Martyrdom, Salvation, And Charlie Kirk

 

Charles James ("Charlie") Kirk (1993-2025) was a politically conservative activist, entrepreneur, and media personality. He rose to fame by going to college campuses and challenging liberal students to debate him. He co-founded Turning Point USA (TPUSA), and was a political ally of both President Trump and Vice-President Vance. On September 10, 2025, Kirk was murdered when he was shot at a scheduled debate in Utah.

It is not the purpose of this post to analyze Mr. Kirk's political ideas.  In the wake of his death, many people (even a Vatican II sect "bishop") referred to Mr. Kirk as a "martyr." Other members of the sect, and Dimondites, claim Kirk was most certainly damned as he was not Catholic and had made anti-Catholic statements (Kirk was Protestant). This post will focus on two queries: (1) What is a martyr, and does Kirk qualify as a martyr? (2) Could Charlie Kirk have been saved? 

Martyrdom as Defined by the Church

The following points I condensed from Fr. Ronald Knox's wonderful treatise The Theology of Martyrdom [1929]).

1. The word "martyr" means "witness." It means you give witness to the True Faith by your death. Martyrdom implies, not simply losing your life, but giving up your life. Your life is prematurely cut short in the interests of something greater than yourself. Neither suffering by itself, nor suffering followed by death is martyrdom properly so called.

2. The Church does not bestow the title of martyr upon those heroic priests, nuns, and layman who have persistently attended to the suffering in times of pestilence. St. Aloysius, whose death was brought on by such a labor was not canonized a martyr. These deaths were not the result of the assertion of religious truth against the enemies of religious truth. They laid down their lives for Christ's sake, but not for Christ's quarrel. 

3. The faith one dies for can only be the unadulterated, Integral Catholic Faith; the One True Religion. To those who object that non-Catholics can receive Baptism of Desire, and it is therefore hypocritical to deny Protestants who, in good faith, die for a false belief the title of martyrs, it can be demonstrated their argument is without merit.  Baptism of Desire does not deny the objectivity of Truth, as this argument presupposes. The world tells us "Be good and you will go to Heaven, if such a place exists." A martyr is not someone who dies for what they believe, it is someone who dies for the Truth. Thomas Crammer died because he disbelieved in the papacy. St. Thomas More died because he believed in the papacy. Both cannot be true, so to make martyrs of both means either objective truth doesn't matter or doesn't exist.

4. As an adult, you must have the intention to die as a witness for the Truth. If a Traditionalist is killed in his sleep (unaware he was in any danger) by someone who is an enemy of the Faith, he does not qualify as a martyr. The Church means, by martyrdom, death undergone at the hands of those who hate the True Catholic Faith, for the sake of the True Catholic Faith; and undergone, in the case of adults, deliberately. Infants, killed for the sake of the True Faith, by those who hate the True Faith, die as martyrs without any intention necessary. They receive Baptism of Blood (if unbaptized) and their salvation is assured. (e.g. The Holy Innocents).

5. On the part of the enemies of Christ, a certain odium fidei ("hatred of the Faith") is necessary. A wholesale abandonment of the Faith, or hatred of all beliefs, is not necessary. To hate any article of True Faith/Morals because it is taught by the Church will suffice. Therefore, Henry VIII did not have to abandon every belief of the Church. Denying divorce and remarriage is adultery and hating that belief because the Church teaches it as true, was sufficient without more, to establish an odium fidei.

6. A soldier who takes up arms to fight a just war is not to be considered a martyr if he dies. Hence, the one who dies must not be guilty of provocation---that he died because he didn't kill the other man first. The exception is with captured soldiers who, now unarmed, are given the option of death or apostasy.

7. Notice how different this is from the Moslem conception of committing suicide while killing others (e.g. 9/11 attacks) as "martyrdom"!

Kirk was killed because of a heretical theology and his political activity. Therefore, he did not die for the One True Church and--on that basis alone--cannot be a martyr. His murderer(s) did not truly have the "hatred of the faith"--only hatred for Kirk's politics and false theology which supported his politics. Kirk is neither a saint nor a martyr, unless you jettison all Catholic teaching on martyrdom by replacing it with an "ecumenism of blood" as first professed by false pope Bergoglio.

Although Not a Martyr or Candidate for Canonization, Could Kirk Have Been Saved?

It is beyond dispute that Charlie Kirk made many anti-Catholic statements. It is also true that his stance towards (what he considered) the Catholic Church had softened, due to the influence of his wife, Erika, a member of the Vatican II sect (which poses as "Catholicism"). In the external forum, Kirk died outside the Church, but could have he been brought within the Church in the internal forum? 

According to the 1910 New Catholic Dictionary,  In canon law, internal forum, the realm of conscience, is contrasted with the external or outward forum; thus, a marriage might be null and void in the internal forum, but binding outwardly, i.e. In the external forum, for want of judicial proof to the contrary. (See studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/ncd/f/forum.html). The external forum considers matters that concern the public and social good of the Church, stemming from an individual’s outward, observable actions and behaviors. The internal forum deals with an individual's private relationship with God within their mind and soul--and cannot be seen but by God. 

In the example above, a marriage can be invalid in the forum of conscience (one or both parties knew of an impediment to the marriage but kept it secret). However, the marriage is binding in the external forum because of the lack of judicial proof to show that the marriage is invalid. 

Another example is a priest offering Mass can look very holy and good. However, the priest can have a positive contrary intention in the internal forum, and make the Mass invalid by defect of intention. That's why we can never know for certain if any particular sacrament is valid; we have moral certainty---not absolute certainty. The Church sets a presumption of validity every time a Catholic cleric seriously undertakes to perform a sacrament, and said presumption can only be overcome by an external manifestation of the internal forum (e.g., the priest admits he withheld his intention). 

Objection: How could someone be doing something evil, like worshipping false gods, in the external forum, and be Catholic in the internal forum? 

Answer: They can't. This is a huge misunderstanding and mischaracterization. The dichotomy exists when e.g., a lifelong notorious sinner is on his deathbed and is unconscious or unable to communicate. In his mind, known but to God, he might make a sincere act of contrition and be saved. Such repentance can't be seen. Another example: If you see someone attacking a person with a knife, such an act is evil in the external forum. However, if he has been habitually insane since birth, he has no control over his actions, and God would not hold him accountable in the internal forum. That doesn't mean he can't be executed by the State to protect others or at the very least committed to a mental institution for life. Anyone with full mental capacity who commits an evil act with consent of his will is evil--like knowingly worshipping idols.

Therefore, a person who outwardly (in the external forum) appears to have died outside the Church could have been enlightened by having faith and sanctifying grace infused by God (in the internal forum) prior to the moment of death and been brought within the Church; thereby attaining salvation. 

Outside the Church There is No Salvation

It is important to remember that the thrice defined truth of the Church is that "outside the Church" there is no salvation--not "without Church membership" there is no salvation. 

Cantate Domino (1441--Council of Florence; Pope Eugene IV):  The most Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that none of those existing outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans, but also Jews and heretics and schismatics, can have a share in life eternal; but that they will go into the eternal fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless before death they are joined with Her; and that so important is the unity of this ecclesiastical body that only those remaining within this unity can profit by the sacraments of the Church unto salvation, and they alone can receive an eternal recompense for their fasts, their almsgivings, their other works of Christian piety and the duties of a Christian soldier. No one, let his almsgiving be as great as it may, no one, even if he pours out his blood for the Name of Christ, can be saved, unless he remains within the bosom and the unity of the Catholic Church. (Emphasis mine). 

Fourth Lateran Council (1215): There is but one universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved. (Emphasis mine).

Unam Sanctam (Pope Boniface VIII--1302): We declare, say, define, and pronounce that it is absolutely necessary for the salvation of every human creature to be subject to the Roman Pontiff.

The distinction between being a member of the Church and within (united) to the Church is important. The greatest and most comprehensive exposition of traditional ecclesiology was put forth in the encyclical Mystici Corporis Christi of His Holiness Pope Pius XII in 1943. The first sentence of said encyclical begins with the following affirmation: The doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church, was first taught us by the Redeemer Himself. Hence, the doctrine is from Christ and is therefore true. The Catholic Church is the Mystical Body of Christ. The One True Church of Christ is the Catholic Church and co-extensive with it. 

In order to be a member of the Church, four conditions must obtain: Actually only those are to be included as members of the Church who have been baptized and profess the true faith, and who have not been so unfortunate as to separate themselves from the unity of the Body, or been excluded by legitimate authority for grave faults committed.(para. #22; Emphasis mine).  A member of the Catholic Church must therefore be (1) baptized, (2) profess the true Faith (not heretics), (3) not separated from unity (not schismatics) and (4) not excluded by legitimate authority (not excommunicated). 

Those are the members of the Church. As the encyclical explains, a person can be united to the Church by a desire to belong:

As you know, Venerable Brethren, from the very beginning of Our Pontificate, We have committed to the protection and guidance of heaven those who do not belong to the visible Body of the Catholic Church, solemnly declaring that after the example of the Good Shepherd We desire nothing more ardently than that they may have life and have it more abundantly. Imploring the prayers of the whole Church We wish to repeat this solemn declaration in this Encyclical Letter in which We have proclaimed the praises of the "great and glorious Body of Christ" and from a heart overflowing with love We ask each and every one of them to correspond to the interior movements of grace, and to seek to withdraw from that state in which they cannot be sure of their salvation. For even though by an unconscious desire and longing they have a certain relationship with the Mystical Body of the Redeemer, they still remain deprived of those many heavenly gifts and helps which can only be enjoyed in the Catholic Church. (para. #103). 

These are not members of the Church, but they are within the Church by desire, but cannot be assured of remaining within the Church unto salvation for they are deprived of "those many heavenly gifts and helps" only available to members of the Church. Once again: the dogma is "Outside the Church, No Salvation," and not "Without Church Membership, No Salvation." 

This is summarized perfectly by theologian Hanahoe:

...in order to be saved, a person must in fact (in re) be visibly conjoined to the Church, i.e., be a member, or, he must, at least intend (in voto) to become a member of the Church. This intention to become a member of the Church may be explicit or implicit. The intention is explicit when a person is actually under instruction preparing to enter Catholic unity [i.e., catechumen]. On the other hand the intention is implicit if a person, while invincibly ignorant of the Church, possesses sanctifying grace. The fact that he is in the state of grace indicates that he has a sincere will of using all the means which God has established; even though he does not know explicitly single means, he implicitly receives all. This person is then unknowingly participating in the life of the Church---he is saved through the Church. 

Pius IX indicates what may well be considered an implicit intention of entering the Catholic Church:

There are, of course, those who are struggling with invincible ignorance about our most holy religion. Sincerely observing the natural law and its precepts inscribed by God on all hearts and ready to obey God, they live honest lives and are able to attain eternal life by the efficacious virtue of divine light and grace. Because God knows, searches and clearly understands the minds, hearts, thoughts, and nature of all, his supreme kindness and clemency do not permit anyone at all who is not guilty of deliberate sin to suffer eternal punishments. (Quanto Conficiamur Moerore, para. #7). 

(See Catholic Ecumenism, [1953], pg. 108; Emphasis in original). 

It must be noted that what matters is what state the soul is in at the moment of death. "But he that shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved." (St. Matthew 24:13). God can infuse anything lacking in such a person (Divine light of faith and grace) prior to the moment of death, ensuring salvation. Theologian Hanahoe goes on to explain exactly how hard it is for those within the Church, and not members, to be saved:

However, the position of such a person is not completely secure, because once his initial ignorance is no longer invincible and his conscience, under grace, moves him to enter the Church, or at least, study its claims, then the issue is formally presented to him. If he refuses to examine further or does not seek to enter the Church, his implicit intention is dissolved, because he has withdrawn himself from the sincere will of using all the means which God wills; his condition is changed because his will towards God is changed. If he perseveres in this condition he cannot be saved. (Ibid; Emphasis in original).

Here is an exemplary summation of Mystici Corporis by theologian King:

Thus the Mystical Body of Christ and the Roman Catholic Church are identical; the importance of the visible aspect of the Church is not to be minimized; all salvation is caused by the visible Church; there is a sharp distinction between membership and being  related to [within] the Church by desire, though in a given case either can suffice for salvation. (The Necessity of the Church for Salvation in Selected Theological Writings of the Past Century, [1960], pg. 286; Emphasis mine).

Could Charlie Kirk have been brought within the One True Church and saved? Yes, it is possible. However, without a special revelation from God, we cannot know with certainty his fate. 

The Church has Always Permitted Private Prayers for Those Who Died as Non-Catholics in the External Forum

Let's see what the Church has to say:

1. 1917 Code of Canon Law 
Canon 1240 speaks to the types of persons to be denied ecclesiastical burial. They include Masons, excommunicates, those who committed suicide, those who live as public and notorious sinners, etc. However, Canon 1241 says a person deprived of Christian burial "shall also be denied any funeral Mass, even an anniversary Mass, as well as all other public funeral services. Priests may say Mass privately for him and the faithful may pray for him." (See canonists Abbo and Hannon, The Sacred Canons, 2: 495-497; Emphasis mine). These top-tier canonists convey the meaning of Canon 1241, and they are authors whose manual was used to train priests after being vetted by the Magisterium, ensuring it contains no heresy. 

Canon 1239, section 2: Catechumens who, through no fault of their own, die without Baptism, are to be treated as Baptized.

Canonists Abbo and Hannon comment, "The reason for this rule is that they are justly supposed to have met death united to Christ through Baptism of Desire." (See The Sacred Canons, [1951], pg. 493). Catechumens, by definition, are unbaptized. The Church sets up a presumption that they received Baptism of Desire. However, this is only possible if (a) Baptism of Desire is true and (b) there is a real distinction between the external and internal forum. 

2. Theologian O'Connell
"So far as the dead are concerned, the Exequial Mass and Anniversary Mass (or other public funeral offices)may not be offered for a person to whom ecclesiastical burial had been denied...It is not, however, forbidden to offer a Mass privately for such persons." (See The Celebration of Mass, The Bruce Publishing Company, Milwaukee [1941], pg. 45; Emphasis mine).

3. Theologian Szal
"But if he [a schismatic] gave no signs of repentance, then Mass can still be said for him, but only privately and in the absence of scandal." (See The Communication of Catholics with Schismatics, CUA Press, [1948], pg. 181; Emphasis mine).

4. Theologian Jone
"Mass may not be applied publicly for those to whom the Church denies ecclesiastical burial (Canon 1241). Private application in this case is not forbidden." (See Moral Theology, [1961], pg. 371; Emphasis mine).  

5. Theologian Slater  

"According to the new Code, Mass may be offered for anybody, living or dead, but only privately, and with precautions to avoid scandal for excommunicates..." (See A Manual of Moral Theology, [1925], 2:108; Emphasis mine). 

6. Theologians McHugh and Callan

"Thus, Mass may be said only privately (that is, without publicity or special liturgical solemnity) and prudently (that is, with avoidance of scandal, for example, by the declaration that Mass is said for the faithful departed with the purpose of aiding also a departed unbeliever, if this is pleasing to God) for the living and the dead outside the Church, such as infidels, heretics, schismatics, and the excommunicated." (See Moral Theology, [1930], 2:673; Emphasis mine). 

7. The 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia   

"There is no restriction by Divine or ecclesiastical law as to those of the dead for whom private prayer may be offered – except that they may not be offered formally either for the blessed in Heaven or for the damned. Not only for the faithful who have died in external communion with the Church, but for deceased non-Catholics, even the unbaptized, who may have died in the state of grace, one is free to offer his personal prayers and good works; nor does the Church’s prohibition of her public offices for those who have died out of external communion with her affect the strictly personal element in her minister’s acts. For all such she prohibits the public offering of the Sacrifice of the Mass (and of other liturgical offices); but theologians commonly teach that a priest is not forbidden to offer the Mass in private for the repose of the soul of any one who, judging by probable evidence, may be presumed to have died in faith and grace, provided, at least, he does not say the special requiem Mass with the special prayer in which the deceased is named, since this would give the offering a public and official character." (Emphasis mine)

**N.B.** This was written prior to the 1917 Code of Canon Law. The common teaching of the theologians became universally taught post-1917. It is also infallibly taught, as the Code is a universal disciplinary law, and as such is protected by the Holy Ghost from evil and error. 

Objection: Canon Law is not infallible unless it applies to the whole Church. Since the Canons in question don't apply to the Eastern Rites, it is not "universal" or infallible.

Answer: False. Canon Law is infallible and those Canons need not apply to the Eastern Rites to be universal.

Proof: 

According to theologian Van Noort:

PROPOSITION 2: The secondary object of infallibility comprises all those matters which are so closely connected with the revealed deposit that revelation itself would be imperiled unless an absolutely certain decision could he made about them.

The charism of infallibility was bestowed upon the Church so that the latter could piously safeguard and confidently explain the deposit of Christian revelation, and thus could be in all ages the teacher of Christian truth and of the Christian way of life. But if the Church is to fulfill this purpose, it must be infallible in its judgment of doctrines and facts which, even though not revealed, are so intimately connected with revelation that any error or doubt about them would constitute a peril to the faith. Furthermore, the Church must be infallible not only when it issues a formal decree, but also when it performs some action which, for all practical purposes, is the equivalent of a doctrinal definition.

One can easily see why matters connected with revelation are called the secondary object of infallibility. Doctrinal authority and infallibility were given to the Church’s rulers that they might safeguard and confidently explain the deposit of Christian revelation. That is why the chief object of infallibility, that, namely, which by its very nature falls within the scope of infallibility, includes only the truths contained in the actual deposit of revelation. Allied matters, on the other hand, which are not in the actual deposit, but contribute to its safeguarding and security, come within the purview of infallibility not by their very nature, but rather by reason of the revealed truth to which they are annexed. As a result, infallibility embraces them only secondarily. It follows that when the Church passes judgment on matters of this sort, it is infallible only insofar as they are connected with revelation.

When theologians go on to break up the general statement of this thesis into its component parts, they teach that the following individual matters belong to the secondary object of infallibility: 1. theological conclusions; 2. dogmatic facts; 3. the general discipline of the Church; 4. approval of religious orders; 5. canonization of saints. (See Dogmatic Theology, 2:110; Emphasis mine).

According to the eminent canonist Buscaren: A general [universal] law is one which is not limited to a particular territory; it is a universal law of the Church. This does not mean it is binding on all Catholics. It may be enacted for a special class of persons, or for certain particular circumstances. (See Canon Law: A Text and Commentary [1951], pg. 27). Therefore, "universality" means "pertaining to all members of a Rite throughout the world," and not just in a particular territory. The 1917 Code is therefore universal. 

Furthermore, Canon 1 does state that the Code as a general rule does not affect the Oriental Church (i.e., Eastern Rites). However, as Buscaren explains, there are some matters in which it [the 1917 Code] affects also the Oriental Church and Oriental Catholics. He enumerates three categories that apply to all Rites: (1) Canons which express dogmatic truths; (2) Canons which declare Divine Law; and (3) Canons which expressly and explicitly mention the Oriental Rites. (See Ibid, pg. 16).

According to canonists Abbo and Hannon commenting on Canon 1:

(b) by way of exception, the Orientals are bound by the laws of the Code:

1. ex ipsa rei natura, when the laws involve matters of Faith (7) or refer to or interpret the Divine or the Natural law (8)

Footnote #7 gives examples of Canons which involve matters of Faith and bind the Oriental Rites as well as the Latin Rite: 7. E.g., can. 107, 218, 737, 831. (See The Sacred Canons, [1952], 1:5)

What does Canon 737, specifically enumerated by Abbo and Hannon, teach? 

Canon 737 states, Baptism, the gateway and foundation of the Sacraments, actually or at least in desire, is necessary for all for salvation...(Emphasis mine).

The canonists teach that: As Canon 737 notes, men can be saved by the desire of baptism, if it involves a perfect conversion to God through perfect contrition and a love of God above all things. This is a matter of Faith. (Ibid, pgs. 744-745; Emphasis mine). Therefore, Canon 737, teaches BOD is binding on all Rites, because it is a matter of Faith. 

That Canon goes hand-in-glove with Canon 1239, section 2 cited above--both being infallible. This is an insurmountable problem for those who continue to insist that people cannot convert in the internal forum, and be brought within the Church by BOD.  If Pope Benedict XV promulgated heresy in Canon Law (Canon 1239, section 2), then he could not be a true pope. According to Doctor of the Church St. Alphonsus Liguori, "If ever a pope, as a private person, should fall into heresy, he would at once fall from the pontificate." (See Verita della Fede, Pt. III, Ch. VIII, 9-10). Therefore, if praying for the dead who died outside the Church in the external forum (catechumens) is heresy, Pope Benedict XV was not a true pope. 

8. Theologian Gihr     

"Mass may not be publicly offered for those who died outside the fold of the Church: for deceased pagans, heretics, schismatics and excommunicated persons. For all these Mass may be offered privately if no scandal is given. The Church makes this distinction to impress upon her children, as well as upon those not in communion with her, the remarkable privileges enjoyed even after death by those who are in visible communion with that stream of life-giving grace that flows from the Cross of Christ through His Church." (See The Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: Dogmatically, Liturgically, and Ascetically Explained, [1949], pg. 209; Emphasis mine).

9. Letter of Cardinal Vaughn reminding no Public Mass/Ceremonies upon the death of Queen Victoria (1901)

"At the same time, we may remind you that it is lawful to those who believe that any persons have departed out of this life in union with the Soul of the Church, though not in her external communion, to offer privately prayers and good works for their release from purgatory. The Church herself forms no judgment on the matter, which must remain the secret between God and the individual soul." (Emphasis mine). 

10. Pope Gregory XVI’s 1842 Epistola (Letter) to the Bishop of Augsburg 

"Nor does it matter at all to this if the same woman could have been illuminated to repentance in the final moments of life by the hidden mercy of God's grace. For these more secret mysteries of divine grace do not in the least pertain to the external judgement of ecclesiastical authority: and hence by the old as well as the new discipline of the Church it is forbidden that men, who have died in the external and notorious profession of heresies, should be honored with Catholic rites." (Emphasis mine).

Here, Pope Gregory teaches that non-Catholic Queen Dowager of Bavaria may have been brought within the Church in the internal forum, but no public services may be given as she died a heretic in the external forum. 

Conclusion

Charlie Kirk is not a martyr as understood by Catholic theology. He may have been saved by BOD. How does this work? Some salient points:

1. It is a very serious error to hold that people who live apart from the True Faith and Catholic Unity can attain eternal life if they die in this condition.

2. The person who is invincibly ignorant of the True Religion, and who meticulously obeys the Natural Law, lives an honest and upright life, and is prepared to obey God, can be saved through the workings of Divine light and grace.

3. Such a person has already chosen God as his ultimate End. He has done this in an act of charity. This person has his sins remitted within the One True Church of Christ. God can infuse faith and grace, and dying in this state, he receives the reward of Heaven by Baptism of Desire (BOD). 

4. Traditionalists have a duty to fulfill the Great Commission, converting as many people as possible because you cannot depend on extraordinary means (BOD) to save them.

(The above was condensed from theologian Fenton, The Catholic Church and Salvation In the Light of Recent Pronouncements of the Holy See, 1958).

Was Charlie Kirk invincibly ignorant? If he was trying his best to find the True Church in the Great Apostasy he may have been. FYI: Charlie Kirk followed me on X (formerly Twitter). He may have been doing his due diligence. Traditionalist Catholics cannot offer public prayers of any kind for Mr. Kirk, but they can do so privately in their homes. We must never call him a "martyr." 

Finally, the staunchest supporter of the absolute necessity of belonging to the Church (extra Ecclesiam nulla salus) was theologian Michael Muller (1825-1899), a contemporary of Pope Pius IX. He wrote a catechism entitled, Familiar Explanation of Christian Doctrine. It sets forth perfectly the teaching of the Church:

"Q. What are we to think of the salvation of those who are out of the pale of the Church without any fault of theirs, and who never had any opportunity of knowing better?

A. Their inculpable (invincible) ignorance will not save them; but if they fear God and live up to their conscience, God, in His infinite Mercy, will furnish them with the necessary means of salvation, even so as to send, if needed, an angel to instruct them in the Catholic Faith, rather than let them perish through inculpable (invincible) ignorance.

Q. Is it then right for us to say that one who was not received into the Church before his death, is damned?

A. No.

Q. Why not?

A. Because we cannot know for certain what takes place between God and the soul at the awful moment of death.

Q. What do you mean by this?

A. I mean that God, in His infinite Mercy, may enlighten, at the hour of death, one who is not yet a Catholic, so that he may see the Truth of the Catholic Faith, be truly sorry for his sins, and sincerely desire to die a good Catholic.

Q. What do we say of those who receive such an extraordinary grace, and die in this manner?

A. We say of them that they die united, at least, to the soul of the Catholic Church, and are saved.

Q. What, then, awaits all those who are out of the Catholic Church, and die without having received such an extraordinary grace at the hour of death?

A. Eternal damnation."

Ignorance does not save. Only the True Faith saves. Does this in any way detract from our duty to convert everyone to the One True Church? Hardly. If anything, it should make us work harder for the salvation of souls. In the natural order, if you knew someone was poor and starving, would you bring them food or rely on God to miraculously feed them? In like manner, we cannot depend on rare miracles to save souls. Let us spread the Truth of the One True Church to as many people we can--individuals like Charlie Kirk not excepted.