Roman Catholic theological beliefs on
the fate of unbaptized infants, etc.
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Where adults go -- or the state that adults find themselves in -- after
death:
The Roman Catholic church teaches that there are two main permanent
locations or states after death: Almost everyone will spend eternity in
either Heaven or Hell. The existence of these places
or states is supported
by many dozens of Biblical passages and millennia of church teaching. A person's eventual destination is determined by
their salvation status at the instant of their death. The
Church also teaches that most adults who are destined for heaven will
spend a time being purified by time-limited torture in Purgatory.
Most people in the world today die as adults. The Roman Catholic teaches that
when they were newborns, they were tainted with original sin inherited by the
entire human race as a result of Adam and Eve's
transgression in the Garden of Eden. However, the Church teaches that an infant is
saved from this state if it is baptized. Later in life, when a person reaches the age of
accountability, any future mortal sin can cause them to lose their salvation, so
that they would be sent to Hell at death. But by confessing their sin to a priest in
the Sacrament of Penance, they can obtain absolution and the -- perhaps
temporary -- restoration
of their salvation.
The theological problem regarding unbaptized infants:
Infants who die before baptism have not had their Original Sin erased.
Church teaching has been diverse: theologians have taught that such infants are
eternally tortured in Hell, or that the infants go to a permanent place of happiness
where they never mature, or that there is no way to know their fate. The Roman
Catholic church itself does not take an official stand on the fate of unbaptized
infants, newborns, fetuses, embryos, and pre-embryos who die. They remain
agnostic on the matter of Limbo, but hold out hope that some path to Heaven will
be possible.
St. Thomas Aquinas was the first major Catholic theologian who speculated
that unbaptized infants, and others, would spend eternity in Limbo. The name
is derived from the Latin word "limbus" which means "hem" or "edge".
He suggested that Limbo was on the edge of heaven. Unbaptised children would
exist there in a state of what he described as "natural happiness."
Since the Church teaches that souls are indestructible, they must be present in some state or
location. Many Catholic theologians and clergy have speculated that they go to an
actual place or state of existence, which has been traditionally been called "Limbo".
A Catholic dictionary states that "The great majority of [Roman
Catholic] theologians teach that such children and unbaptized adults free from
grievous actual sin enjoy eternally a state of perfect natural happiness,
knowing and loving God by the use of their natural powers. This place and state
is commonly called Limbo." 1The
word is derived from the Latin word "lumbus" which means a
fringe, edge, hem or border. It implies that Limbo is neither in Heaven or Hell,
but is an in-between location or state of being.
Also, since the Church teaches that human life becomes a
human person at the instant of conception, the same fate would await
fetuses, embryos and pre-embryos who die before birth.
To judge by the distressed Emails that this group receives from parents and
family members, the lack of a
definitive statement by the church of the fate of unbaptized infants (or others
incapable of experiencing a mortal sin) has resulted in great distress and
uncertainty among Catholics. It also appears to be a confession of failure
on the part of the Church that they have been unable to assess the will of
God on this important doctrinal matter for
centuries.
The destination/state of others who are also unbaptized:
Although the concepts of salvation, Heaven, Hell, Purgatory, and sacraments form a clear and
consistent belief system, there are some exceptional instances in which they do not seem to
fit:
There are persons who have died without having been baptized:
A fertilized ovum, morula, zygote, embryo or fetus are all
regarded by the Roman Catholic church to be a full human being. Thus they are all subject to
that original sin that the entire human race inherited from Adam and
Eve. If they were to die due to natural causes or an abortion, then they
would die under a state of sin; they would not be eligible for acceptance
into Heaven. On the other hand, they would not have had the opportunity or
knowledge to commit an actual sin,
so they would not appear to be eligible for Hell either.
A newborn who died before being baptized would be in the same
situation.
There are those who died before baptism was available:
Persons who lived before Jesus Christ would not have been able to
take advantage of baptism and the church's sacraments, because neither existed
when they were alive.
Other individuals may be in a similar state:
A person suffering from autism, or others who suffer from an
inability to communicate might not be able to engage in the Sacrament of Penance,
regardless of their age.
A mentally disabled individual may also be able to engage in the Sacrament of Penance,
or to understand the nature of sin -- again regardless of age.
