(LifeSiteNews) — Cardinal Kurt Koch has erroneously claimed that the doctrine “no salvation outside the Church” only applies to Catholics who already believe the Catholic Church “points the way” to salvation.
In an interview with Koch the day following the Society of St. Pius X (SSPX) episcopal consecrations, German theologian Jan-Heiner Tück asked the cardinal why extra ecclesiam nulla salus (“no salvation outside the Church”) has become “difficult” under modern conditions.
“I think it is difficult even under theological conditions, because this formula, extra ecclesiam nulla salus, naturally applies to Catholics who are convinced that the Catholic Church points the way to eternal salvation,” Koch replied.
“But we already have the fundamental conviction in Holy Scripture, and then also in Tradition, that God wills the salvation of all people [cf. 1 Tim 2:4] and that He then also finds other ways for people to attain salvation who have never come into alignment with the Gospel of Jesus Christ,” he added.
Koch’s assertion renders the dogma practically meaningless and contradicts the clear teaching of the Church, as articulated in the 1949 Holy Office letter Suprema Haec Sacra.
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“Not only did our Saviour order all peoples to enter the Church, but He also decreed that it is the means of salvation without which no one can enter the eternal kingdom of glory,” wrote Cardinal Francesco Marchetti-Selvaggiani, repudiating Koch’s idea that there are “other ways” of salvation.
The Catholic Church notes that it is possible for those remaining outside the Church “through no grave fault of their own” and who are somehow unaware that the Church is the true Church to still be saved “by making use of the graces which God gives them.” However, salvation in these cases of “invincible ignorance” is not found through other churches, but is through the Catholic Church as the channel of grace, as taught by St. Thomas Aquinas.
The 1949 Holy Office letter acknowledges this, explaining that “for a person to obtain his salvation, it is not always required that he be de facto incorporated into the Church as a member, but he must at least be united to the Church through desire or hope.”
“However, it is not always necessary that this hope be explicit as in the case of catechumens. When one is in a state of invincible ignorance, God accepts an implicit desire, thus called because it is implicit in the soul’s good disposition, whereby it desires to conform its will to the will of God,” wrote Cardinal Marchetti-Selvaggiani.
The SSPX conforms to this understanding of extra ecclesiam nulla salus, thus nullifying the claim of Koch that the SSPX “essentially sends everyone to hell who is not in the Catholic Church.”
Koch, prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, has been known to oppose fundamental doctrines of the Church and endorse a new “Synodal Church.” His dicastery has produced documents that contain heresy, both with regard to the nature of the Church and outreach to the Jews. Koch holds the heretical position that there is no need for a mission to the Jewish people as they can be saved under the Old Covenant. He defends his rejection of the teaching of the Catholic Church by an appeal to the Second Vatican Council.