FR. RICHARD MCBRIEN AND LIMBO

   

PELAGIUS AND MCBRIEN: ERROR BONDED THROUGH THE CENTURIES

It reminded me of watching an old horror film from the thirties:  the creaking and groaning of an opening coffin.  I expected to see the corpse of Pelagius, disgraced Celtic monk (who denied Original Sin) rising from the dead, but it was just Fr. Richard McBrien offering us his take on the rescinded Limbo teaching from the Vatican.  As always, he gets it wrong and takes us back to Pelagianism:  his quote:

"If there's no limbo and we're not going to revert to St. Augustine's teaching that unbaptized infants go to hell, we're left with only one option, namely, that everyone is born in the state of grace," said the Rev. Richard McBrien, professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame.

Nothing upsets me more than a fellow priest and theologian twisting Catholic teaching to mean whatever he wants it to mean.  The new Vatican line on Limbo has to do with God's mercy, not the reality of Original Sin.  The bottom line is, we do not know what happens to unbaptized infants or adults who die.  We just don't know for certain.  Never have, never will until we enter, hopefully, eternal glory.  Just like Pelagius, Fr. McBrien negates the necessity of Baptism to wipe away Original Sin, and just like Pelagius, he is wrong.   What the Church teaches is that Baptism is necessary, but God, in his mercy, makes the final judgement on people.  People who intend to have their children baptized but suddenly lose them, infants who suffer the agony of abortion, all are presumed to be in the hands of a merciful God who does not wish to condemn anyone.  But to deduce from that, that no Original Sin exists is just illogical.  Baptism is the sure way to salvation; everything else is a roll of the dice.  We can trust in God's love, but we ought not take for granted the sacramental ways he has provided to experience salvation.  Limbo was never a dogmatic teaching of the Church; it was a way to explain God's mercy.  The Church has refined that explanation, not gotten rid of Original Sin or the necessity of Baptism.  McBrien knows that.  All Fr. McBrien has done is give the rest of us priests more work in speaking Catholic teaching loud and clear.  But that's what he has always done:  confuse the issue so that  he and others like him can make the Catholic faith into their own image and likeness. 

 

Comments

[Sharon]

It distresses me that many theologians and biblical exegetes seem to feel that it is their mission in life to destroy the Faith of the 'little ones'. It is one thing to discuss matters which are not in accordance with the teachings of the Church amongst themselves but when they publish and preach publicly to a generally undercatechised laity they are doing the devil's work. It seems as if a parallel Magisterium has been set up and we laity are the poor mugs will possibly lose our immortal souls by listening to these 'experts'.

[Sharon]

"Limbo was never a dogmatic teaching of the Church; it was a way to explain God's mercy. "

The whole Limbo dust up is, in my opinion, just another manufactured stick with which dissidents can bash the Church. Similar sticks are 'the old Missal is anti Semitic' and 'WYD 2008 will contribute to polution'.

My take on Limbo, whether it exists or not can't really be decided by the Church it's up to God, is like living in Melbourne. I think Melbourne is the best place in the world to live because I haven't been anywhere else. There may be hundreds of better places but I know nothing about them. If Limbo exists the children there are perfectly naturally happy and don't miss not having access to the beautific vision because they don't know about it. They can't miss what they don't know.

[Carol]

Everyone who has ever lost a child or knows someone who did (and since Roe v Wade, who doesn't??), limbo has been a sore spot. It was the one elephant in the room we glanced at often as we walked around it. If it's not a dogmatic teaching of the Church, then it's not a dogmatic teaching of the Church.

Christ quoted this: "Go and learn what this means: I desire mercy, not sacrfice." And are we in our reluctance to let the little children come unto Him, also observing only the letter of the Law?

We miss the forest for the trees, sometimes. Catholicism is not so narrow a gate that a pure innocent can't fit through or under.

Christ Himself wasn't baptized until He was 30.