Ralph Martin Responds to Bishop Barron on the Salvation of Non-Christians

Summary

Ralph Martin von Renewal Ministries und Professor am Sacred Heart Major Seminary in Detroit reflektiert über Bishop Barrons Predigt über die Seelenheiligkeit von Nicht-Christen. Er respektiert Barrons Ansichten und betont die Bedeutung von Lumen Gentium 16, das die Bedingungen für die Seelenheiligkeit außerhalb der christlichen Kirche beschreibt. Martin warnt vor der gefährlichen Vorstellung der praktischen Universalität und betont die Notwendigkeit der Evangelisation, um die wahre Lehre der Kirche zu vermitteln und die Seelen in Gefahr zu retten.

Takeaways

• 🙏 Ralph Martin ist Professor an der Sacred Heart Major Seminary und spricht über die Möglichkeit, dass auch Nichtchristen gerettet werden können.
• 🔗 Er respektiert Bishop Barron und möchte seine Predigt über das Heil anderer Religionen und Philosophien diskutieren.
• 📜 Martin verweist auf die heilige Schrift, insbesondere auf Apostelgeschichte 4, wo Petrus sagt, dass es keine Erlösung außer durch Jesus gibt.
• 🌟 Er betont, dass die Fülle der Erlösung in Jesus angeboten wird, aber auch Menschen anderer Religionen können an der Erlösung teilhaben, wenn sie auf die Wahrheit, Güte und Schönheit reagieren, die sie in ihren Lebensumständen finden.
• 💭 Er erwähnt, dass Konsistorialkardinal Newman über das Gewissen als den ursprünglichen Vikar Christi in unserer Seele gesprochen hat und dass das Folgen unseres Gewissens dem Gehorsam gegenüber Christus gleichkommt.
• 📚 Martin und Barron sind beide Verteidiger des Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzils und betonen die Bedeutung der Lehren von Vatikan II.
• 🚪 Lumen Gentium 16 aus Vatikan II wird als Schlüsseltext für das Verständnis der katholischen Lehre über die Erlösung von Menschen ohne christliche Erkenntnisse betrachtet.
• 🌐 Martin kritisiert die Tendenz einiger Katholiken, die sich einer praktischen Universalistenmentalität hingegeben haben, die annimmt, dass fast jeder den Himmel erreicht.
• ⚠️ Er betont, dass die Bedingungen für die Möglichkeit der Erlösung ohne Kenntnis des Evangeliums streng sind und nicht zu vermuten sind, dass alle, die Christus nicht kennen, gerettet werden können.
• 📣 Martin fordert eindringlich die Verkündigung des Evangeliums, um die Erlösung aller Menschen zu fördern, und warnt davor, dass Menschen, die das Evangelium nicht gehört haben, in großer Gefahr sind.

Q & A

Wer ist Ralph Martin und wo arbeitet er?

Ralph Martin ist von den Erneuerungsministerien und ein Professor am Sacred Heart Major Seminary in der Erzdiözese von Detroit.

Worum geht es in Bishop Barrons Predigt, auf die sich Ralph Martin bezieht?

Bishop Barron sprach über die Möglichkeit, dass auch Menschen, die nicht explizit Christen sind, gerettet werden können.

Was sagt der Apostel Petrus in der Apostelgeschichte, auf die sich Barron bezieht?

Der Apostel Petrus sagt in der Apostelgeschichte Kapitel 4, dass es keine Rettung gibt durch jemand anderen und kein anderer Name unter dem Himmel gegeben ist, durch den die Menschen gerettet werden können.

Wie antwortet Barron auf die Frage, ob man nur gerettet werden kann, wenn man Jesus explizit kennt und folgt?

Barron antwortet, dass die volle Rettung in Jesus angeboten wird, aber Menschen in anderen Religionen und philosophischen Systemen können an der Rettung teilhaben, wenn sie auf die Wahrheit, Güte und Schönheit reagieren, die sie in ihren Umgebungen und Situationen begegnen.

Welche Rolle spielt das Gewissen nach Ansicht von Kardinal Newman?

Kardinal Newman, der kürzlich als Heiliger kanonisiert wurde, sagte, dass unser Gewissen der ursprüngliche Vikar Christi in unserer Seele ist und wenn wir unser Gewissen folgen, dann folgen wir der Stimme Christi.

Was ist der Hauptunterschied zwischen der Auffassung von Ralph Martin und der von Bishop Barron hinsichtlich der Rettung außerhalb der Kirche?

Beide sind Verteidiger des Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzils, aber Martin betont, dass Barron einige Aspekte aus Lumen Gentium 16 nicht ausreichend oder klar genug hervorgehoben hat, die für das Verständnis dessen, was die Kirche tatsächlich lehrt, unerlässlich sind.

Was sind die Bedingungen, die nach Lumen Gentium 16 erfüllt sein müssen, damit jemand ohne Kenntnis des Evangeliums gerettet werden kann?

Die Bedingungen sind: Unverschuldete Unwissenheit über das Evangelium, seitrer Göttersucher mit einem aufrichtigen Herzen und Handeln im Einklang mit dem, was die Gewissensstimme als sein Willen ansieht.

Wie beurteilt Ralph Martin die Bedeutung des Gewissens in Bezug auf die Rettung?

Ralph Martin betont, dass das Gewissen oft verkehrt sein kann und dass es nicht immer die Stimme Christi ist. Es ist wichtig, ein wahres Gewissen wiederherzustellen, um die wahre Stimme Gottes zu hören.

Was sagt Lumen Gentium 16 über die Rolle der Kirche in der Seelsorge für alle Menschen, einschließlich derer, die das Evangelium nicht gehört haben?

Lumen Gentium 16 betont, dass die Kirche sich bemüht, die Botschaft des Evangeliums zu verbreiten, um die Ehre Gottes und die Rettung aller Menschen zu fördern, insbesondere jener, die durch den Teufel getäuscht wurden oder ohne Gott in dieser Welt leben.

Was sind die praktischen Schritte, die die Kirche unternimmt, um die Rettung aller Menschen zu fördern?

Die Kirche ist bemüht, die Botschaft des Evangeliums durch Predigt, persönliche Zeugnisse, Einladungen, das Teilen von Büchern und Medieninhalten zu verbreiten, um die Rettung aller Menschen zu fördern.

Outlines

00:00

🌟 Diskussion über Heiligkeit außerhalb des christlichen Glaubens

Der Text beginnt mit einer Einleitung von Ralph Martin, der seine Position und seinen Respekt für Bischof Robert Barron betont, der kürzlich eine Predigt über die Möglichkeit gehalten hat, dass auch Menschen, die nicht explizit Christen sind, gerettet werden können. Martin will einige Gedanken dazu äußern und betont, dass er dies aus vollem Respekt für Barron und seiner Arbeit tut. Er bezieht sich auf einen Text aus dem Apostelgeschichten, in dem Petrus sagt, dass es keine Rettung gibt außer durch Jesus Christus. Martin diskutiert dann die Frage, ob das bedeuten muss, dass nur Christen gerettet werden können, und stellt klar, dass es auch für Menschen in anderen Religionen oder philosophischen Systemen Möglichkeiten zur Teilnahme an der Heiligung gibt, wenn sie auf die Wahrheit, Güte und Schönheit reagieren, die sie in ihren jeweiligen Lebensumständen antreffen.

05:02

🔍 Eine genauere Betrachtung von Lumen Gentium Abschnitt 16

In diesem Absatz geht es weiter um die Diskussion über die Heiligkeit für Menschen, die das Evangelium nicht gehört haben. Martin verweist auf die Kommentare von Vater Mark Goring, der zustimmt, dass Barron die biblischen Texte gut dargestellt hat, die die absoluten Ansprüche Jesu als einzige Quelle der Welterlösung betonen. Martin möchte sich jedoch auf Lumen Gentium Abschnitt 16 konzentrieren, einer Textstelle, die er für entscheidend erachtet, um das Lehramt der katholischen Kirche über diese Frage zu verstehen. Er betont, dass die Bedingungen, unter denen jemand ohne Kenntnis des Evangeliums gerettet werden kann, sorgfältig betrachtet werden müssen, und kritisiert, dass viele Theologen diese Bedingungen oft übersehen.

10:02

🙏 Die Bedeutung der Gewissensbildung und der Sehnsucht nach Gott

Martin erläutert die Bedingungen, die erforderlich sind, damit jemand, der das Evangelium nicht kennt, gerettet werden kann. Er betont, dass es um unschuldige Unwissenheit geht, die nicht auf eigenem Verschulden beruht. Darüber hinaus müssen diese Menschen Gott mit einem aufrichtigen Herzen suchen und versuchen, sein Willen gemäß den Geboten ihres Gewissens zu erfüllen. Martin warnt, dass das Gewissen manchmal verdorben sein kann und dass es wichtig ist, ein wahres Gewissen wiederherzustellen. Er betont, dass die Kirche besorgt ist um die Seelen derer, die möglicherweise nicht unschuldig unwissend sind, nicht Gott suchen oder nicht nach dem Licht handeln, das Gott ihnen durch ihr Gewissen gibt.

15:05

📜 Die Notwendigkeit der Offenbarung der Wahrheit durch die Kirche

In diesem letzten Absatz betont Martin die Bedeutung der Mission der Kirche, die darauf abzielt, das Evangelium jedem zu vermitteln. Er argumentiert, dass Menschen, die das Evangelium nicht gehört haben, in großer Gefahr sind, von dem Bösen getäuscht zu werden und in die终极的 Verzweiflung zu geraten. Er fordert, dass die Kirche durch Predigt, Gebet und persönliches Zeugnis die Botschaft von Jesus Christus verbreitet, um allen Menschen die Möglichkeit zu geben, auf das Licht zu reagieren, das Gott ihnen bietet. Martin betont, dass es zwar möglich ist, ohne das Hören des Evangeliums zu werden gerettet, dies jedoch sehr schwierig ist und dass es besser ist, explizit zum Glauben an Jesus Christus und in die Kirche zu kommen.

Keywords

💡Erneuerung

Die Erneuerung bezieht sich auf den Prozess der Veränderung und des Wachstums, der in der katholischen Kirche angestrebt wird. Im Kontext des Videos wird sie als Teil der Mission der Kirche verstanden, die darauf abzielt, die Wahrheit des Evangeliums zu verbreiten und die kulturellen Herausforderungen unserer Zeit zu bewältigen.

💡Bischof Barron

Bischof Barron ist ein prominenter katholischer Bischof und Prediger, der im Video erwähnt wird. Sein Sermon über die Möglichkeit der Seeligkeit von Nicht-Christen ist ein zentrales Thema des Diskurses, und der Sprecher des Videos reagiert auf seine Ansichten und贡献e eigene Gedanken dazu.

💡Lumen Gentium

Lumen Gentium ist eine Konstitution aus dem Zweiten Vatikanischen Konzil, die die Lehre der Kirche über die Kirche selbst behandelt. Im Video wird sie als zentraler Text für das Verständnis der katholischen Lehre über die Seeligkeit von Menschen, die nicht explizit Christen sind, herangezogen.

💡Gewissens

Das Gewissen wird im Video als der 'ursprüngliche Vikar Christi in unserer Seele' beschrieben, was bedeutet, dass es eine innere Stimme ist, die uns leitet, wenn wir das Richtige tun. Es ist ein Schlüsselkonzept im katholischen Verständnis der moralischen Entscheidungsfindung und wird im Video diskutiert, um zu erklären, wie Menschen, die nicht explizit Christen sind, möglicherweise noch dennoch gerettet werden können.

💡Vatikan II

Das Zweite Vatikanische Konzil, kurz Vatikan II, war ein wichtiges kirchenisches Ereignis in der katholischen Kirche, das viele der Lehren und Praktiken der Kirche reformierte. Im Video wird es erwähnt, um die Bedeutung von Lumen Gentium und anderer Lehren zu betonen, die aus diesem Konzil stammen.

💡Seeligkeit

Seeligkeit ist ein zentrales Thema des Videos und bezieht sich auf den Zustand der ewigen Seligkeit im Himmel. Der Sprecher diskutiert, unter welchen Bedingungen jemand, der nicht explizit Christ ist, möglicherweise seelig werden kann, was eine komplexe und kontroverse Frage innerhalb der christlichen Theologie ist.

💡Evangelisierung

Die Evangelisierung ist der Prozess der Verbreitung des Evangeliums und der Mission der Kirche, die Gläubige zu machen. Im Video wird betont, wie wichtig es ist, die Botschaft von Jesus Christus und die Lehren der Kirche zu verbreiten, um die Seeligkeit aller Menschen zu fördern.

💡Glaube

Der Glaube ist ein grundlegender Bestandteil der christlichen Theologie und bezieht sich auf die Überzeugung und das Vertrauen in die Lehren von Jesus Christus. Im Video wird diskutiert, wie Glaube, insbesondere ein 'übernatürlicher Glaube', für die Seeligkeit notwendig ist.

💡Nichtchristen

Nichtchristen sind Personen, die nicht zu den christlichen Gemeinschaften gehören. Im Video wird die Frage gestellt, ob und wie Personen, die nicht explizit Christen sind, möglicherweise seelig werden können, was zu einer tiefgründigen Diskussion über die Grenzen und Möglichkeiten des Glaubens führt.

💡Gesetz des Gewissens

Das Gesetz des Gewissens bezieht sich auf die moralischen Prinzipien, die in jedem Menschen verankert sind und die uns leiten, was richtig und falsch ist. Im Video wird darauf hingewiesen, dass das Gewissen oft verfälscht werden kann und dass nicht alle Menschen es sind, die nach den Prinzipien ihres Gewissens handeln.

Highlights

Ralph Martin discusses Bishop Robert Barron's sermon on the possibility of salvation for non-Christians.

Bishop Barron's sermon references Acts 4:12, emphasizing the unique role of Jesus in salvation.

Martin agrees with Barron that salvation is found in Jesus, but others can participate in it through truth, goodness, and beauty.

John Henry Cardinal Newman's view on conscience as the aboriginal Vicar of Christ is mentioned.

Both Martin and Barron support Vatican II and its teachings on salvation and the Church's mission.

Lumen Gentium section 16 is identified as key to understanding the Catholic Church's stance on salvation for non-Christians.

Martin critiques a common misconception of 'practical universalism' within the Church.

The importance of sincere seeking of God and acting according to the dictates of one's conscience is emphasized.

Conscience can be corrupted, and not all consciences accurately reflect the voice of Christ.

The necessity of supernatural faith and charity for salvation is discussed.

Martin highlights the danger of not hearing the gospel and the importance of evangelization.

The urgency of evangelization is stressed due to the influence of original sin and the deceit of the devil.

Martin calls for a genuine unity within the Church based on the full teachings of Jesus and the Church.

Resources for further exploration of these topics, including books and a newsletter, are offered by Renewal Ministries.

Transcripts

Hello brothers and sisters this is  Ralph Martin from Renewal Ministries  

and a professor at Sacred Heart Major Seminary in  the Archdiocese of Detroit and I’d like to offer a  

few comments today on a sermon that Bishop Robert  Barron recently gave on the possibility of people  

being saved who weren't explicitly Christians  friends have been sending this to me and I  

think also Father Mark Goring has just recently  commented on it in a really good way and I just  

like to add a few reflections I do this with full  respect for Bishop Barron admiration for him as a  

Bishop who's so dedicated to preaching the gospel  and engaging contemporary culture I offer this as  

some thoughts to reflection as we as a Church  try to get clear on this really important area  

to summarize um Bishop Barron's sermon which we'll  provide a link for at the bottom of this video  

he talks about a text from Acts chapter 4 where  Saint Peter says there is no no salvation through  

anyone else nor is there any other name under  heaven given to the human race by which we are  

to be saved and very admirably he says you know  this is an uncomfortable text for many people in  

our culture today and let's not kind of explain  it away let's kind of stick with it and let's  

try to understand what it says and then he asked  a very sensible question does that mean unless  

you explicitly know and follow Jesus you can't  be saved and he gives a very correct answer no  

and then he kind of slightly changes the wording  that Saint Peter uses that he says the fullness  

of salvation is offered in Jesus but people in  other religions and religious philosophies and  

no religions can participate in the salvation  when they respond to the truth goodness and  

beauty that they encounter in the systems  that they populate in their situations  

but he also mentions how John Henry Cardinal  Newman who's been recently canonized as a Saint

was a the hidden influence on Vatican  II talked about how our conscience is  

the aboriginal Vicar of Christ in our  soul and when we follow our conscience  

what our conscience tells us is right when we  follow what our conscience tells us is right  

or wrong we are following the voice of Christ now  both Bishop Barron and myself are firm defenders  

of Vatican II we think that the riches of Vatican  II have yet to be fully implemented or explored  

and the various misinterpretations of Vatican  II appeals to its spirit apart from its letter  

uh are are really inadequate and and off the point  in that this is a legitimate authentic Ecumenical  

Council of the Church which has tremendously  fruitful truth there for us that has yet been  

realized now Bishop Barron is also very clear by  saying I’m not saying all will be saved but that  

people can be saved apart from explicit knowledge  of faith in Jesus Christ so and then he says that  

in order to really see what the Catholic Church  teaches about this precisely take a look at  

a text from the constitution on the Church  from Vatican II called Lumen Gentium: Light  

of the Nations and particularly section 16. now  this text is a particular interest to me because  

when I was getting drawn back into the  academic life and began teaching at Sacred  

Heart Seminary little by little the Seminary  kept suggesting I get another advanced degree  

and finally they asked would you be  willing to go to Rome and get a doctorate  

and I said I’d be willing to do that if  I could work on a particular issue that  

I think is very important for the Church today  and that's the issue of practical universalism  

the way I would describe it was that many of our  fellow Catholics have drifted into a mentality  

where this is how they look at the world today  broad and wide is the way that leads to heaven  

and almost everybody's going that way narrow is  the door that leads to hell and hardly anybody's  

going that way and of course hopefully most  of you know what's wrong with this picture  

it's directly the opposite of what Jesus himself  says Matthew chapter 7 verses 13 and 14 Jesus says  

broad and wide is the way that leads to  destruction and many are traveling that way  

narrow is the door that leads to heaven difficult  to road and few there are who are finding it now  

we know this isn't how God wants it to be we know  from first Thessalonians chapter 2 that God wills  

the whole human race to be saved and come to  a knowledge of the truth we also know there  

needs to be a response to the grace God gives to  people for their salvation the question now is  

how does this happen or how can it happen  for people who haven't heard the gospel  

and that's what Lumen Gentium 16 talks about  Father Goring in his uh goring Father Mark  

Goring from the Companions of the Cross in  his response to Bishop Barron said he agrees  

he agrees a 100% with 80% of what Bishop Barron  says that he basically did an excellent job of  

representing and showing all the texts in many  of the texts of scripture that talk about the  

absolute claims of Jesus to uniquely be the source  of salvation for the whole world so I think Father  

Goring has done a good job on that I’d like to  devote the remaining part of this short talk and  

short response to Bishop Barron's sermon to actual  a closer examination of Lumen Gentium section 16  

because when I decided to go to Rome I decided  that that was the key text that I wanted to  

study and I actually published a book based on  it after I got my doctorate it's called “Will  

Many be Saved? What Vatican II Actually Teaches  and its Implications for the New Evangelization”  

and there's a lot of a lot of good stuff in  this book for those who want to go into the  

issue more it talks about development of doctrine  in the Catholic Church how the Church has come to  

understand that outside the Church there's no  salvation it goes into some of the theological  

theories that people like Karl Rahner and Hans Urs  von Balthasar have sort of submitted as a guidance  

to this issue but uh the key of it is what in  fact does the Catholic Church teach today about it  

and that is found in Lumen Gentium number 16.  For those who don't want quite as technical  

uh approach to it as that book is I wrote  a more popular book called "The Urgency of  

the New Evangelization" which also deals with  Lumen Gentium16 in a sort of summary way so  

uh one of the things that led me to  make this response was not just people  

kind of asking me to but also I read some of the  comments in the in the YouTube channel on chat box  

where people responded to Bishop Barron's talk  and it did seem like whether it was fair or not  

a number of the comments were drifting in  the direction of that false understanding of  

it's easy to drift into the kingdom of God  and it's really hard to choose to go to hell  

and and that's just not what either the  gospel says or the Church actually teaches so  

uh I agree with Bishop Barron that Lumen  Gentium 16 is the key text but I really do  

think that there's some things in that text that  Bishop Barron hasn't brought out adequately or  

clearly enough that are absolutely essential for  understanding what the Church in fact teaches so  

let's take a look at the text I’m going to take  the translation here from the documents of Vatican  

II the general editor Austin Flannery is one of  the most popular and widely accepted translations  

here's what it says, "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 move by grace [excuse me] try in their  actions to do his will as they know it through  

the dictates of their conscience these too may  achieve eternal salvation." Now this part of  

the document and the preceding part is quoted  by almost everybody who talks about this issue  

however very little attention is paid to what  actually the conditions are that need to be there  

to make it possible for somebody to be saved without hearing the gospel and hardly anybody ever  

I mean this literally that's quite shocking to me  some of the greatest theologians who write on this  

issue completely ignore the last three sentences  and we'll get to that in a few minutes let's kind  

of ask ourselves what are these conditions  that the Church is saying needs to be there  

for the possibility of people being  saved who don't explicitly know Christ or  

his gospel the first thing is in culpable  ignorance people who not because of their own  

fault haven't heard the gospel now that implies  that it is possible to be culpably ignorant  

of the gospel you know I I know some of us  have the common experience for example of  

inviting a friend to hear a talk say Scott Hahn  comes to town or even Bishop Barron comes to town  

and and we want a fallen away Catholic or lukewarm  Catholic to come and hear more about the beauties  

of the faith and how great it is to be a Catholic  and uh they say no and it may not just be because  

they're busy or whatever but sometimes people know  what they are going to hear and they don't want to  

challenge their worldview they don't want to have  to kind of confront maybe sometimes even sin or  

darkness or deception in their life so the first  condition is inculpable ignorance of the gospel  

now one of the comments in response to Bishop  Barron's sermon was from somebody who's from an  

academic environment and who's around people who  verbally express their hatred for Christianity she  

talked about how Bishop Barron's sermon helped her  to uh not not be critical of these people and to  

love them and that that's that's really important  that we need to love our enemies bless those who  

persecute us we're never going to win anybody  to Christ if we don't really love them and have  

a concern for their well-being we don't want to  kind of descend into ideological commitments or  

the imperialism that that Bishop Barron warned  against however we should be very concerned  

about people who say they hate Christianity now  maybe they're inculpably ignorant of Christianity  

but maybe they're not maybe know exactly who  Christ is and exactly what he teaches and they  

hate him and hate the Church now this is becoming  quite a common uh viewpoint in our culture  

our culture is quickly becoming not just  post-Christian but anti-Christian and is  

actually I think demonically inspired hatred  for Christ in his Church and so we can't presume  

that people who say they hate Christianity  are incompletely ignorant we can't presume  

that they are either only God knows somebody's  culpability but we should be very concerned for  

everybody's salvation and not presume that  everything's okay the second condition is  

nevertheless people who are inculpably ignorance  of the gospel are seeking God with a sincere heart

now one of the things that Jesus  said that when he returns again  

and he talks about this in Matthew 24 he says  people are going to be buying and selling eating  

and drinking marrying and giving in marriage right  up into the day just like it was a Noah’s day just  

right up into the day when people entered the  ark and the flood came and destroyed them all  

so Jesus in this text isn't saying that because  evil was so great you know the flood came and  

destroyed them all that's the case but  he talked about the condition of people  

and their indifference they're going on with  business as usual concerned only with the things  

of this world yet the Lord expects people to  want to know who he is and to sincerely seek him  

what's the basis for this the basis of one  of the basics for this is Romans chapter 1  

where scripture says God has revealed  himself to everybody on the face of the earth  

and that everybody by looking at the creation can  deduce that there's a creator and needs to have  

a desire to know what the will of the creator is  what the purpose is for creating us and what human  

life is all about we need to be sincerely seeking  God wanting to know who he is now obviously that  

isn't always fulfilled there's a lot of people who  aren't sincerely seeking God who are indifferent  

just like Jesus talks about in Matthew 24. the  third condition is move by grace try in their  

actions to do his will as they know it through the  dictates of their conscience those two may achieve  

eternal salvation so just like Bishop Barron says  this isn't a guarantee of salvation this says it's  

a possibility the possibility to rest on these  conditions being fulfilled in culpable ignorance  

of the gospel sincerely seeking God and acting  on the light that God is giving to our conscience  

now I need to say something here about  conscience Bishop Barron pointed out that uh  

he quoted Cardinal Newman that our conscience  is the aboriginal vicar of Christ and when we  

respond to what our conscience is telling us is  right or wrong we're responding to Christ himself  

now I think we need to add some things there  conscience can often be corrupted we can have  

bad consciences and what our conscience is telling  us isn't the voice of Christ uh we can rationalize  

our behavior we can uh we can be brainwashed we  know we can uh in so many ways our conscience  

may not be what we call our conscience can't be  a reliable guide to the truth we need to really  

kind of recover our true conscience one of the  things that the Catechism the Catholic Church says  

and I have the text right here this is another  book it's called “A Church in Crisis” and it  

talks about the confusion of the Church right now  and how to get our heads clear but in chapter six  

it's called "Is Anyone Responsible?" and uh this  is the question about culpability we're living in  

a culture where more and more nobody's responsible  everybody's sincerely doing what they think is  

right which isn't the case at all and one of the  things that the catechism says in section 1860  

no one is deemed to be ignorant of the  principles of the moral law which are  

written in the conscience of every man you know  everybody knows that in some way before maybe  

their conscience has been deformed that uh it's  wrong to kill people that it's uh wrong to steal  

it's wrong to commit adultery uh the scripture  here is telling us that the Church is telling us  

in Lumen Gentium 16 it's wrong not to be seeking  God so these are pretty stiff requirements  

uh and and they're not to be presumed  that everybody who doesn't know Christ is  

cooperating with the mysterious grace he gives  uh to be known even when his name is not known  

and what Bishop Barron says it's absolutely true  that through through our experience of love or  

truth or beauty we can be receiving grace from  Christ and if we yield to that grace we can have  

salvation affected in our life you know as Bishop  as Father Mark Goring pointed out there isn't like  

a middle stage of participating in salvation  we're either saved or not saved and so these  

rays of light these aspects of truth that we find  in uh religious philosophies or other religions  

can be a doorway for us to receive grace and light  that God is giving us but there's an important  

footnote in Lumen Gentium 16 to and it refers to  the letter of the Holy Office to the father to the  

Archbishop of Boston concerning the Father Feeney  case and what that basically says is not just any  

kind of metaphysical faith "oh yeah I believe in  God that saves us" it's not just any kind of good  

will and and you know principles of morality that  saves us but what saves us is a response to grace  

there needs to be supernatural faith faith that's  born in us by saying yes to a light that God's  

giving us which implies in it a surrender to  the one who's enlighten us so surrender to God  

which births supernatural faith in our soul  we also need to have supernatural charity  

without supernatural faith or supernatural  charity we can't be saved so it isn't just  

"oh yeah I believe in God" but it's a response a  personal response to a light that we're receiving  

we may not know where it's coming from we may not  know the name of Jesus but we're saying yes to  

something deep in our soul that God is giving us  that does does take away original sin, or it can.  

So the big problem though in in I think how  Lumen Gentium 16 was used in this sermon  

is that it doesn't talk about the last  three sentences which are so important and  

unless you talk about the last three sentences  you're distorting what the Church is teaching  

here's the last three sentences "But  very often, deceived by the evil one,  

human beings have become foolish in their thinking  and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie and  

worshipped the creature rather than the creator  there's an exact reference to Romans chapter one  

right there in the text of Vatican II or else  living and dying in this world without God they're  

exposed to ultimate despair therefore to procure  the glory of God and the salvation of all these."  

So whose salvation is the Church concerned about  here? People who haven't heard the gospel but  

maybe are not inculpably ignorant maybe they're  not sincerely seeking God maybe they're not really  

living according to the light of their conscience  but they're living according to the brainwashing  

of the culture or the rationalizations of  their own disordered desires from original sin  

so these people the Church is concerned about  their salvation "Therefore to procure the  

glory of God and the salvation of all these  the Church mindful of the Lord's command to  

preach the gospel to every creature takes zealous  care to carry out its mission of evangelization."  

Now what's being said here is that we're  not living in a neutral environment  

that all of us have been deeply impacted  by original sin believers and unbelievers  

Buddhists Hindus Muslims Christians atheists we've  all been deeply impacted by original sin and have  

disordered desires and a tendency  to do things that aren't right  

and and a weakened will and we're all  susceptible to the deceived deceits of  

the devil and and we know that the devil is  like a roaring lion seeking whom he to devour  

all day long he's firing fiery darts into the  soul of every person on the face of the earth  

and if we don't have the help the explicit help  of Christ and the Church the explicit help of  

knowing exactly what God's will is what we must  do to be saved that we find in sacred scripture  

the tradition of the Church and the magisterium  if we don't have that it's so easy to be deceived  

it's so easy to give in to disorder desires  it's so easy to believe the lies of the devil so  

I checked out the original Latin where it says  yes very often very often people are deceived  

by the evil one and in to disordered desires and  so it's really urgent that we preach the gospel  

you know sometimes people say wouldn't people  be better off if they don't hear the gospel  

then they won't be culpable for the response  they make or the lack of response they make  

no not at all people who haven't heard the gospel  are in tremendous danger it's like the Church  

says here "Very often they become deceived by the  evil one and exchange the truth of God for a lie  

become foolish in their thinking" and that is sure  true of the environment that we're living in today  

so we should take every opportunity through  prayer through fasting through personal witness  

through invitations through sharing books uh  inviting people to watch YouTube videos uh 

to to invite them to faith because they're in  tremendous danger so even though it's possible 

for people to be saved without hearing the  gospel it's very difficult it's very difficult  

and people are far better off to explicitly come  to faith in Jesus Christ and life in the Church  

so uh with with all due respect I hope this  contributes to the conversation about what  

the Church teaches about this area what the truth  is in this area and I hope as a as a body uh we  

can overcome some of the divisions and and pray  for a Church that's more at peace and more one  

not a fake peace not a fake unity but one based  on the full counsel of God everything that Jesus  

revealed to us and everything that the Church  teaches so God bless you all if you'd like more  

resources to explore what we've been talking  about here today uh every week Peter Herbeck my  

colleague and myself post a new video we talk  about a lot of these issues all the time so  

just go to the subscribe button and click on  subscribe and click on the bell next to it and  

we'll let you know about our new weekly  videos or you can go to renewalministries.net  

and sign up for a free monthly newsletter or order  any of the books I mentioned here or anything else  

that you might find of use or help so God bless  you, God bless Bishop Barron, God bless us all