Since God sent His only-begotten Son into this world, and thatSon established the Catholic Church, sending it to teach allnations, it is certainly necessary to be taught by that Church ifone desires to save his soul. Christ said, "If a man will nothear the Church, let him be as the heathen." Matt. XVIII.,17.
I would not make such an assertion without due qualifications.The Catholic Church, of course, stands foursquare for the teachingsof the Gospel. She accepts absolutely all that Christ says. Andconsequently, she accepts the words of Christ recorded in Matt.XVIII., 17, "If a man will not hear the Church, let him be asthe heathen." But to whom does the Church apply those words?She applies them only to those who clearly realize that theCatholic Church is the one true Church, yet who refuse submissionand obedience to it. Therefore, she does not regard as heathens thevast majority of non-Catholics, for they have never clearlyrealized her truth. Full allowance is made for sincere yet mistakenpeople.
God has declared the Catholic religion to be necessary. And onewho becomes aware of that must become a Catholic if he wishes tosave his soul. But you adopt a peculiar position. You say you havenever bothered about religion. Then it is most necessary that youbegin to give your attention to the question. For example, you wentto the bother of learning to write. You have bothered to learn theuse of various things which are necessary to your earthly welfare.You know what those things are for. But surely it is man's dutyto know what he himself is for! And a man cannot know that unlesshe knows the fundamental truth concerning his origin, his nature,his destiny, and the moral law. The teachings of the true religionalone can provide the necessary knowledge, and a man is obliged tofind that true religion. And you are robbed of excuse by the factthat a vast international Church like the Catholic Church is inthis world, claiming to speak with the authority of God. Confrontedwith such a fact, every reasonable man would say, "Such claimsare rather tremendous. At least, I'd better look into them andsee whether there is any justification for them." One whowould note the fact, and simply not bother about it, is violatingreason, and has only himself to blame if he wrecks his eternaldestiny.
That particular text does not say that non-Catholics will besaved. It might avail if Christ had never said anything else. ButHe said much else. And whosoever really believes in Christ mustaccept every single thing He taught, and try to fulfill all that Hecommanded. For example, He said, "Unless your justice aboundmore than that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enterinto the kingdom of heaven." Matt. V., 20. One could believein Christ, yet make no effort to acquire the prescribed justice.That is why Christ said, "Not every one who cries: 'Lord,Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven." Matt. VII., 21.It is evident that you cannot attach an unconditional and universalsense to the text you have quoted. They will be saved who sobelieve in Christ that they are prepared to accept and to fulfillall the conditions prescribed by Him.
The same Christ who uttered those wonderful words also said,"If a man will not hear the Church, let him be as the heathenand the publican." It is necessary then that those who believein Christ should hear and obey His Church. And you must askyourself whether you hear and obey any Church as your teacher andruler in religious matters. Also you must ask yourself what ChurchChrist had in mind when He spoke. If you say that it is notnecessary to obey any Church, you do not believe Christ's word.And in that case you cannot be ranked amongst those included in thepromise, "Whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish."The Church Christ had in mind was the Catholic Church; and once aman adverts to the fact, he must join her if he wishes to save hissoul.
St. Paul was speaking there of the Catholic Church in whichnational and earthly differences are no obstacle to membership.Insofar as we are members of the Catholic Church, all otherCatholics are our brethren. In our mutual faith there is neitherGentile nor Jew, neither German nor Frenchman, nor Italian, norIrishman, nor American. We Catholics are all one in Christ Jesus,belonging to His mystical body, the Catholic Church. But you, as aProtestant, do not belong to the same Church as Catholics. Youshould. The text you quote and which says that we should all be onecannot possibly justify our continued separation and your remainingoutside the Catholic Church. In reality, it is Protestantism whichsays that there are Jews and Gentiles, Englishmen and Germans,Dutch and Norwegians, for it permits religion to differ accordingto nationality. Where Catholicism has one religion for all nations,Protestantism sanctions as many religions as there are nations, andeven variations and divisions within the one nation. The text youquote is really suicidal for Protestantism, and proves thenecessity of Catholicism.
He is not serving Christ as Christ demands. But if he beignorant of the full teaching of Christ through no fault of hisown, he may be trying wholeheartedly to serve Christ, littlerealizing how mistaken are his ideas.
Since the Catholic Church is the one true Church to which Godwills men to belong, it is impossible to hold out equal hopes ofsalvation to those who reject that Church and deprive themselves ofall the helps she can give. And if some of my statements disheartenthose outside the Church sufficiently to make them take aninterest, inquire, and discover the truth, leading eventually totheir becoming Catholics, I have done them a very great serviceindeed.