The theory of limbo is not ruled out, says a member of the International Theological Commission, commenting on a study from the panel.
Sister Sara Butler, a Missionary Servant of the Most Blessed Trinity, has served on the commission since 2004. The commission is an advisory body comprised of 30 theologians chosen by the Pope. Its documents are not considered official expressions of the magisterium, but the commission does help the Holy See to examine important doctrinal issues.
On April 20, the commission released a document, commissioned under Pope John Paul II, called "The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Being Baptized." Benedict XVI approved it for publication.
In an interview with Inside the Vatican magazine, Sister Butler, who teaches dogmatic theology at St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York, says "the report concludes that limbo remains a 'possible theological opinion.' Anyone who wants to defend it is free to do so. This document, however, tries to give a theological rationale for hoping that unbaptized infants may be saved." Share
4 comments:
I have never understood what Limbo is.
Limbo was/is a part of the "netherworld" in which some unbaptized souls are in a state of natural happiness but deprived of the beatific vision. Dante places it in the "upper regions" of hell, although the souls in Limbo do not suffer torments. Limbo was never a magisterial teaching but more of a pious belief. It is akin to the "Limbus patrem" the "hell of the fathers" mentioned in the Creed. When Jesus "descended into hell" it was not the "hell of the damned." This is an explanation off the top of my head and I will try to find a better one after I drink my coffee. (I am sure that any theologians would cringe to read this. Please feel free to share an explanation.)
I'm no theologian, of course, but I think yours is a good explanation of Limbo. I think what has been so confusing to so many people lately is that the media has made it out as if this recent announcement (and the pending publication) on this topic is a new thing, as if the Church has changed her teachings--but as you clearly point out, it is not. The Catechism of the Catholic Church has long stated that we are free to hope for the Beatific Vision for unbaptized infants. And as the Zenit article mentions, Limbo is a theological theory, just as no Limbo is a theological theory. We just do not know because Divine Revelation has not revealed this to us. We are free to hope, but only God knows for certain what the outcome will be.
Yes, I have gotten to where I leave the dead to God and pray for them but I do not worry about it.
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