Day 118: The Church and Non-Christians

The Catholic Church recognizes in other religions that search, among shadows and images, for the God who is unknown yet near since he gives life and breath and all things and wants all men to be saved. Thus, the Church considers all goodness and truth found in these religions as "a preparation for the Gospel and given by him who enlightens all men that they may at length have life." CCC 843

In today's reading, we find perhaps one of the most controversial parts of the Catechism, coming from the teachings given in Vatican II. From Protestant fundamentalist to Catholic sedevacantist, the Council's teaching on "The Church and Non-Christians" tends to rile them more than most anything else. Some of them see this as a betrayal of the Gospel, but I very much disagree with that. It is clear that Jesus is the Only Way to salvation as stated in Scripture and echoed in Tradition. Vatican II and the Catechism both affirm this. The Catechism Companion, Vol I put's this part of today's reading like this:

Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but me (John 14:6). The grace of Christ of salvation comes to us through His body, the Church, so to reject this grace is to reject him. (p. 240)

Rejection of Christ and the graces that come from His Body, the Church, is a ticket to perdition. Yet what of God's grace & mercy? Is everyone who was presented the Gospel in a really bad manner or not at all truly going to burn for all eternity? There is such a thing as invincible ignorance. Take the case of Hatuey that Bartolomé de las Casas gives us. The Spanish had been rapacious to his people, following their greed for gold & power over the spread of the Gospel. Upon capturing him, they decided to burn him alive as punishment for resisting. De las Casas reports on his final moments when "presented" the Gospel like this:

[Hatuey], thinking a little, asked the religious man if Spaniards went to heaven. The religious man answered yes... The chief then said without further thought that he did not want to go there but to hell so as not to be where they were and where he would not see such cruel people. This is the name and honour that God and our faith have earned.

Or, take the case of Atahualpa, the last Incan emperor. He was forced into nominal conversion only because he chose to die by strangulation instead of burning at the stake, probably due to Incan religious prohibitions against doing the latter to one's body. Were either of these men truly evangelized? I would argue that they were not. We cannot know what was in their hearts and I would say that God's grace is not limited to our finite  understanding. They could both be in hell right now as we speak or not. We'll find out one day, just as we will concerning the fates of each of us and every non-Catholic Christian. In the end, God is the Supreme Judge and knows all of our hearts better than we can guess. Having said all this, it remains our calling as Christians to spread the Gospel or as the Catechism states: "the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men" (CCC 848).