Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus
March 1, 2020
“EXTRA Ecclesiam Nulla Salus,” or “Outside the Church There Is No Salvation,” is a highly controversial and detested dogma of the Catholic Church. It is often misunderstood. Some distort it in the direction of flexibility and others toward rigidity.
For those who would like to grasp this important doctrine quickly and easily, I recommend the lucid and unimpeachable article, Questions And Answers on Salvation, written by the Rev. Michael Müller, C.SS.R. in 1875. It is taken from his longer work Familiar Explanation of Christian Doctrine, of the same year, which has the imprimatur of the then Archbishop of Baltimore and the Sacred Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith.
There is enough here to console even those whom Fr. Müller offends and to dispel much confusion.
Q. Is it then right for us to say that one who was not received into the Church before his death, is damned?
A. No.
Q. Why not?
A. Because we cannot know for certain what takes place between God and the soul at the awful moment of death.
Q. What do you mean by this?
A. I mean that God, in His infinite mercy, may enlighten, at the hour of death, one who is not yet a Catholic, so that he may see the truth of the Catholic faith, be truly sorry for his sins, and sincerely desire to die a good Catholic.
Q. What do we say of those who receive such an extraordinary grace, and die in this manner?
A. We say of them that they die united, at least, to the soul of the Catholic Church, and are saved.
Q. What, then, awaits all those who are out of the Catholic Church, and die without having received such an extraordinary grace at the hour of death?
A. Eternal damnation.
[Michael Müller, Familiar Explanation of Christian Doctrine; Benziger Bros., New York, 1875]
If you decide to read Müller’s shorter article, which is also available as a booklet, please read it all the way through. He clarifies certain points later in the text.
— Comments —
Patrick O’Brien writes from Denver:
I appreciated your little article on Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus. It is an issue I have studied for a long time. And I have read the book by Fr. Michael Mueller No Salvation Outside of the Church. But I am offering a corrective to a quote of his which you presented. Concerning non-Catholics who may be enlightned on their death bed,
A. We say of them that they die united, at least, to the soul of the Catholic Church, and are saved.
Pius XII noted this use of the phrase “soul of the Church” and stated that the Soul of the Church is the Holy Ghost. This is an improper use of the term. But Fr. Mueller is quite reliable, and suffered for his views at the hands of the hierarchy in the late 1800s.
Laura writes:
The novelty of the term “soul of the Church” stopped me when I saw it, but I didn’t think much about it. So the statement would be true if referring to the Holy Ghost? Is that what Pius XII was saying?
Are there other books you would recommend on this topic?
Mr. O’Brien writes:
Two books, both by a Michael Malone, (who is not quite as “mellow” as I am): The Apostolic Digest, which is a compendium of quotes from saints, popes, councils, etc., and The Only-Begotten. Catholic Treasures used to sell them. I corresponded with Malone for about ten years before his death almost twenty years ago
Such a thorny question, which really divides traditionalists of various stripes. I am happy to let Our Lord make all final decisions, and I have prayed for the souls of deceased Protestants and unbaptized.
The Holy Ghost is the Soul of the Church, according to Pius XII, making the correction because he saw the danger in the other use. Actually, as either Bellarmine or Borromeo said, “The Church is as visible as the Republic of Venice,” a very noticeable body and not a vague “soul.” And alas, now with Vatican II ecumenism, really religious indifferentism, the Church virtually teaches that everybody is going to Heaven.
Laura writes:
Thank you.
