The Catholic Church Infallibly Condemns the Error That Salvation Can Be Found in Non-Catholic Religions
When those in the Catholic hierarchy advance the radical and heretical idea that all religions are deliberately willed by God, rather than merely tolerated due to sin, or that all religions are valid means to arrive at salvation, it is the responsibility of every true Catholic to rise up and refute these scandalous errors publicly with due force.
Watch Fr. Nicholas Gruner and John Vennari speak on the topic of No Salvation Outside the Catholic Church
Pope Pius IX (1846-1878) – Quanta Cura and Syllabus of Errors (1864)
In Quanta Cura and the accompanying Syllabus of Errors, Pope Pius IX denounced various modern ideologies, including religious indifferentism, the belief that all religions are equally valid paths to God. The Church firmly rejected this concept, particularly in condemning the Proposition: “Every man is free to embrace and profess that religion which, guided by the light of reason, he shall consider true” [No. 15].
This proposition was condemned because it implies that salvation can be found in religions chosen by individual reason, a notion the Catholic Church opposes, teaching instead that only the revealed truth within the Catholic Faith leads to God. Condemned Proposition #16 similarly advocates the idea that salvation can be attained through any religion.i
Pope Gregory XVI (1831-1846) – Mirari Vos (1832)
In Mirari Vos, Pope Gregory XVI also condemned religious indifferentism and liberalism, particularly the belief that salvation can be attained through the profession of any religion, provided morality is maintained. He referred to this as a “pernicious error,” noting that it stems from the “poisonous source of indifferentism.” Pope Gregory XVI emphasized that salvation outside the Catholic Church is not possible, and he reaffirmed the Church’s teaching that no other religion can lead to eternal life or union with God.
Pope Leo XIII (1878-1903) – Immortale Dei (1885)
Pope Leo XIII, in his encyclical Immortale Dei, continued the Church’s condemnation of religious pluralism. He emphasized that “the only true religion is the one established by Jesus Christ Himself, and which He committed to His [Catholic] Church to protect and to propagate” [No. 7]. He reinforced the duty of the State to recognize and support the true religion. Pope Leo XIII explained the whole and entire right to teach all that concerns religion belongs only to the Catholic Church [No. 11]. He too formally taught it is a grave error to believe that all religions are equal or have the same rights. This teaching underscores the Catholic Church’s unique authority in matters of faith and salvation.
Council of Florence (1442) – Cantate Domino
The Council of Florence provided a particularly strong affirmation of the necessity of the Catholic Church for salvation in the bull Cantate Domino, issued by Pope Eugene IV. The Council explicitly stated that those outside the Catholic Church – including pagans, Jews, heretics, and schismatics – could not attain eternal life unless they were united with the Church before death.
Pope Pius XII (1939-1958) – Mystici Corporis Christi (1943)
In Mystici Corporis Christi, Pope Pius XII reaffirmed that the Catholic Church is the Mystical Body of Christ, emphasizing that there is no salvation outside the Church. He clarified that while not every grave sin severs one from the Church, schism, heresy, and apostasy do. Pius XII noted that individuals might be related to the Church by a certain desire or longing, but they cannot be considered true members if they refuse to submit to the Church’s authority and that of the Supreme Pontiff. This teaching reinforced the necessity of unity with the Church for salvation. It was once again another papal reaffirmation of the dogma of “no salvation outside of the Church.”
The Faith Doesn’t Change Because God Doesn’t Change
The aforementioned dogmatic proclamations are not changeable because the Faith, like God, does not change. Pray the Athanasian Creed and you will further understand the necessity of the Catholic religion alone for salvation.
Note: This Creed is one of four formal, infallible, and ancient Creeds of the Catholic Church. It’s fair to say we have no greater dogmatic authority: Apostle’s Creed, Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed, Athanasian Creed, and the Symbol of Chalcedon. The Popes must indeed submit to them and vow to protect them and hand them on just as they have received them.
Religious Indifferentism Is Heresy
Since God calls all men to Himself in the Catholic Church, He calls those in non-Catholic religions to the Catholic Faith. But He does not desire these religions nor are those religions in themselves a means by which someone can be saved. God calls everyone to Catholic unity since no other religion is a way to arrive at God.ii
To support religious indifferentism violates the First Commandment since, by such support, we deny (at least implicitly) that there is One God, through Whom salvation alone comes.
The Holy Ghost’s inspired and inerrant word, spoken through St. Luke in the Book of Acts, states: “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). To claim that salvation can be found in pagan religions or any religion teaching heresy is to deny the words of the Scriptures themselves, by alleging that the names of other religions’ deities could save a person!
Anyone who claims salvation can come by means other than Jesus Christ goes directly against the Holy Ghost and preaches a [false] Gospel. As St. Paul said, likewise inspired by the same Holy Ghost, “But though we, or an angel from Heaven, preach a gospel to you besides that which we have preached to you, let him be anathema” (Gal 1:8).
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Editor’s Note: Sadly, in Singapore, on September 13, 2024, Pope Francis said the following: “Every religion is a way to arrive at God … There is only one God and each of us has a language to arrive at God. Sikh, Muslim, Hindu, Christian, they are different paths.” He stated this as he encouraged his audience to engage in interreligious dialogue and not say things like ‘My religion [Catholic] is true, yours is not true.’ (For reference, see the Vatican’s own publication of Francis’ speech.)
ENDNOTES
i These propositions are all clearly condemned. They are false and heretical. No Catholic may believe them:
[16] Man may, in the observance of any religion whatever, find the way of eternal salvation, and arrive at eternal salvation.
[17] Good hope at least is to be entertained of the eternal salvation of all those who are not at all in the true Church of Christ.
[18] Protestantism is nothing more than another form of the same true Christian religion, in which form it is given to please God equally as in the Catholic Church.
- See The Syllabus of Errors by Pope Pius IX, 1864.
ii Pope Pius IX stated the following regarding invincible ignorance, which by no means contradicts the statement that salvation is found only in the Catholic Church: If someone is saved, they are saved by the Catholic Church, even if they do not know what the Catholic Church is. No other religion saves, as the Pope states: “It is to be held of faith that none can be saved outside the Apostolic Roman Church … but nevertheless it is equally certain that those who are ignorant of the true religion, if that ignorance is invincible, will not be held guilty in the matter in the eyes of the Lord” (Solemn Allocution Singulari Quadam, December 9, 1854).
“We all know that those who are invincibly ignorant of our religion and who nevertheless lead an honest and upright life, can, under the influence of divine light and divine grace, attain to eternal life; for God who knows and sees the mind, the heart, the thoughts, and the dispositions of every man, cannot in His infinite bounty and clemency permit any one to suffer eternal punishment who is not guilty through his own fault” (Quanto Conficiamur, August 10, 1863).