Council of Florence and No Salvation Outside the Church (Discontinuity or Reform Episode 5)

"This episode has demonstrated that it would be problematic to categorize Cantate Domino’s expression of No Salvation Outside the Church as an infallible statement. Though it was endorsed by a council and pope, neither the council fathers nor the pope actually drafted it. It seems to present a widespread theological opinion, or a sententia ad fidem pertinens, rather than a de fide doctrine, does not seek to define any soteriological or eschatological doctrines, makes changeable assumptions about other religions, and it is aimed at a very small portion of the Christian population. Finally, several doctrines that argued in favor of salvation for non-Christians had already been accepted before the council, and within a century of its conclusion, well-respected theologians and authorities already rejected its expression."

Read the Thesis Here: https://clarifyingcatholicism.org/essays/theses/florence-and-vatican-ii-on-other-religions-discontinuity-or-reform/

Music:
Curious by Eli Moore: https://soundcloud.com/elimoore/curious
Hip Hug Her cover by Eli Moore: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfG9XTxWPMg
Outro: Bright White by Shifting Shadows https://from-the-forest.bandcamp.com/album/lighthearted-ep

The Second Vatican Council’s theology of other religions is frequently cited as an example of doctrinal discontinuity in the Catholic Church, since the language of Lumen Gentium 16 from Vatican II seemingly contradicts that of Cantate Domino from the Council of Florence. At face value, the two statements appear at odds; whereas the latter condemns non-Christians to hell, the former asserts that practitioners of other religions can be saved. However, an analysis of each document’s source, authoritative level, intention, assumptions, scope, reception, and accompanying theological ideas reveals that they actually express and apply the same dogmatic principles to different time periods and cultural contexts, which constitutes authentic reform, rather than discontinuity.

Series on Ecumenical Councils: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPnp45TCxDtPeT-lOsnFhGn2bShv0vAoL
Series on Magisterial Authority: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLPnp45TCxDtNMKUDRtQ15pZDTBCCj4Xg_