Questions About Membership in the Church

Questions About Membership in the Church
by Joseph Clifford Fenton

Excerpt (http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=1357):

'Since the publication of the Suprema haec sacra it is clearly contrary to Catholic doctrine to hold or to teach that, in order to be "within" the Church in such a way as to be able to attain eternal salvation, a person must be some kind of a member of the Church. The very force of the terminology employed in the Holy Office letter runs counter to such a claim. The Suprema haec sacra teaches unequivocally that a man may be saved without ever really (reapse) becoming a member of the Church. It is definitely a disservice to the cause of Catholic theology to insinuate that, in order to be saved, a man has to be in some way a member of the Church. But, by the same token, it is imperative that the difference between being in the Church as a member, and being "within" it by reason of a desire, a prayer, or an intention to enter this society be very well understood.

It seems to me that this distinction can best be understood when the Church is considered for what it is, an actively working society. Perhaps the best statement of this aspect of teaching about the Church is brought out in the encyclical Humanum genus, issued by Pope Leo XIII April 20, 1884. Here is the key passage from the ecclesiological portion of this great encyclical.[Bolding mine - MR]

The race of man, after its miserable fall from God . . . separated into two diverse parts, of which the one steadfastly contends for truth and virtue, the other for those things which are contrary to virtue and to truth. The one is the kingdom of God on earth, the true Church of Jesus Christ, and those who desire from their heart to be united with it so as to gain salvation must of necessity serve God and His only-begotten Son with their whole mind and with an entire will. The other is the kingdom of Satan, in whose possession and control are all whosoever follow the fatal example of their leader and of our first parents, those who refuse to obey the divine and eternal law, and who have many aims of their own in contempt of God, and many aims also against God.

This twofold kingdom St. Augustine keenly discerned and described after the manner of two cities, contrary in their laws because striving for contrary objects; and with subtle brevity he expressed the efficient cause of each in these words: "Two loves formed two cities: the love of self, reaching even to contempt of God, an earthly city; and the love of God, reaching even to contempt of self, a heavenly one." At every period of time each has been in conflict with the other, with a variety and multiplicity of weapons and of warfare, although not always with equal ardor and assault.16

[MR Note: This is the same Pope Leo XIII who taught in Satis Cognitum:]

If we consider the chief end of His Church and the proximate efficient causes of salvation, it is undoubtedly spiritual; but in regard to those who constitute it, and to the things which lead to these spiritual gifts, it is external and necessarily visible. The Apostles received a mission to teach by visible and audible signs, and they discharged their mission only by words and acts which certainly appealed to the senses. So that their voices falling upon the ears of those who heard them begot faith in souls - "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the words of Christ" (Rom. x., 17). And faith itself - that is assent given to the first and supreme truth - though residing essentially in the intellect, must be manifested by outward profession - "For with the heart we believe unto justice, but with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" (Rom. x., 10). In the same way in man, nothing is more internal than heavenly grace which begets sanctity, but the ordinary and chief means of obtaining grace are external: that is to say, the sacraments which are administered by men specially chosen for that purpose, by means of certain ordinances.

Continuing with Fr. Fenton:

'The first key explanation in this passage is to be found in the statement: "Alterum Dei est in terris regnum, vera scilicet Iesu Christi Ecclesia, cui qui volunt ex animo et convenienter ad salutem adhaerescere, necesse est Deo et Unigenito Filio eius tota mente ac summa voluntate servire."

It is quite obvious that, in the assertion. Pope Leo XIII was not speaking precisely about membership in the Church. He was describing the work necessary for any person who wished to "adhere" or to be joined to the Church in such a way as to obtain salvation "within" it. That work is the service of God, the work of religion, animated by charity, and obviously enlightened by true divine faith.

The Humanum genus describes the true Church of Jesus Christ as a social unit performing a definite work in this world, in the face of a perpetual opposition coming from the kingdom of Satan. The work of the kingdom of God is the work of the Church alone, because the Catholic Church alone is the true supernatural kingdom of God according to the dispensation of the New Testament. The one social unit performing that operation is the Church, but there are, in the mercies of God's grace, persons who are not members of the Church working with the Church for the attainment of those objectives for which the Church alone, among all the social units in this world, really works and fights to achieve. The man who has a sincere votum or desiderium, enlightened by faith and animated by charity, to enter the true Church of Jesus Christ is thus one who actually intends to work for the objective of the Church. And a man's intention to work for the glory of God through the salvation of souls in according to God the supernatural service of acknowledgement due to Him because of His supreme excellence and our complete dependence on Him is an intention of worshipping God. It is a religious intention which is manifested to God Himself in the act of prayer.

The prayer of the Catholic Church is expressed in the Pater noster, the formula of petition to God which was given to the disciples of Christ by Our Lord Himself. The great commentary on that prayer is the series of petitions which constitute the prayers of the Mass. The man who desires to be within the Church, and whose desire is such that it brings him "within" the true Church in such a way as to attain salvation "within" it, is one who intends and desires and prays for those objectives that are indicated in the text of the Pater noster and in the petitions of the Mass. And this remains true even though, through no fault of his own, the individual who is thus "within" the Church does not have a clear and explicit understanding of some of these individual objectives.

Prayer is the expression of an intention. And an intention is an effective act of the will. A man works in accordance and in line with his intention.

Thus it is apparent that the man who is not a member or a part of the Church, but who has a salvific intention or desire to enter it and to remain within it, is actually praying and working along with the Church for the objectives of Jesus Christ. In this way he is truly "within" the Church. And, since the work of the Church is accomplished in the face of serious and never-ending opposition, the non-member of the Church who has a salvific intention to join it is actually fighting for Our Lord "within" His company. He is actually serving God with his whole mind and his whole heart, and thus he is joined to the Church even in his status as a non-member of this society.

It is quite obvious that this condition can exist only as long as, for one reason or another, membership in the Church is impossible for this individual. When it becomes possible for a man to become a member of the Church, or when he becomes aware of the true status of the Catholic Church in the supernatural order, he can no longer work effectively for Our Lord except as a member of His Church.

Furthermore it must be remembered that it is possible for a member of the true and visible Church of Jesus Christ to be an unworthy member and to work against the objectives of the Church.

We can sum up the teaching on the differences between being "within" the Church as a member or part of the Church, and being "within" it in such a way as to be saved, even apart from membership, under these four points.

(1) It must be remembered that, in the economy of the New Testament, the supernatural kingdom of God or the true Church of Jesus Christ is a society, an organization. This, in the last analysis, is the center of the mystery of God's dealings with His people in the dispensation of the New Testament. The great wonder of God's mercy is not to be found merely in the fact that there is a chosen people, a supernatural kingdom of God of the New Dispensation, but in the fact that this people, this kingdom, has been constituted by God Himself as an organization or a society, in which bad members are mingled with the good until the end of time.

Because it is so constituted, membership in this kingdom of God or Church of the New Testament is attained only by the possession of the factors which go to make up the visible or bodily bond of ecclesiastical unity. And because it is so constituted, some individuals with this company have responsibility for and authority over their fellow members, responsibility and authority given to them by Our Lord Himself.

(2) Although the Church is the only social unit on earth working for the objectives of Jesus Christ, there are individuals who, through the power of God's grace, work for that same objective without being in any way members of the Church. These are the individuals who are "within" the Catholic Church by a salutary votum or desiderium. This votum or desiderium is salutary only when it is enlightened by true supernatural faith and motivated by true charity, and, obviously, only when it is impossible for the individual to be "within" the Church as a member.

The individuals who are "within" the Church only by a salutary votum or desiderium pray and work, against fierce opposition, for the accomplishment of the purposes of the Incarnation.

The society which is the only true supernatural kingdom of God on earth in the dispensation of the New Testament is composed or made up of its members. The men and women who have a salutary votum or desiderium of entering the Church are "within" it insofar as they are working and fighting within it for the attainment of the objectives of Jesus Christ. Yet they are definitely not parts or members of this society.

(3) It is possible for individuals who are members of the Church to work for the objectives of Satan, the prince of this world. Thus we have the situation in which the Church, and the visible Catholic Church alone, must be recognized as the one supernatural kingdom of God on earth, working and fighting alone for the glory of the living God. And, at the same time, there are non-members of this society who work for this objective "within" the Church, and some members of the Church who work against that objective while still retaining their membership in this society.

(4) The baptismal character is the basic force incorporating a man as a member into the true Church of Jesus Christ in this world according to the dispensation of the New Testament. Yet it is quite obvious that not every baptized person is a Catholic. Very definitely the society which is the one and only supernatural kingdom of God in this world is not made up or composed of all baptized persons. The unifying force of the baptismal character can be and is frustrated by public heresy or apostasy, by schism, and by expulsion from the Church. To say or even to insinuate that all baptized people are members of the Church is to deny, at least by implication, the central dogma of ecclesiology, the divinely revealed teaching that tells us that the Roman Catholic Church, the religious society which recognizes and accepts the Bishop of Rome as its visible head, is actually the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ.'

[End of excerpt]

Excellent, MR. Ties it all together beautifully.

Thanks so much for posting. This should be in every Catholic's library.

Thanks, Tornpage.

The library at Catholic Culture is a great source for Catholic works:

http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/

tornpage wrote:Excellent, MR. Ties it all together beautifully.

Thanks so much for posting. This should be in every Catholic's library.

tornpage... I also thank MR for posting that but (as you pobably can guess) I can't agree that everyhing has been tied together beautifully. To me it's yet another wordy attempt at reconciling two contradictory positiions, i.e, the neccessity of "physical" membership and the theory of non-physical membership as being compatible or reconcilable. James 5:12 comes to mind here (yes yes, no no)

Disagreement is to be expected; but if it was contradictory the Church would not only not allow it, she would not teach it.

Perhaps you missed the wordy part where Fr. Fenton, so as not to confuse the issue, rejects the idea if a “non-physical membership”. “Membership” is reserved for the baptized faithful in the visible society of the Mystical Body - the Catholic Church. This does not preclude the possibility of unity with the Mystical Body through faith, charity an intention; and “idea” you’ve probably heard once or twice before. In fact, I think it’s a teaching of the Magisterium.

Btw, I love it when you call a theological treatise "wordy". I'll bet Fr. Fenton never heard of internet forums.

Columba,

There is no contradiction, as one may be justified by desire and therefore without a "physical membership." The Church does not say that their cannot be salvation without physical membership. Some here interpret Pius XII's statement in Mystici Corporis as standing for a necessity of physical membership for salvation, but they misinterpret the quote. The man they are quoting (Pius XII) believed, as noted by Father Fenton:

He likewise, however, spoke of the possibility of salvation for those who “are related to the Mystical Body by a certain unconscious yearning and desire (inscio quodam desiderio ac voto).” He depicted such individuals as existing in a state “in which they cannot be sure of their salvation” since “they still remain deprived of those many heavenly gifts and helps which can only be enjoyed in the Catholic Church.”

So not only do misinterpret teachings of the Church by ignoring statements that the Church has made that would help you draw a proper interpretation, you ignore statements of individuals which would show your interpretation of what they are saying to be false. You are telling someone who made a statement that it means something contrary to what they tell you it means. And this is someone (the Magisterium of the Church) that both you and I believe is incapable of error on matters directly pertaining to what it is talking about.

Do you not see how insane that is?

I think the reference to catechumens is fairly obvious in the opening post. But, I want to move past that.

Can an anti-Catholic who operates out of ignorance, be said to be "within" the Church?

How about a Jew, or atheist? Is it possible?

Roguejim wrote:I think the reference to catechumens is fairly obvious in the opening post. But, I want to move past that.

Can an anti-Catholic who operates out of ignorance, be said to be "within" the Church?

How about a Jew, or atheist? Is it possible?

From an objective standpoint (the only standpoint from which we, or the Church, can “judge”); no, an anti-Catholic, Jew and/or atheist, without a visible conversion, remains an anti-Catholic, Jew and/or atheist.

The possibility is entirely subjective (which is why it is a mystery) whereby one’s inculpable ignorance may not prevent one from possessing a supernatural faith and charity, both of which presume the correct dispositions (intention - a matter of the will) are present to do all that the Church and God command. God may so enlighten a soul (even at the moment of death) in the grace of truth and righteousness, and bring him into the Mystical Body -- and we may never know it.

We may never presume or have the good hope of salvation for someone who remains in an objective state of enmity with the Church. But we may hope that God, in a mysterious manner, may save one such as these - if it was His will to do so.

This particular "hope", like the "hope" in God's mercy towards un-baptized infants, rests entirely in God's mercy and justice, and not in any other means outside of that which the Church prescribes is necessary to every man without exception.