Thoughts on Universal Salvation

...on the Feast of the Exultation of the Holy Cross. Photo: Whitefriar's Church, Dublin, Ireland

Occasionally I get e-mail questions from folks asking my opinion about how to respond to someone’s objection on some Catholic teaching or other matter of faith. I usually intend to answer with a few sentences, but often end up writing a small book. Recently I received a question about what I thought about “universal salvation.” Here is my response…

Regarding the other question - yes, I think Catholics have every opportunity to be saved! ;) Seriously, though, one needs to define "universal". In most discussions using these terms, it means, "Does God save people other than Christians?" or, in regards to either Christians or non-Christians, "Does God save people regardless of their state of their soul?"

I know some folks think that everyone goes to heaven (very convenient, doesn't require all that nasty "conversion" stuff), some folks think only Christians go to heaven (which would lead one to conclude that God is cruel by damning people simply for being born at the wrong time or in the wrong place), some think that only folks of their particular brand of Christianity go to heaven (but how do they know they've got it right? How small do they think their heaven will be!?!).

Some believe in hell, but that ultimately, everyone one in it will be forgiven & redeemed (really, even Satan & the fallen angels?). It becomes kind of giant Purgatory, waiting for the Final Judgment, except the judgment is always Yes. [Ed. - I regret this comment. Such a view of the emptying of Hell is mockery & parody of the beautiful doctrine of the necessity of purgation before entering into the beatific vision & of human freedom to choose either good or evil. Salvation assumes that people love (or desire to love) God & want to be with him forever. However, those in hell have chosen to be separated; & since God has created us as free persons, he cannot coerce those who have rejected him. We must conclude that the conditions of hell are such that a person in eternal torment & loneliness no longer have the conditions or the ability to repent, but rather grow increasingly furious at God & self-justified in their actions. God forbid that any of us will choose this fate! It seems that those in hell are still sustained in existence as persons, because of God's love even for the damned. As I've mentioned before, what amazing & terrifying power we have over God!]

The Church has wrestled with the question "Who can be saved?" since the beginning, & continues to ponder it & find ways express it. Its thought has evolved from a persecuted minority in the Roman Empire, to being the Roman Empire, to being European Christendom, to being one world religion among many competing faiths. The Church still holds for extra ecclesiam nulla salus ("Outside the Church there is no salvation"), but exactly what the Church is, who is in it, & what it means to be outside or inside are the sticky points. It has become very fashionable in the last half of the 20th century, even among theologians in the Church, to come up with schemes that do provide ways for everyone to get to heaven, but many of these musings have been formally condemned by the Holy See.

The Church, based on the revelation the "God wills not the death of any sinner," re-presents this core teaching as: everyone is given sufficient light & grace for salvation. St. Augustine put it as: Christ has many who are not in the Church, & the Church has many who are not in Christ. This isn't a free pass to heaven for everyone, but more of a statement about the justice of God on the basis of to whom & by what means revelation of himself has reached. If one hasn't been told about salvation through Christ, then it does not seem reasonable or just that God would punish them for that.

However, the Church also teaches that people who have been authentically presented with the Truth of the Gospel are obligated to respond to it (Mark 16:15-16), & that the Church is the sole custodian of that Truth. But it's really easy to get lost in all this (what if you were told about salvation through Christ, but in an incomplete, inappropriate, or coercive way?), so the place to start is the Vatican II document Lumen Gentium & the Catechism (esp. Art. 9: "I believe in the Holy Catholic Church", & esp. para. 836-848). I'd look in the glossary under "Salvation" & check the various references.

An interesting question, to be sure. Maybe we can discuss it more when we have time. Gotta get ready for Mass now...

What I left unsaid is that, ultimately, Christian or not, the fate of any particular person’s soul is a matter between them & God. The Church provides every possible means of grace to die well & be received into the joy of the Master’s house, but we do not always choose what is good for us. Catholic funeral Masses are intended to be the Church’s prayer of intercession to God to have mercy on the soul of the deceased; not to celebrate the life of the deceased.

Ultimately, every one of us will need to rely on the mercy of God. So, while we cannot be assured of our entry into beatitude (the sin of presumption), we are a people of hope. At my own funeral, I hope the black-vested priest will lead the faithful in reverent & fearful prayer for my soul, as witnesses testifying before the Tribunal on my behalf, pleading that when the terrifying light of the Almighty’s Justice is brought to bear on my life & soul, his Mercy exceeds his Justice, and that even a sinner like me can enter into joy.