Is Salvation Possible for Non-Believers?
Question: Jesus says: “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him” (John 6:44). Is any discrimination implied? Does it mean that non-Christians are denied salvation even if they do have faith in God of a different type?
Answer: The passage in John 6 is not really about God picking and choosing but rather concerns the complete inability of created, mortal humanity to lift itself to God’s infinite level. The Father has to take the lead and enlighten all persons in order to elevate their souls to receive the grace of redemption.
Humanity has no merits to deserve this grace. We share in the merits won by Christ’s sacrifice for humanity. This is discussed under “Merit” in the Catechism of the Catholic Church (see paragraphs 2006-2029), which states: “The divine initiative in the work of grace precedes, prepares and elicits the free response of man” (2022).
To your second question, Catholic teaching emphasises the unique and central role of Jesus Christ in the plan of salvation. At the same time, the Catholic Church teaches that salvation is universally accessible and not limited to Christians.
Pope John Paul II, in his 1990 encyclical Redemptoris Missio, asserted that salvation is granted not only to those who believe in Christ and are members of the Catholic Church but is also available to all people, including those who may not have had the opportunity to know the Gospel. This grace, while having a mysterious relationship to the Church, allows individuals to attain salvation through their cooperation with God’s grace, regardless of their religious background.
The 2000 declaration Dominus Iesus, issued by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and written by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI), emphasised the Catholic Church’s unique role in salvation. But it also acknowledged that God’s grace can reach individuals outside the visible boundaries of the Church. It noted that various religious traditions may contain elements that prepare individuals for the Gospel, indicating that God can work in ways known only to him.
Pope Francis, in his 2013 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, declared that God’s call to salvation is inclusive, addressing all people, regardless of their current beliefs or affiliations. He encourages those who feel distant from God to understand that they are invited to be part of his people.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that “those who, through no fault of their own, do not know the Gospel of Christ or his Church, but who nevertheless seek God with a sincere heart and, moved by grace, try in their actions to do his will as they know it through the dictates of their conscience — those too may achieve eternal salvation” (847).
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