(After this comment, I promise I will not continue to “monopolize” this discussion!)

http://melbourne.catholic.org.au/eic/documents/SalvationoutsidetheChurch-URandNAatVatII_000.doc

I came across a paper on the internet written by David Schütz titled “How did Vatican II develop the teaching “No Salvation outside the Church”? and given at Thomas More Spring School. (That may be Australia, noting the au in the URL above.) Some of the things there may indicate how I have come to have an “inclusivist” point of view. Though I have not been going to Catholic Church for years, I still have obviously been effected by the church, especially Vatican II things and Pope John Paul II. I did an internet search to find out who David Schutz is and think that I found him at http://www.melbourne.catholic.org.au/caem/davidschutz.htm

It says there:
“David Schütz is the Executive Officer for the Ecumenical and Interfaith Commission of the Archdiocese. Following the completion of ten years of study in theology and humanities, he served as a parish pastor of the Lutheran Church of Australia (LCA) for 9 years. He served for 14 years on the national Lutheran Commission on Worship, did research work for their official publications “Church Rites” and “Rites for Pastoral Care”, and served on the ecumenical body “The Australian Consultation on Liturgy”. From 1998 to 2001, he managed a project which provided lectionary based liturgical resources to all parishes of LCA. After joining the Catholic Church in 2001 he served for three years as Music Director for Our Lady’s parish and school in Ringwood. David is also a keen student of church history and scripture, and deeply involved in ecumenism.

Formal qualifications:
Bachelor of Theology (Luther Seminary, North Adelaide),
Graduate Diploma in Ministry (Luther Seminary, North Adelaide),
Bachelor of Arts (University of Adelaide),
Graduate Diploma in Library and Information Management (University of South Australia)”

All the below quotations are from his paper:

“The Catechism also includes the following statement from Lumen Gentium:

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, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience – those too may achieve eternal salvation.

From Vatican II

It follows that the separated Churches and Communities as such, though we believe them to be deficient in some respects, have been by no means deprived of significance and importance in the mystery of salvation. For the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as means of salvation which derive their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Church.

In Unitatis Redintegratio the Council Fathers explicitly absolved from the guilt of “the sin involved in the separation” all “who are born into these [separated] Communities and who grow up believing in Christ”. In fact, they declared, “the Catholic Church embraces upon them as brothers, with respect and affection..”

From Nostra Aetate

“One is the community of all peoples, one their origin, for God made the whole human race to live over the face of the earth. One also is their final goal, God. His providence, His manifestations of goodness, His saving design extend to all men, until that time when the elect will be united in the Holy City, the city ablaze with the glory of God, where the nations will walk in His light.”

The Declaration Dominus Iesus, quoting from John Paul II’s encyclical Redemptoris missio, puts it this way:

“…Whatever the Spirit brings about in human hearts and in the history of peoples, in cultures and religions, serves as a preparation for the Gospel and can only be understood in reference to Christ, the Word who took flesh by the power of the Spirit ‘so that as perfectly human he would save all human beings and sum up all things….”

(and from John Paul II’s Redemptoris missio)

…There is only one salvific economy of the One and Triune God, realized in the mystery of the incarnation, death, and resurrection of the Son of God, actualized with the cooperation of the Holy Spirit, and extended in its salvific value to all humanity and to the entire universe: “No one, therefore, can enter into communion with God except through Christ, by the working of the Holy Spirit…”

Joanie

Gee, you come across a number of interesting things in those comments on the blog that Francis Beckwith explained his going back to the Catholic Church.

Someone mentioned a book by David Currie, a man raised very much as a fundamentalist and he converted to Catholicism. I found that at:
http://www.amazon.com/Born-Fundamentalist-Again-Catholic/dp/089870569X/ref=sr_1_3/104-5161408-4632704?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1178759295&sr=1-3
It’s called Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic. I see a reviewer named Kathleen writes, “He never denigrates his former church or any of the people in it, writing with love of his own journey into the Catholic Church. He still regards his former Baptist congregation as brothers and sisters in Christ.” That’s good to know.

But then reading comments about the book on Amazon, I see people saying that you should also read Karl Keating’s books and I find he has MANY books.
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_b/104-9486867-2419143?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Karl+Keating

I will likely never get around to reading any of these, but it’s nice to know they are out there if I ever want to get a fuller understanding of these issues.

Joanie

http://rightreason.ektopos.com/archives/2007/05/my_return_to_th.html

Do you know if Francis Beckwith posted a second time on the blog at the above URL? I did try scrolling through all the comments but there are so many! I did come across one by his brother.

I know he resigned as President of the ETS totally of his own free will. But I am not sure from reading the statement of the ETS if his leaving even as a member was totally his idea.

Joanie