CATHOLIC
FAMILY LIFE
MESSENGER

March 2007
Volume I No. 3

DOES EVERYONE
GO TO HEAVEN? Part II

1. Does Everyone Go to Heaven is continued from Vol. I, No. 2, Feb., 2007
For a copy of previous issues, please visit CFLM.blogspot.com or
familylifepromtion.org
or write to
CFLM, P. O. Box 115, Lake Grove, NY 11755.
Kindly be advised that because the complete
treatment of this topic is a bit extensive and complex, every one should read Part I, before reading Part II.

Introduction (revised from Issue 2)

2. Some say, especially at wakes or by funeral ser-vices, that when we die we are immediately united with the all-merciful and compassionate God in Heaven – together with all our friends and relatives that have died before us and those who will die after us will do the same. These “teachers” are, almost always, very nice people and most people are fasci-nated by them. They usually look happy, very friendly, and always seem to have a smile. They seem very understanding if we tell them any of the naughty or bad things we have done. They love to be at parties, always seem to want to make others laugh during serious times, are not known to be harsh, and seem very compassionate and merciful – just like God. It is assumed that these people mean well, have good intentions, and probably hope in their hearts that it should be as easy to go to Heaven as they sin-cerely believe. It is obvious that there are


What is
Divine Mercy?
Divine Mercy is a free gift from Jesus consisting of forgiveness for all our sins and punishment due for having offended God in the past. To receive this mercy, we must ask for it on Divine Mercy Sunday. Many Catholic Churches offer this special cele-bration after the regular Masses. For times and locations see your Church bulletin for a special announcement before Divine Mercy Sunday (the Sunday after Easter), April 15, 2007. To know more about this tremendous gift before the big day, visit www.thedivinemercy.org.

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millions of Catholics (not to mention non-Catholics) who feel it in their hearts that these assumptions must be true. Let us continue with how non-Catholics fit into the Catholic understanding of our final destina-tion. Again, all bold emphasis in quotations is added.

Will NON-Catholics be able to go to Heaven?

3. Many Catholics and non-Catholics believe, as stated in Issue 2 last month, that if everyone is saved, than everyone goes to Heaven, even if they do not know it or if they do not want to go there. How is that possible? Because these people believe that God is all love, compassion, and mercy – (nothing else); consequently, we are predestined, have no choice in the matter, and can only go to Heaven! Perhaps, that was the kind of God the Devil had hoped for, but it did not work out that way for him. The Devil now knows that he failed the test by disregarding and ignoring God’s justice. Now, he has to suffer for it forever and is obsessed with deceiving human beings.

4. Does one need to have openly accepted Jesus Christ to go to Heaven? No. Vatican II in Lumen Gentium, #16 says that those non-Christians who "through no fault of their own do not know the Gos-pel" but follow the "dictates of their conscience" and "strive to lead a good life" within their true knowl-edge of it, can be saved. However, this statement has limitations and is not as all inclusive as many of us wish it to be. It does not necessarily mean that all those who do not know Jesus are going to Heaven. There are plenty of non-Christians and ex-Christians, especially in Christian countries, (including some relatives and friends) who do know about Jesus be-cause they have chosen to reject Him. Just as many reject to learn Greek, similarly many reject Jesus. By rejecting to learn Greek, we do not eliminate the exis-tence of Greek; similarly, those who refuse to know about Jesus, cannot eliminate His existence or what He has revealed to us. Also, Jesus said that we will know them by their fruits (Mt. 7:20), and so we would have to be blind and deaf to think that all non-Christians follow the dictates of their conscience and strive to lead good lives. As for those non-Christians who do follow their conscience and strive to lead good lives, Pope John Paul II informs us that

"they nevertheless find themselves in an unsatisfac-tory situation compared to that of those in the Church who have the fullness of the means of salvation" (L'Osservatore Romano, February 2, 2000).

5. The Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, headed by Cardinal Ratzinger, (before he became Pope Benedict XVI) put it this way in its declaration Dominus Iesus (August 6, 2000):

"If it is true that the followers of other religions can receive divine grace, it is also certain that objectively speaking they are in a gravely deficient situation in comparison with those who, in the Church, have the fullness of salvation" (#22).

The declaration also said that the

"rituals of other religions.... insofar as they depend on superstitions or other errors (cf. 1 Cor. 10:20-21), constitute an obstacle to salvation" (#21).

6. Pope John Paul II "ratified and confirmed" this declaration and ordered that it be published (#23), and, according to the Secretary of the Congregation, Archbishop Tarcisio Bertone (who replaced Cardinal Ratzinger as the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith ) this declaration is "definitive and irrevocable" and "is taught by the Magiste-rium with an infallible act..." (Press conference in Vatican City, Sept. 5, 2000). Is this declaration some-thing new? No. As Archbishop Bertone said (at the same press conference), it just "reaffirms and summarizes the doctrine of Catholic faith defined and taught in earlier documents of the Magiste-rium... [the teaching authority of the Catholic Church]"

7. The Church firmly believes that truth and grace, if accepted, can help us to be saved, that the Catho-lic Church possesses the fullness of this truth and sacramental grace. This is why the Church tries to reach out to non-believers. As Lumen Gentium says:

"But often men, deceived by the Evil One, have be-come vain in their reasoning and have exchanged the truth of God for a lie, serving the creature
[angelic or human] rather than the Creator" (#16).

8. Thus, "by the proclamation of the Gospel she [the Church].... snatches them from the slavery of error and of idols..." (#17). And: "to...procure the salvation of these [those in greater danger of being lost]...the Church fosters the missions with care and attention" (#16).

9. In addition, Fr. Avery Dulles, who later became Cardinal, writing in the letters section of First Things
(August /September 1996) stated:

"It has been the firm teaching of the Catholic Church since the struggles against Jansenism, (a heresy origi-nated in the seventeenth century by a Catholic bishop) that God does not withhold from anyone the grace needed for salvation [even those who do not repent]. Pius IX in several documents asserted that non-Christians living in invincible [or deep-rooted or be-yond their control] ignorance of the true faith could obtain eternal life, provided that they cooperated with the grace given to them."

10. Fr. Dulles continues with the issue of invincible ignorance by indicating that ignorance beyond our control is not an automatic ticket to Heaven. And, there are types of ignorance that are not as "invinci-ble” or (beyond our control) as we might wish they were. In other words, the “proverb” that “ignorance is bliss” is not as much of a bliss as we want it to be, and some “ignorance” caused by our laziness can be worthless and self-accusing in the eyes of God. The bottom line is that we have to make a fair and just effort to be informed in our Faith, or we will suffer the consequences we deserve from the fair and just God. In a nutshell, there are no free lunches.

11. Nevertheless, what harm is there in stating that the old, white-haired, and hard-working Uncle Char-lie, who just died, is now in Heaven? It no longer matters to him, regardless of where he is, but it does matter to us who are alive on Earth. What certain good and well-meaning Catholics do not realize when ‘they determine’ (ahead of the pope), that someone is in Heaven is that they are promoting the false idea of everyone going to Heaven; in effect, they encourage all to sin in the grossest ways. After all, if the old scoundrel Uncle Charlie made it to Heaven, so will everyone else, regardless of their lack of repentance.

12. And if we have ever wondered why we almost never hear about what the Church teaching is on Hell from the pulpit, it could be because some (or many) of our priests are leading secret lives. If we do not repent and change our sinful ways, not only Hell will not go away but all un-repented sinners will continue going there. According to the official teaching of the Catholic Church, that is the naked truth, but the Church uses gentler words. Amen.

13. How about those who disagree with the editor’s interpretation of the Teaching of the Catholic Church? In all fairness to our readers, it is extremely impor-tant that those who may have found any error(s) in this treatment of Heaven (or in any other matter in CFLM) make it know to the editor, so that we can in-form all of our readers as soon as possible. However, it is important to provide the specific passage in CFLM and the specific reference of the conflicting official Church document, with chapter and verse in-dicating the principle of the error in question. Please include your name, phone number, and/or email. All requests for anonymity will be granted. See additional ways to contact the editor below.

IS CONSCIENCE ALWAYS SUPREME?

14. Below are some of the questions to be answered before we can begin to properly understand and use our conscience. Also, it should be very wise for earthly creatures to read paragraphs #1776–1803 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and all the documents referenced therein.
a) Must we always obey our conscience? If our conscience is correct and properly formed according to God’s design and in agreement with His Church, yes. If someone’s conscience does not agree with the official teaching of the Catholic Church that certain laws on faith or morals are contrary to God laws; such as, adultery, homosexual activity, divorce and remarriage, abortion, masturbation, pornography, everyone is saved, the consecrated host is just a wa-fer, Christ was human but not divine, and others, conscience may not overrule any of the laws on faith and morals (and lesser evils) officially taught by the Catholic Church. How could a well-informed and upright person reason that the Holy Spirit con-siders anyone of us to be a better judge then His Church on faith, morals, liturgy, and discipline? The only way that is possible is if the Holy Spirit has forgotten Jesus’ command that the Catholic Church cannot make any mistakes on faith and morals. Is the Holy Spirit too old and confused? Did Jesus know what He was doing when He said that the Holy Spirit would be with his Church until the end of time, and the Gates of Hell would not prevail against His Church? The real truth is, “one may never do evil so that good may result from it;” That is an absolute statement. AND, on faith and morals, your con-science or mine does not decide what is considered evil or good or truth or lies; the Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, has been doing that for the last 2000 years. Yes, and that is another permanent absolute.

b) How much authority has God given to con-science to determine what is good and bad, and what we can or cannot do? On certain issues (excluding faith and morals) conscience has some freedom – assuming it has been formed properly and in ac-cordance with the official teaching of the Catholic Church. Many people feel that they were given equal knowledge and gifts by God – equal to that of the Church. Some others, who are less than 100 years old, feel that they have extra-ordinary insights that supersede anything the Church has experienced by billions of Catholics in 2000 years, and that God talks to them daily with the latest on every subject. We should always pray hard for people who feel, think, or believe that they are holier than the Church on any issue because they seem much closer to the Devil’s trap than others.

c) When is conscience worthless and useless and must not be obeyed? Whenever it suggests doing something contrary to the official teaching of the Catholic Church. We are obligated to know the teaching of the Church, regardless of the suggestions made by our conscience to the contrary. The best start is the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) available from any bookstore from $10 to $20.

d) Should we ever obey our conscience if it tells us that occasionally it is okay to sin in an unusual situation? The short answer is no, and the long an-swer is NO. Why? Because if our conscience is suggesting to do something wrong, that is how we can be certain that it is not from God, but from the Devil – who, by the way, is the only unconditional “friend” there is in the whole universe; no matter what we do or not do, he will always take us back. God, on the other hand, places restrictions on our freedom and demands an account for all our actions. Was St. Paul wrong when he said something about working out our salvation in fear and trembling?

e) When does conscience really rule? It should always rule whenever it suggests doing something truly honorable, true, just, pure, lovely, and gracious. Also, if we should be confronted with a situation that is truly new to us, that we are not familiar with, or we truly do not know what should be done and we can-not investigate further at that moment for that par-ticular issue, then, after asking God’s help to make the right decision, we must let reason and faith help our conscience decide for that particular issue. We are always required not to proceed with a doubtful conscience and to learn as soon as possible the offi-cial teaching of the Catholic Church – it is for our own peace of mind.

f) How do we inform and form a correct con-science? For a short answer, read and think about paragraphs #1783--85, #1798, #1971 of the CCC.

Credits

15. Again, although the editor is fully responsible for the short treatments of Heaven and conscience above, he is very thankful for all Church documents indicated, and for Catholic groups that recognize the correct teaching of the Catholic Church and are not afraid to explain it. Among these is the NEW OXFORD REVIEW for granting permis-sion to quote from their vast resources of information on almost any topic. If you like the clear facts, then visit their website and feast on all the articles published since 1995 at: newoxfordreview.org, or write to them at 1069 Kains Ave., Berkeley, CA 94706. Also visit: www.vatican.va.

How was the February Issue?

16. As of March 15, according to the fewer responses re-ceived by e-mail, USPS mail, phone, etc., two men asked to remove their name from the email list, no reason; another man did not like anything about it and made all kinds of wild assumptions and accusations, including that the bible quotations were not in the Bible, yet he did not give one example; he even disregarded the fact that his pastor could not find any doctrinal errors in the treatment of Heaven, go figure. One woman asked that her name be added to the list; two others did not wish to receive it any longer and gave no reason. That is the scoop for now. Not bad.
About 700 copies of Issue 2 were sent out, which included four bishops and 29 priests, all of whom we have great re-spect for and many we have known for over 30 years; talk about unity or solidarity with our priests, good priests, that is. OK, but what is a bad priest? Short answer, he is the same as a bad lay person; that is, a guilty heretic or child molester or any other kind of sinner that has not repented for his sins. So, do you know of anyone who might enjoy reading this live newsletter? How can anyone dislike it; it is free, it is in agreement with the official teaching of the Catholic Church, and it keeps people awake when read.

17. Again, after the editor’s pastor reviewed this issue, he confirmed that it is free of doctrinal and moral error.
Please, do not forget that help is needed in every aspect of publishing CFLM, and if you could help in some way, or are in doubt on how you could help, regardless of where you live, contact the editor, Carmelo Fallace, at CFLM@optonline.net, or write to him at P.O. Box 115, Lake Grove, NY 11755, or call him at (631) 235-7297, for more information with no obligation.

18. As always, please feel free to comment on any aspect of Catholic Family Life Messenger (CFLM). Copies of all past CFLM issues are available; see paragraph 1 above. Opinions expressed in CFLM are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Board of Directors of Family life Promotion of New York.

What about the next issue of CFLM?

19. We will probably not con-tinue with the topic of Heaven or the topic of conscience – unless we get some additional questions or comments by April 10. Unfor-tunately, for lack of space, we could not do much with “God’s unconditional love” in this issue as promised in the last; however, together with what we should not judge, what we should and must
judge about others, and other topics suggested by our read-ers, as space permits, will appear in the next issue, God willing. Again, feel free to contact the editor and contrib-ute in some way.

20. Yes, you may copy the entire newsletter, or you may request additional free hard copies, or you may cancel your “subscription”. Choices, choices, choices.

© March, 2007