The Holy Catholic Church…and all those seeking in one way or another, Salvation…

Lumen Gentium (LATIN for "Light of the Nations")

Dogmatic Constitution on the Church

Vatican II, November 21, 1964

Excerpt from Vatican Council II, The Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents,

New Revised Edition, General Editor Austin Flannery of the Dominican Order in the Roman Catholic Church

Para. 14-17, pp, 365-369

Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota, www.litpress.com

14. This Holy Council, first of all, turns its attention to the Catholic Faithful. Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, it teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: The one Christ is mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and baptism (Mark 16:16 and John 3:5), and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through baptism as through a door. Hence, they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it, or to remain in it.

Fully incorporated into the Church are those who, possessing the Spirit of Christ, accept all the means of salvation given to the Church together with her entire organization, and who---by the bonds constituted by the Profession of Faith, the Sacraments, Ecclesiastical Government, and Communion---are joined in the visible structure of the Church of Christ, who rules her through the Supreme Pontiff and the Bishops. Even though incorporated into the Church, one who does not however persevere in Charity is not saved. He remains indeed in the bosom of the Church, but “in body” not “in heart.” All children of the Church should nevertheless remember that their exalted condition results, not from their own merits, but from the grace of Christ. If they fail to respond in thought, word and deed to that grace, not only shall they not be saved, but they shall be the more severely judged.

Catechumens (the unbaptized) who, moved by the Holy Spirit, desire with an explicit intention to be incorporated into the Church, are by that very intention joined to her. With love and solicitude, Mother Church already embraces them as her own.

15. The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the Baptized who are honored by the name of Christian, but who do not however profess the Catholic Faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter. For there are many who hold Sacred Scripture in honor as a rule of Faith and of Life, who have a sincere religious zeal, who lo

vingly believe in God the Father Almighty and in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and the Savior, who are sealed in Baptism which unites them to Christ, and who indeed recognize and receive other Sacraments in their own Churches or Ecclesiastical Communities. Many of them possess the Episcopate, celebrate the Holy Eucharist and cultivate devotion of the Virgin Mother of God. There is furthermore a sharing in prayer and spiritual benefits; these Christians are indeed in some real way joined to us in the Holy Spirit for, by His gifts and graces, His sanctifying power is also active in them, and He has strengthened some even to the shedding of their blood. And so the Spirit stirs up desires and actions in all of Christ’s disciples in order that all may be peaceably united, as Christ ordained, in one flock under one shepherd. Mother Church never ceases to pray, hope and work that this may be achieved, and she exhorts her children to purification and renewal so that the sign of Christ may shine more brightly over the face of the Church.

16. Finally, those who have not yet received the Gospel are related to the People of God in various ways. There is, first, that people to which the Covenants and Promises were made, and from which Christ was born according to the flesh (Romans 9:4-5): In view of the Divine Choice, they are a people most dear for the sake of the fathers, for the gifts of God are without repentance (Romans 11:29-30). But the plan of salvation also includes those who acknowledge the Creator, in the first place amongst whom are the Moslems (Muslims): these profess to hold the faith of Abraham, and together with us adore the One, Merciful God, mankind’s judge on the last day. Nor is God remote from those who in shadows and images seek the unknown God, since he gives to all men life and breath and all things (Acts 17:25-28), and since the Savior wills all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). Those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart, and moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience---those too may achieve eternal salvation. Nor shall Divine Providence deny the assistance necessary for salvation to those who, without any fault of theirs, have not yet arrived at an explicit knowledge of God, and who, not without grace, strive to lead a good life. Whatever good or truth is found amongst them is considered by the Church to be a preparation for the Gospel and given by Him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life. But very often, deceived by the Evil One, men have become vain in their reasonings, have exchanged the truth of God for a lie and served the World rather than the Creator (Romans 1:21,25). Or else, living and dying in this world without God, they are exposed to ultimate despair. Hence to procure the glory of God and the salvation of all of these, the Church mindful of the Lord’s Command, “preach the Gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:16) takes zealous care to foster the missions.

17. As he had been sent by the Father, the Son himself sent the Apostles (John 20:21) saying, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold I am with you always even unto the consummation of the world” (Matthew l28:18-20). The Church has received this solemn command of Christ from the Apostles, and she must fulfill it to the very ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Therefore, she makes the words of the Apostle her own, “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:16), and accordingly never ceases to send heralds of the Gospel until such time as the infant Churches are fully established and can themselves continue the work of evangelization. For the Church is driven by the Holy Spirit to do her part for the full realization of the plan of God, who has constituted Christ as the source of salvation for the whole world. By her proclamation of the Gospel, she draws her hearers to receive and profess the faith, she prepares them for baptism, snatches them from the slavery of error, and she incorporates them into Christ so that in love for him they grow to full maturity. The effect of her work is that whatever is good is found sown in the hearts and minds of men or in the rites and customs of peoples, these are not only preserved from destruction, but are purified, raised up, and perfected for the Glory of God, the confusion of the Devil, and the happiness of man. Each disciple of Christ has the obligation of spreading the faith to the best of his ability. However, while anyone can baptize those who believe, it is for the Priests to complete the building up of the body in the Eucharistic Sacrifice, thus fulfilling the words of the prophet, “From the rising of the sun, even to going down, my Name is great among the Gentiles. And in every place there is a sacrifice, there is offered to my Name a clean offering (Malachi 1:11). Thus the Church prays and likewise labors so that into the People of God, the Body of the Lord and the Temple of the Holy Spirit, may pass the fullness of the whole world, and that in Christ, the head of all things, all honor and glory may be rendered to the Creator, the Father of the Universe.