Avery Cardinal Dulles on the Population of Hell
In First Things this month, an excellent article analyzing the Balthasarian/Scanlonian positions. I particularly relished a passage that will have Feeneyites and even those less extreme frothing at the mouth:
from "The Population of Hell, First Things, May 2003 Avery Cardinal DullesOne might ask at this point whether there has been any shift in Catholic theology on the matter. The answer appears to be Yes, although the shift is not as dramatic as some imagine. The earlier pessimism was based on the unwarranted assujption that explicit Christian faith is absolutely necessary for salvation. This assumption has been corrected, particularly at Vatican II. (p. 40)
Let the fulmination begin. Personally, I find it unconscionable and horrifying to think of a supposedly loving God who would condemn all the humans of ages before Christ to damnation for an ignorance for which they could hardly be culpable. But then, I suppose I shall be disproven a thousand ways from Friday. No matter, I continue to hope.
