(LifeSiteNews) –– One of the most devastating casualties in the period after Vatican II has been the practical elimination of the distinction between objective redemption and subjective redemption. This has contributed to various evils, ranging from mass apostasy to the Vatican’s persecution of those Catholics who believe what the Church has always taught. Indeed, in one way or another, almost every aspect of the ongoing crisis in the Church relates to the effective elimination of the concept of subjective redemption.
To understand this tragic phenomenon, we can look both at the direct attempts to reshape theology as well as the indirect practical assaults on the understanding of subjective redemption. As a starting point to the analysis, though, it is worthwhile to consider the proper understanding of the distinction between objective redemption and subjective redemption.
The distinction between objective redemption and subjective redemption
In his Theological Journey: Part I, Fr. Johannes Dormann introduced the distinction between objective redemption and subjective redemption as follows:
Since our present discussion on the Church’s teaching involves a distinction of capital importance which, however, today is by no means familiar to all, we present a brief summary of the dogmatic underlying principles. The God-Man Jesus Christ has, through His vicarious satisfaction and the merits of His Redemption, accomplished the reconciliation of humanity with God. This objective universal redemption must, however, be received by and applied to each individual before subjective redemption comes to pass. The act of applying the fruits of the Redemption to each man individually is called justification (dikaioosis, justificatio) or sanctification (hagiasmos, sanctificatio), the fruit of Redemption being the grace of Christ. (pp. 61-62)
Thus, Our Lord paid the price to redeem us all (objective redemption), but the fruits of this redemption must be applied to each man individually (subjective redemption). As Fr. Dormann wrote, this subjective redemption requires our cooperation with God’s grace:
The author of subjective redemption is the Triune God. As a work of divine love, the communication of grace is attributed to the Holy Ghost, although it is effected by all three Persons together. The subjective redemption, however, is not only God’s work but requires from men, who are endowed with intelligence and freedom, their free and voluntary co-operation (Denzinger-Bannwart, 799). In the co-operation between divine grace and human freedom lies the unfathomable mystery of the teaching on grace. (p. 62)
St. Augustine summed up this relationship between God’s grace, our free will, and redemption as follows:
Although God made you without your knowledge, He does not save you against your will. (Serm. 169.3)
Because our salvation depends upon our cooperation with God’s grace, we obviously need to know how to cooperate with God’s grace. On this point, Fr. Dormann wrote of the importance of the Catholic Church:
Along the way to subjective redemption God comes to man’s aid not merely through an inner principle, the power of grace, but also through an outer principle, the efficacy of the Church in her teaching, governing, and sanctifying, by her dispensing the grace of Christ in the sacraments. The end of subjective redemption is the eternal consummation in the beatific vision. (p. 62)
God did not need to establish the Catholic Church to assist us in saving our souls, but He did. As such, we cannot hope to attain salvation if we reject the truths and graces God provides through the Church. If it was not the case that we must accept the truths and graces God provides through the Church, there would be no persuasive reason to be Catholic.
Theological threats to the proper teaching
In all likelihood, the most impactful attacks on the proper understanding of subjective redemption have been through the practical manifestations of false ecumenism discussed below. However, it is important to understand the direct theological attacks as well. In his Pope John Paul II: Doubts About a Beatification, Fr. Patrick de La Rocque wrote the following:
It is well known that we owe the formula from Gaudium et Spes to Karol Wojtyla: ‘By His incarnation the Son of God has united Himself in some fashion with every man.’ Left in its vague sense by the conciliar document, this expression found a more precise interpretation in the writings of John Paul II. His teaching, indeed, contains three recurring affirmations: 1) The Redemption is applied to all men; in other words, to each of them in particular; 2) Redemption is applied in such a way that he cannot lose it; 3) Redemption is applied to everyone from the moment of conception. (p. 2)
These are obviously bold assertions, especially given the fact that the Church’s formal teaching still rejects this notion of universal salvation. However, Fr. de La Rocque cited the following statements, among others, from John Paul II to support his argument:
In the Holy Spirit, every individual and all people have become, through the Cross and Resurrection of Christ, children of God, partakers in the divine nature and heirs to eternal life. (February 2, 1981 message to the Peoples of Asia and Manila)
Jesus Christ makes us sharers in what He is. Through His Incarnation, the Son of God in a certain manner united Himself with every human being. In our inmost being He has recreated us; in our inmost being He has reconciled us with God, reconciled us with ourselves, reconciled us with our brothers and sisters: He is our Peace. (October 2, 1979 homily in Yankee Stadium)
We are dealing with ‘each’ man, for each one is included in the mystery of the Redemption and with each one Christ has united Himself for ever through this mystery. (March 4, 1979, Redemptor Hominis)
Thus, there is a progression involved in the theological development of universal salvation: John Paul II built upon some of the ambiguous passages of the Vatican II documents to develop ideas that pointed at least vaguely to a concept of universal salvation; and the more progressive theologians used John Paul II’s writings to justify even more bold assertions of universal salvation. It matters little that apologists for the Vatican II revolution could find ways to reconcile these passages with Tradition — the reality is that those who oppose Church teaching have used these same passages to attack the proper understanding of subjective redemption.
Practical threats to the proper teaching
Most of us have learned to reject those “theologians” and clerics who would directly teach the heresy of universal salvation. Unfortunately, though, almost every novelty inspired by Vatican II has had the practical effect of teaching the same lesson.
We can see this most clearly through false ecumenism, which was the animating spirit of Vatican II. For over sixty years, false ecumenism has tried to water down and distort actual Catholicism, ostensibly to make it unobjectionable to non-Catholics. That process has undermined Catholic teaching about subjective redemption in the following ways, among others:
- Whereas the Church teaches that all souls must belong to the Catholic Church, false ecumenism teaches that non-Catholic religions are paths to heaven;
- Whereas the Church teaches that unforgiven mortal sins bar souls from heaven, false ecumenism endorses religions that explicitly reject this truth;
- Whereas the Church encourages souls to make frequent use of the sacrament of penance to remain in the state of grace, false ecumenism endorses religions that obviously lack this great aid to salvation;
- Whereas the Church persistently reminds us of the evils of sin and the pains of hell, false ecumenism hides these realities from souls;
- Whereas the Church teaches us that we must perform penance if we wish to mortify the passions that would lead us astray, false ecumenism discourages the practice (and spirit) of penance;
- Whereas the Church teaches that it is a great work of charity to lead souls to become Catholic, false ecumenism encourages non-Catholics to remain outside the Church; and
- Whereas the Church strongly discourages mixed marriages, false ecumenism welcomes them.
The Church teaches us the reality of subjective redemption, but false ecumenism teaches universal salvation. This is why Francis calls Traditional Catholics “rigid” and “backwards” for adhering to what the Church has always taught. He wants to accompany non-Catholics and public sinners, so he persecutes us because we have retained those beliefs and practices that are off-putting to those who do not actually want to embrace Catholicism.
What, though, makes Traditional Catholicism offensive to those who reject it? It is the insistence that we must actually follow the unadulterated Catholic Faith if we wish to please God and save our souls. And this rigid and backward mindset flows naturally from a proper understanding of the distinction between objective redemption and subjective redemption.
How to counteract these evils
If we want to counteract these evils, we have to reject false ecumenism in its entirety and return to the unadulterated Catholic Faith. The sad history of the past sixty years has been dominated by well-meaning Catholics who have tried to make peace with the errors and abuses that have been introduced through false ecumenism. However, there is no acceptable mix of truth and error — even the smallest amount of error is lethal for those who willingly accept it.
Thankfully, Francis and his diabolical Synodal Church have made it much easier for us to recognize this reality. God, in His loving Providence, has permitted Satan and Francis to inflict great harm. But it also seems that God has required that these new attacks on the Church be made with much more transparency than we saw prior to Francis. Yesterday’s promoters of the Vatican II revolution had to tell us it was in continuity with tradition; today’s promoters of the exact same revolution instead make it clear that their new church began with Vatican II. So there is no longer any excuse for accepting error in the name of obedience.
In addition to rejecting error, we have immense work to do in reminding Catholics and non-Catholics alike of what the Church has always taught about subjective redemption. The good news on this front is that everything we value about our religion supports the Church’s teaching on subjective redemption. The lives of the saints; the true teachings of the Bible; the holy works of the spiritual writers; the Church’s sacraments; the lessons of the liturgy; the Church’s prayers and devotions — all of this is preposterous if we believe in universal salvation, but it is evidence of God’s great love for us when we understand that these are the means He has given us to lead us to Him. If we simply live and share this unadulterated Catholic Faith that God has given us, we will please God, enrage Satan, and testify to the proper understanding of the distinction between objective redemption and subjective redemption. Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us!