Vatican II And Universalism

 

To My Readers: Please see the special Addendum at the very end of this post---Introibo

The word "Catholic" comes from a Greek word meaning "universal" because the One True Church of Jesus Christ is meant to encompass all people, male and female, of all ethnicities, races, and geographical locations from Her foundation in 33 AD until Christ returns at the end of the world. All people need the One True Church to be saved. Recently, on a late-night Italian talk show, the Argentinian apostate, Jorge Bergoglio ("Pope" Francis) had this to say:

(Host) Fabio Fazio: It is hard to imagine Hell, a Father that condemns eternally…. It is hard to imagine.

Francis: Yes, it is hard to imagine. This is not a dogma of Faith, what I am going to tell you, it is a personal thing of mine, which pleases me: it pleases me to think that Hell is empty. It is a pleasure. I hope it is a reality. But it pleases me. (See novusordowatch.org/2024/01/jorge-bergoglio-blasphemous-hope-empty-hell). 

This is a variation of the heresy of Universalism. This universalism is the opposite of "catholic"--it teaches that everyone (or almost everyone) can be saved, and belonging to the Church is unnecessary. This view of Bergoglio mirrors that of heretical Fr. Hans Urs Von Balthasar (d. 1988). Von Balthasar's 1987 book, Dare We Hope "That All Men Be Saved"? claimed there was no certainty that anyone is in Hell or ever will be in Hell. He stated that "the Church ... has never said anything about the damnation of any individual. Not even about that of Judas." Thus, he declared, every Christian has the "obligation" to hope that all men are saved, including Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Our Lord. 

This post will discuss Universalism in its various forms, and whether or not a Traditionalist Catholic can hope for an unpopulated Hell. I begin my discussion of the problem from the place where every evil in this age of Great Apostasy comes---Vatican II. 

Vatican II and Universalism

First, some definitions are in order. Today, one can distinguish six types of Universalism:

1. Apocatastasis. This teaching is defined by the 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia as, A name given in the history of theology to the doctrine which teaches that a time will come when all free creatures will share in the grace of salvation; in a special way, the devils and lost souls. Hell is not eternal, but will end when all damned humans and fallen angels (Satan and his demons) are "purified" and enter into Heaven. A necessary corollary is that the Church is irrelevant. 

2. Mitigated Apocatastasis. Teaches the same as above, except that Hell is eternal, but only for Satan and his demons. All human souls return to God. Some modern Protestants hold this view. Once more the Church is irrelevant. 

3. Absolute Universalism. Universalism teaches that the atonement of Christ and belonging to His One True Church is not necessary. All humanity will go to Heaven after death regardless of beliefs and regardless of anything Christ did, which was not necessary. There is no belief in Hell, Satan and demons. When most people speak of Universalism, this is the view to which they usually refer. 

4. "Christian" Universalism. This view holds that the atonement of Jesus is necessary, as is belief in Him as Savior. However, the Catholic Church is not necessary. Just a general acceptance of Christ as your personal Lord and Savior suffices. Many liberal Protestant sects adopt this view. There may or may not be a Hell for non-Christians (their souls will be annihilated at death if no Hell) and Satan/demons may or may not exist. Usually, any "profession of Christ" whatsoever suffices for salvation. 

5. "Anonymous Christian" Universalism. This form of universalism is taken from the heretical teachings of Fr. Karl Rahner (d. 1984) who was a peritus ("theological expert") at Vatican II. False sects and their false books/teachings, merely have "gaps, insufficiencies, and errors," and yet contain "elements of goodness and grace" from the "mystery of Christ" which will "nourish and direct" the existence of their followers. According to the concept of Anonymous Christianity, the "Mystery of Christ" is contained in varying degrees in non-Catholic religions. Therefore, salvation is also available in those other (false) religions. Everyone is "Christian" whether they know it or not; even if they explicitly reject Christianity. 

6. The Empty Hell. Hell is real and Satan with his demons are there. It is possible that human souls may be there, but it is possible no souls are lost.  

Although Universalism has been around for centuries, it gained popular acceptance in society after Vatican II. The new ecclesiology, which is at the heart of the false sect, comes from the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium. In para. #8 of that damnable document, it states:

 This Church [of Christ] constituted and organized in the world as a society, subsists in the Catholic Church, which is governed by the successor of Peter and by the Bishops in communion with him, although many elements of sanctification and of truth are found outside of its visible structure. These elements, as gifts belonging to the Church of Christ, are forces impelling toward catholic (sic) unity. (Emphasis and words in parenthesis mine).

The Church of Christ is not identical to the Roman Catholic Church. It "subsists" there in its fullness because it contains all the "elements" of the Church of Christ. However, the Church of Christ "subsists" in other sects according to how many "elements" they possess. To have all the elements is best, but just having some is just as good and "impels toward catholic (sic) unity." Maybe they would like to explain why the Eastern Schismatics and Protestants have not been "impelled" to become Catholic? The answer is easy enough: They don't need to convert because they are "in partial communion" with the Church of Christ and can be saved outside the Catholic Church. This is pure heresy. 

It brought forth a false and equally heretical ecumenism, explained in Vatican II's Decree on Ecumenism Unitatis Redintegratio:

It follows that the separated Churches and Communities [false sects] 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. (para. #3; Emphasis mine). 

The ecumenism is manifest in every part of the sect. The Novus Bogus "Mass" is a good example of the false ecclesiology engendering ecumenism in action. To give but a few examples:

• It resembles the Protestant "Lord's Supper" with singing and hand-holding around a table
• The role of the "priest" is more or less that of a Protestant minister. "Homilies" and self-help talks is mostly all they do
• Belief in the Real Presence (which they no longer have anyway) is virtually obliterated by people standing for "communion" and putting it in their hand, while being dressed immodestly or like a slob
• The "priesthood of all believers" is seen by laymen and laywomen handing out "communion;" the laity reads the "lectionary;" and married "deacons" are doing almost everything the so-called priest does

The Vatican II sect is also ecumenical in what they omit in their teachings and "homilies." You will never hear:

• There is no salvation Outside the One True Church
• Islam is Satanic in origin
• Catholicism should be the State religion
• Error has no rights

 The Vatican II Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Gaudium et Spes, in keeping with the false and heretical ecclesiology of Lumen Gentium, teaches the salvation of all humanity. One of the key tenets of this document, Universalism was beloved by Wojtyla ("Pope" "St" John Paul II) who incorporated it in his encyclicals and the heretical 1992 Catechism of the Catholic (sic) Church. 

In Gaudium et Spes, para. #22 we read, For by His incarnation the Son of God has united Himself in some fashion with every man. By His Incarnation, Christ took on a human nature; True God and True Man. There is no Church teaching that somehow Christ "has united Himself in some fashion with each man." That is a theological novelty of Vatican II. This teaching is heretical as can be clearly seen from the "magisterial" explanation of Wojtyla:

Redemptor Hominis (1979), para. #13: Christ the Lord indicated this way especially, when, as the Council teaches, "by his Incarnation, he, the Son of God, in a certain way united himself with each man"(Emphasis in original). Continuing in the same encyclical, Wojtyla writes, Accordingly, what is in question here is man in all his truth, in his full magnitude. We are not dealing with the "abstract" man, but the real, "concrete", "historical" man. 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 forever through this mystery. (Emphasis mine).

Query: If Christ has united Himself forever to each person simply by virtue of the Incarnation, how is it possible for someone to be damned? Answer: No one can ever be damned because Hell involves eternal separation from God, which is incompatible with the teaching of Gaudium et Spes and Wojtyla--- that all humans are united forever with Christ and thus all must be saved. It is Catholic truth that no one is saved unless they are within the One True Church of Christ and die in the state of sanctifying grace.

Proof:  Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, Cantate Domino, 1441, ex cathedra: The Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that all those who are outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans but also Jews or heretics and schismatics, cannot share in eternal life and will go into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless they are joined to the Church before the end of their lives...

Pope Pius IX, The Syllabus of Errors (1864), CONDEMNED Proposition #17:

Good hope at least is to be entertained of the eternal salvation of all those who are not at all in the true Church of Christ.

Was Judas Damned, and is Hell Really Empty?

For the most part, we do not know the fate of the departed. Other than canonized saints, we can't say for certain that any particular individual is in Heaven, without a special revelation from God. That's why we pray for the dead; if they are in Purgatory, we can help them with our prayers. Conversely, we know--from Scripture and Sacred Tradition---that there are souls in Hell. It is not empty, as Von Balthasar and Bergoglio would have it. We do not know for certain if any particular soul is damned (without a special revelation from God) --except for one, Judas Iscariot. 

Proof:

The fourfold condemnation of Judas in Sacred Scripture.

Our Lord Jesus Christ: "The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that man if he had not been born." (St. Mark 14:6; Emphasis mine). 

Our Lord Jesus Christ:  "While I was with them, I kept them in thy name. Those whom thou gavest me have I kept; and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition, that the scripture may be fulfilled." (St. John 17:12; Emphasis mine). 

Psalm 108: 2-8: "O God, be not thou silent in my praise: for the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful man is opened against me. They have spoken against me with deceitful tongues; and they have compassed me about with words of hatred; and have fought against me without cause. Instead of making me a return of love, they detracted me: but I gave myself to prayer.  And they repaid me evil for good: and hatred for my love. Set thou the sinner over him: and may the devil stand at his right hand. When he is judged, may he go out condemned; and may his prayer be turned to sin. May his days be few: and his bishopric let another take." (Emphasis mine). 

St. Augustine shows in Homilies on the Gospel of John, that St. John 17:12 together with Psalm 108 (109 in some Bibles) tells of the damnation of Judas Iscariot. 

7. The Son therefore goes on to say: “Those that Thou gavest me, I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the Scripture might be fulfilled.” The betrayer of Christ was called the son of perdition, as foreordained to perdition, according to the Scripture, where it is specially prophesied of him in the 109th Psalm. (See ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf107.iii.cviii.html; Emphasis mine). 

St. Peter, the first pope in Acts 1:20: "For it is written in the book of Psalms: Let their habitation become desolate, and let there be none to dwell therein. And his bishopric let another take."(Emphasis mine). Here, St. Peter applies Psalm 108 to Judas in calling for the election of someone to take the traitor's place (St. Matthias). By applying Psalm 108:8 to Judas, St. Peter also pointed to Judas's damnation, because Psalm 108:6-7 says of the very same person mentioned there: "Set thou the sinner over him: and may the devil stand at his right hand. When he is judged, may he go out condemned and may his prayer be turned to sin." Verse 7, "May his prayer be turned to sin," foretells Judas's final impenitence causing eternal damnation. 

Therefore, the teaching of Sacred Scripture in St. Mark 14:6, St. John 17:12, Psalm 108, and Acts 1:20, make it clear that Judas is in Hell. 

Theologians teach Judas is in Hell

 St. Thomas Aquinas (Doctor of the Church) in De Veritate:

Now, in the case of Judas, the abuse of grace was the reason for his reprobation[damnation],since he was made reprobate because he died without grace.

St. Ambrose (Church Father) declared that Judas suffered eternal punishment because he died without being forgiven.  In Concerning Repentance he wrote: For I suppose that even Judas might through the exceeding mercy of God not have been shut out from forgiveness, if he had expressed his sorrow not before the Jews but before Christ.

St. Augustine (Church Father) in The City of God, Bk. I, ch. 17:

For Judas, when he killed himself, killed a wicked man, and passed from this life chargeable not only with the death of Christ, but also with his own: for though he killed himself on account of his crime, his killing himself was another crime. (Emphasis mine). 

The Sacred Liturgy teaches the damnation of Judas

The Collect for Maundy Thursday:

O God, from whom Judas received the punishment of his guilt, and the thief the reward of his confession: grant unto us the full fruit of Thy clemency; that even as in His Passion our Lord Jesus Christ gave to each retribution according to his merits, so having cleared away our former guilt, he may bestow on us the grace of His resurrection: Who with Thee liveth and reigneth (Emphasis mine).

The Church is infallible in Her universal disciplinary laws. According to theologian Van Noort, The Church's infallibility extends to the general discipline of the Church...By the term "general discipline of the Church" are meant those ecclesiastical laws passed for the direction of Christian worship and Christian living. (See Dogmatic Theology, 2: 114-115; Emphasis mine).

It is infallibly certain Judas is in Hell. 

The Catechism of the Council of Trent teaches Judas is in Hell

It is such as these that our Savior describes as hirelings, who, in the words of Ezechiel, feed themselves and not the sheep, and whose baseness and dishonesty have not only brought great disgrace on the ecclesiastical state, so much so that hardly anything is now more vile and contemptible in the eyes of the faithful, but also end in this, that they derive no other fruit from their priesthood than was derived by Judas from the Apostleship, which only brought him everlasting destruction. (Emphasis mine). 

The idea of an "empty Hell" is thereby refuted. There is one person known to us who is there for eternity. The theory of Von Balthasar (and the "thing" that "pleases" Bergoglio) is not based on the teaching of Scripture, Sacred Tradition, the teachings of the approved theologians, the liturgy, or the pre-Vatican II catechisms. Some "Empty Hell" proponents might balk, "OK, but we can hope that Judas is the ONLY human soul in Hell." Is that proposition tenable? In a word: NO.

Universalism Stands Condemned

His Holiness Pope Pius II, in his decree Cum Sicut, of November 14, 1459 CONDEMNED the following proposition of Zanini de Solcia:

That all Christians are to be saved.

It is therefore true that some Christians will be damned, not merely Judas Iscariot. The objection will be heard that "God wills all to be saved." This is true, but it is not incompatible with souls going to Hell. God willed Judas to be saved as long as Judas cooperated with His grace by his own free will. 

God will not save anyone against their free will. All the pre-Vatican II theologians agree that God sincerely desires the salvation of all people and does not positively predestine anyone to Hell. Anyone who is damned stands condemned by the misuse of their free will. The decision of Christ at the Last Judgement manifestly supposes that the reprobate are to be condemned only because of their evil works, not because of the arbitrary Will of God or because of Original Sin. For thus will Christ address the damned, "Depart from Me, you cursed, into everlasting fire...for I was hungry and you gave me not to eat...(St. Matthew 25). God's salvific will is seen in 1 Timothy 2: 3-4, "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, Who will have all men to be saved, and to come to the knowledge of the truth." 

Are More People Saved or Damned?

This is a question unresolved by the Church. Only God knows the number of the elect. Will more people be damned or saved? The more common teaching is that when the human race is taken as a whole, there will be more damned than saved. "Many are called but few are chosen." (St. Matthew 22: 14). However, there are theologians who reject this claim based on the salvific Will of God, and Christ's universal act of Redemption. They claim it is repugnant to think the Kingdom of Satan will be more populous, and thereby larger, than the Kingdom of God. 

 In the matter of True Catholics alone, the great theologian Suarez teaches (with the majority of theologians) that more will be saved than damned because of the sanctity of Holy Mother Church, the salvific Will of God, and the parable of the wedding banquet, at which only one person was found without a garment (i.e., sanctifying grace). 

As to True Catholics combined with schismatics and heretics, the majority of theologians declare more will be damned than saved because of the deprivation (in regards to the schismatics and heretics) of the efficacy of the Holy Sacrifice and the sacraments which are only efficacious unto salvation within the Church. However, a significant minority hold that more will be saved than damned in this scenario.     

What of infidels who never heard the Gospel? (By the term infidel it is to be understood all the unbaptized; principally Jews, Mohammedans, and pagans). In 1690, Pope Alexander VIII condemned the propositions that Christ died for the faithful only and pagans, Jews and heretics receive no grace from Him. If they cooperate with grace they can receive the great grace of Baptism of Desire (BOD) and be saved within the One True Church. However, this is a rare miracle of God. It would make the Great Commission a farce, if they need not convert because of miraculous intervention. 

(This section was condensed from theologians Tanquerey, Dogmatic Theology Vol. 1; Pohle, Dogmatic Theology, Vol. 7; Ott, Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma; and Parente, Dictionary of Dogmatic Theology---Introibo)

A Possible Solution

This section is a theory I hold. No one need believe it at all. I submit to the Judgement of Holy Mother Church if/when there is once more a true pope---Introibo

What are we to make of the billions who did not have the opportunity to believe through no fault of their own? A possible solution is God wants as many people as possible to be saved and he wants as few as possible to be lost. So what God has done is to create a world having an optimal balance between saved and lost. A world that involves the maximum number of saved for the minimum number of lost people. He gives sufficient grace for salvation to everyone whom He creates. Everyone can be saved if they want to be saved. 

Perhaps God has so ordered the world that those who never hear about Christ and the Church and are lost are only people who would not have believed in Him even if they had heard about it. In other words, anyone who would have believed and entered the Church to be saved if he heard it, is born at a time and place in history where he does hear it. 

 The logical objection would be, "So isn't it more merciful not to create such a person in the first place if God knows they freely choose damnation?" To this it can be replied that if you change one thing in this world, it will have repercussions on everything else. Who knows how the absence of those people would affect the salvation of others? Remember too, people are only lost through their own fault.

Conclusion

Universalism, in all its forms, is heretical. Satan wants you to think Hell isn't real, or that no one goes there, so you will have no need to "work out thy salvation in fear and trembling" (See Philippians 2:12-13).  Hell is well-populated, even if there should prove to be more saved than damned. (I will not include private revelations to prove or disprove the number of the saved/damned, as no one is required to believe private revelations--even those approved by the Church). 

We must remain ever vigilant to be saved during this time of Great Apostasy. No one can be certain of having the greatest grace; Final Perseverance. To die in the state of sanctifying grace is to achieve Heaven. We cannot earn it, but the theologians teach that God will not turn away someone who prays for it unceasingly. Even that, however, does not guarantee it; no one can be certain if they are among the saved except by special revelation from Almighty God. 

However, do not despair. There are signs that salvation is probable, and gives rise to great hope. As noted by theologian Tanquerey, most theologians teach there are eight (8) signs a soul is probably among the saved:

1. a conscience that fears danger
2. contempt for the things of the world
3. patience in adversity
4. zeal for the salvation of souls
5. constant practice of the Eight Beatitudes
6. devotion to the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus
7. devotion to the Most Blessed Virgin Mary (and her Rosary)
8. frequent and fervent Holy Communion

(See Dogmatic Theology, [1959], 1:308).

Get busy doing these things always! 

If "Hell is empty," it must be in the Shakespearean sense that "all the devils are here" on Earth, and they are busy helping Bergoglio and his sect which does the dirty work of their infernal master. 

Special Addendum

My Dear Readers:

Mr. Dominic Caggeso, my monthly guest poster, has just finished a book three-years in the making. It is entitled DIVINE POETRY, with a foreword written by Traditionalist priest, Fr. Stephen McKenna. It is available for  purchase at Amazon.com, and at Dominic's own website:

https://www.maccabeanuprising.com/books. If you order from his website, you will get a free color timeline & summary brochure, not included on Amazon or elsewhere. 

Mr. Caggeso's book is based on the premise that "All the major events of Catholic Church history are prefigured by the major events of the Old Testament, including the Second Vatican Council. For example, in the books of the Machabees, the Temple was stripped of its ornaments, women “thrust” themselves into the sanctuary, a second altar was erected over the original altar, traditional Jewish practices were outlawed and modern Greek religious practices were mandated and so much more!" (The author's own words). 

I join Novus Ordo Watch (NOW) in endorsing the book Divine Poetry by Dominic Caggeso. Please be advised that I make this endorsement based on its merits. Dominic Caggeso has not made writing guest posts contingent upon advertising his work. Moreover,  I have not received any compensation for promoting/endorsing this book. I have never made a single cent from the use of my blog, and that has not changed. This blog is a work of charity for me. My endorsement is done of my own free will, without any remuneration of any kind, and with no benefits to myself. That having been said, buy the book and enjoy the striking similarities between the history of the Old Testament and the Catholic Church!

God bless you all, my dear readers---Introibo