia
Choose a topic from Vol 4:
I do not deny that. But keep in mind that the type of life a man leads must be measured by his fidelity to the dictates of his conscience or his violation of them. If a man's conscience tells him that he must hear and obey the Catholic Church as the true Church of Christ, then if he does not obey his conscience in this matter he will be judged as one who has not led the right type of life. For the only right type of life for such a man is that of a good and fervent Catholic.
That sentiment is utterly unchristian. Do you mean to say that if God sends His only-begotten Son into this world to give us the true religion, it does not matter whether we accept that religion or not? Nowhere did Christ ever breathe the slightest hint that it does not matter which religion one follows. He sent His Apostles to teach all men the religion He had taught them, saying: "He who believes not shall be condemned." Mark, XVI, 16.
Not necessarily. But if not, it will not be because they belonged to non-Catholic Churches. It will be because they were good-living people who did not realize that they should be Catholics. Christ will be ready to make all allowances for mistakes. But they will have to be genuine mistakes, and not the fault of people who could have discovered the truth but were too lazy to make an effort to do so, or who refused to inquire because they thought it might be uncomfortable to find out duties they preferred to ignore. Nothing is to be gained by talking about people's good dispositions; for when we find good men professing contradictory doctrines, we have to say that some of them are mistaken. Ten men of different religions may have equal goodwill. It does not follow that they have equally right ideas. The search for truth demands the sorting out of ideas, not the analysis of people's dispositions. And the man who is genuinely seeking the truth will find it in its fullness only in the Catholic religion.
That is true. But it is possible for people, with the best of intentions, to be mistaken as to what the will of God really is. The classic example of that is St. Paul, Acts, IX, 4, who really thought he was doing the will of God in trying to suppress Christianity. When enlightened by Christ, on the way to Damascus, he did not hesitate to abandon his previous position and give himself entirely to the cause of truth. You must remain as you are so long as you conscientiously believe it to be right for you to do so. I would not ask you to take a single step until you see your way clear to to do so. But I do ask you to reconsider your position.
"THAT CATHOLIC CHURCH
A Radio Analysis"
- Book Title