"NEXT TO MATHEMATICS, theology is the discipline least conducive to journalism. So certain precincts of the press should be forgiven their recent headlines about the Vatican and the realm known as limbo.
The Times of London claimed that limbo had been "banished on orders of the Pope," while a New York Times headline reported, "Pope Closes Limbo." Agence France-Presse ran with the most magisterial headline of all, declaring, "Vatican abolishes limbo; opens gates of heaven for babies." None of which is quite right.
Limbo is in the news again because, in late April, the Vatican's International Theological Commission published a document titled "The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Being Baptized." The report wasn't really "news": It had been in the works and discussed in theology circles since 2005. And contrary to the headlines, Pope Benedict XIV neither closed nor banished limbo: He had merely approved the publication of this report under the auspices of the ITC. The pontiff took no direct action; no official church doctrine changed.
Nonetheless, the ITC report is an interesting story because it illuminates the ways in which traditions manifest themselves, and how magisteriums can interpret a revealed religion over time.
Let's start with what limbo was before the ITC report. Recent generations of Catholics theorized that when an infant - any organism after the moment of conception - died without being baptized, he or she went not to heaven or hell, but to a place known as "limbo," which was a state of happiness just outside heaven itself. (Limbo is derived from the Latin limbus, meaning "border.") But limbo was never more than "common doctrine"--a theory rooted in tradition, not a statement of faith, or dogma, or even a definitive act of the magisterium.
So where did limbo come from? It has no foundation in Judeo-Christian revelation. Limbo is neither mentioned nor alluded to anywhere in the Old or New Testaments. In fact, the Bible does not explicitly consider the question of what happens to infants who die without having been baptized.
But the New Testament does say a great deal about two important tenets of the faith: (1) the universal salvific will; and (2) the necessity of baptism for overcoming original sin. Early theologians understood that, when it came to babies who died without being baptized, these two precepts were in tension. How could God both desire the salvation of all people and require infants with no control over their fates to become baptized before they could be saved?
The early Greek fathers were the first to consider this conundrum. They concentrated on ..." ( more >> The "Closing" of Limbo: What the Vatican's International Theological Commission really said about limbo, by Jonathan V. Last, 05/25/2007)
The Times of London claimed that limbo had been "banished on orders of the Pope," while a New York Times headline reported, "Pope Closes Limbo." Agence France-Presse ran with the most magisterial headline of all, declaring, "Vatican abolishes limbo; opens gates of heaven for babies." None of which is quite right.
Limbo is in the news again because, in late April, the Vatican's International Theological Commission published a document titled "The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Being Baptized." The report wasn't really "news": It had been in the works and discussed in theology circles since 2005. And contrary to the headlines, Pope Benedict XIV neither closed nor banished limbo: He had merely approved the publication of this report under the auspices of the ITC. The pontiff took no direct action; no official church doctrine changed.
Nonetheless, the ITC report is an interesting story because it illuminates the ways in which traditions manifest themselves, and how magisteriums can interpret a revealed religion over time.
Let's start with what limbo was before the ITC report. Recent generations of Catholics theorized that when an infant - any organism after the moment of conception - died without being baptized, he or she went not to heaven or hell, but to a place known as "limbo," which was a state of happiness just outside heaven itself. (Limbo is derived from the Latin limbus, meaning "border.") But limbo was never more than "common doctrine"--a theory rooted in tradition, not a statement of faith, or dogma, or even a definitive act of the magisterium.
So where did limbo come from? It has no foundation in Judeo-Christian revelation. Limbo is neither mentioned nor alluded to anywhere in the Old or New Testaments. In fact, the Bible does not explicitly consider the question of what happens to infants who die without having been baptized.
But the New Testament does say a great deal about two important tenets of the faith: (1) the universal salvific will; and (2) the necessity of baptism for overcoming original sin. Early theologians understood that, when it came to babies who died without being baptized, these two precepts were in tension. How could God both desire the salvation of all people and require infants with no control over their fates to become baptized before they could be saved?
The early Greek fathers were the first to consider this conundrum. They concentrated on ..." ( more >> The "Closing" of Limbo: What the Vatican's International Theological Commission really said about limbo, by Jonathan V. Last, 05/25/2007)
3 comments:
In primele secole crestine, fiind o singura Biserica, invataturile sfintilor se transmiteau de la rasarit spre apus si invers. Una dintre ele este cea despre pruncii nebotezati, care se afla intr-un loc unde nici nu sufera, nici nu se bucura, doar asteapta sa fie refacuta cu ei legatura dragostei.
De curand a fost pomenirea mortilor, mosii de vara, (ce colaci minunati am vazut eu acolo..., inclusiv unul dus de noi). Preotul a citit si o rugaciune mare de pomenire a tuturor celor mutati de aici. In multimea cazurilor de moarte (inecati, acoperiti de pamant, loviti cu piatra, cu fier, muscati de veninoase, si inca multe altele) am auzit pomenindu-se si pruncii nenascuti, adica lepadati.
Cu totii se afla in grija lui Dumnezeu.
Ceea ce scormoneste constiinta si ii ingrijoreaza pe oameni este de fapt propriul lor statut, de vinovati sau nevinovati. Si cum se poate indrepta un rau facut.
Este important ca un crestin sa stie ca Biserica ingaduie unui mirean sa boteze el insusi un copil, spunand o forma simplificata, in caz de urgenta. Se poate folosi nu numai apa, dar in lipsa ei si pamant, nisip sau in extrem aer, iar daca totusi copilul supravietuieste, preotul va completa Botezul cu rugaciunile necesare si il va unge cu Mir. Prin acest pogoramant se arata puterea harului, a energiilor necreate, dumnezeiesti care se transmit prin credinta. La capilolul acesta catolicii si ortodocsii vorbesc la fel.
"...ca Biserica ingaduie unui mirean sa boteze el insusi un copil, spunand o forma simplificata, in caz de urgenta."
e linistitor ce spui, Briel, ...
destul ne aflam in "limbo" pe lumea asta, ca sa mai avem acest predicament si pe lumea ailalta ...
Sehe, am auzit recent o gluma evolutionista..., un pic cruda.
In clasa, la ora de religie profesorul vorbeste copiilor despre creatie si primii oameni. Un elev incepe sa fluture mana pe sus.
- Da, spune ce doresti, il invita profesorul.
- Parintii mei mi-au spus acasa ca noi de fapt ne tragem din maimute, zice copilul.
- Stai jos, draga. Eu vorbeam aici asa... in general, nu despre cazul familiei tale.
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