“Be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ of Nazareth, Whom you crucified, Whom God hath raised from the dead, even by Him this man standeth here before you whole. This is the stone which was rejected by you the builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is no other name under Heaven given to men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:10-12).
The Church Dogmatically Teaches that Salvation Is Only Possible in the Catholic Faith, Not in Judaism
The Catholic Church has solemnly defined (at least[1]) three times by infallible declarations that outside the Catholic Church there is no salvation. The first of which, and the clearest, is from Pope Eugene IV in Cantate Domino (1442) from the Council of Florence:
“The most Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can have a share in life eternal; but that they will go into the eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless before death they are joined with Her; and that so important is the unity of this ecclesiastical body that only those remaining within this unity can profit by the sacraments of the Church unto salvation, and they alone can receive an eternal recompense for their fasts, their almsgivings, their other works of Christian piety and the duties of a Christian soldier. No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pour out his blood for the Name of Christ, can be saved, unless he remain within the bosom and the unity of the Catholic Church.”
Another infallible declaration came from Pope Innocent III at the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215: “There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved.” And the other was proclaimed in Unam Sanctam by Pope Boniface VIII: “We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.”
Yet these are not medieval inventions of a “power hungry” hierarchy. The Church has always taught this for the good of souls. In fact, nearly a millennium before Pope Eugene IV reigned, the Bishop St. Fulgentius (468-533) stated: “Most firmly hold and never doubt that not only pagans, but also Jews, all heretics, and all schismatics who finish this life outside of the Catholic Church, will go into eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”
In the Athanasian Creed (Quicumque Vult), an approved Creed of the Catholic Church which predates St. Fulgentius, we proclaim: “Whoever wishes to be saved must, above all, keep the Catholic Faith. For unless a person keeps this Faith whole and entire, he will undoubtedly be lost forever.” In fact, the dogmatic phrase “extra ecclesiam nulla salus” (there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church) is credited to St. Cyprian of Carthage († 258). However, it was unanimously taught by the Church Fathers and Doctors, and we find this teaching in the writings of St. Ambrose, St Augustine, St. Jerome, St. Gregory the Great, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Francis of Assisi.
Close to our modern times,[2] Pope Pius XII affirmed that there is no salvation outside of the Church when he wrote in Humani Generis in 1950: “Some say they are not bound by the doctrine which teaches that the Mystical Body of Christ and the Roman Catholic Church are one and the same thing. Some reduce to a meaningless formula the necessity of belonging to the true Church in order to gain eternal salvation. Others finally belittle the reasonable character of the credibility of Christian Faith. These and like ERRORS, it is clear, have crept in among certain of our sons who are deceived by imprudent zeal for souls or by false science.”
Modern Judaism Is Not Old Testament Judaism
People might erroneously think that because Jesus Christ was a practicing Jew throughout His lifetime, Judaism may still be “a” true religion, pleasing to God and capable of bringing its practitioners to salvation. There are other Christians who assert that the practice of Judaism today is meritorious in some way, often justifying this by suggesting that the Jews of today are the “older brothers in faith” of Christians. But these notions are entirely false. See “Modern Judaism Is a False Religion” for more information.
Should Catholics Try to Convert Jews?
Absolutely! The Church is called to bring about the conversion of every single human person. To support religious indifferentism violates the First Commandment since, by such support, we deny that there is One God, through Whom salvation alone comes. As St. Luke wrote in the Book of Acts, “For there is no other name under Heaven given to men [than the Name of Jesus Christ], whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). In fact, modern day Jews – like Muslims – do not pray to the same God that we pray to, as Brother Andre Marie explained in “That We May Know the True God.”
The Catholic Church is not and has never been anti-semitic. We do not look to a person’s skin color or ethnic background to judge them. Those who practice modern-day Judaism – whether they be of semitic origin or not – are all called to salvation in the Catholic Church under the Most Holy Name of Jesus Christ, outside of Whom there is no salvation. And since our entire salvation depends on knowing, loving, and serving God in the Catholic Faith – and the failure to do so leads to eternal suffering – why would someone refuse?[3]
Prayers for the Conversion of the Jews
Let us pray for the unbelieving, perfidious Jews, that the Lord our God may take away the veil that blinds their hearts, and that they may acknowledge Jesus Christ Our Lord.
O God, Who dost also manifest Thy omnipotence by mercy and compassion, listen to the prayers we offer up for the enlightenment of the unbelieving, perfidious Jews, that they may acknowledge the light of Thy truth, Which is Christ, and may be saved from their blindness. Grant, we beseech Thee, all-powerful God, that the remnant of the Jewish people may walk in the way of salvation; and by following the preaching of the blessed John, Thy Precursor, they may safely come to Him Whom he foretold, Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord. Amen. (300 days Indulgence)
Most Sweet Jesus, Redeemer of the human race, turn Thine eyes of mercy toward the children of that race, once Thy chosen people. Of old they called down upon themselves the Blood of the Savior; may It now descend upon them a laver of redemption and of life. Amen. (200 days Indulgence)
God of goodness and Father of mercies, we beseech Thee, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and by the intercession of the Patriarchs and holy Apostles, to look with compassion upon the remnant of Israel, so that they may come to a knowledge of our only Savior, Jesus Christ, and share in the precious graces of Redemption. Amen.
ENDNOTES:
[1] A fourth infallible teaching by the Magisterium not frequently cited is Pope St. Pius V’s Creed of the Council of Trent (1564) in which all the bishops solemnly swore: “… I, N., promise, vow, and swear that, with God’s help, I shall most constantly hold and profess this true Catholic faith, outside which no one can be saved and which I now freely profess and truly hold. With the help of God, I shall profess it whole and unblemished to my dying breath; and, to the best of my ability…”
[2] It is also taught by Popes Leo XIII (Ubi Primum, 1824, #12), Pius VIII (Traditi Humilitati, 1829, #4), Gregory XVI (Mirari Vos, 1832, #13), Pius IX (Syllabus Errorum, 1864, #15-18), Leo XIII (Humanum Genus, 1884, #16), Pius X (On the Sillon, 1910, #38), and Pius XI (Mortalium Animos, 1928, #2). For 125 years (1825-1950) the popes were repeatedly teaching this truth to combat the great heresy of religious indifferentism. Is there another teaching, or error so resisted, which has been repeated so insistently by so many popes over such a lengthy period of time?
[3] As we know from the Baltimore Catechism, Our Lord abolished the old Jewish religion upon His death on the Cross:
Q. 1177. What excuse do some give for neglecting to seek and embrace the true religion?
A. Some give as an excuse for neglecting to seek and embrace the true religion that we should live in the religion in which we were born, and that one religion is as good as another if we believe we are serving God.
Q. 1178. How do we show that such an excuse is false and absurd?
A. We show that such an excuse is false and absurd because: (1) It is false and absurd to say that we should remain in error after we have discovered it; (2) Because if one religion is as good as another, Our Lord would not have abolished the Jewish religion, nor the apostles have preached against heresy.