“Who are those who are not to be accounted members of the Church?”

Tradivox Catechism Review
Part I: How can we find the teaching of the universal ordinary magisterium?
Part II: What do the catechisms tell us about heretics and the Church?
Part III: How is the Church “visibly united in faith,” according to Cardinal Billot?
Part IV: Why is it essential that the Church is visibly united in faith?
Part V: What sort of heresy results in being outside the Church?
Part VI: What is the difference between an excommunicate and an open heretic?

Objections
Obj. I: Are we obliged to believe every person who calls himself a Catholic?
Obj. II: Should mistaken Catholics be called “material heretics”?
Obj. III: What is the state of a Catholic who submits to a false magisterium?

Image: Pius XII saying Mass. Wiki Commons CC 2.0

Case Study

This is the second part of a review of the ongoing Tradivox Catholic Catechism Index project.

In the first part (the review itself), I discussed how we can use the authority of catechisms in order to establish the faith and doctrine of the Church.

To illustrate the value of this project, let’s see what these various catechisms say on four points of doctrine, each related to membership of the Church. I will also include a collection of texts from other catechisms in the appendix.

The points are contained, explicitly or implicitly, in Pope Pius XII’s famous encyclical Mystici Corporis Christi:

“Actually only those are to be included as members of the Church who have been baptized and profess the true faith, and who have not been so unfortunate as to separate themselves from the unity of the Body, or been excluded by legitimate authority for grave faults committed.”[1]

He continues:

“For not every sin, however grave it may be, is such as of its own nature to sever a man from the Body of the Church, as does schism or heresy or apostasy.”[2] (emphasis added)

In this part and with these four points of doctrine, we will see the great value of the Tradivox project in action.

These are the points to be established:

1. The Church is, among other things, a visible unity of Faith; she is a visible society which is visibly one, or united, in faith.
2. Membership of the Church requires, among other things, a profession (or confession) of the Faith – which is, by its nature, external.
3. Heretics are not and cannot be members of the Church.
4. Excommunicates are also not members of the Church, but they are a distinct class to heretics.

The catechisms do not always go into detail. For example, what does it mean “to profess the Faith“? Can we know whether someone is a heretic without a declaration? Are all heretics and all excommunicates outside the Church – even secret heretics, and tolerated excommunicates?[3] How are the respective reasons for being outside different?

These questions are explained in greater detail by theologians. In the next parts of this series, I will provide further commentary on these points of doctrine – but for this part, let’s see what we can derive from these catechisms.

While we might not all agree on how to understand the crisis in the Church, I urge our readers to support Tradivox’s important effort and benefit from these texts.

With that in place, let’s see how the Tradivox series can help us establish the Catholic doctrine on these points.

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The Catechisms found in:
Tradivox I – Three shorter catechisms
(UK readers)
Sophia Institute Press, Manchester NH, 2020

Fr Laurence Vaux
A Catechisme of Christian Doctrine
1567

Q. 2: Whom do ye call a Christian Catholic Man?

Him that hath received the sacrament of baptism whereby he is made a member of the Catholic Church, and doth profess in heart, word, and deed the wholesome doctrine of Jesus Christ and of the Catholic Church, and doth not consent nor agree to any strange sects of opinions that the Catholic Church doth disavow and condemn. (p 17)

Q18: Why is the Church called one?

[…] In this Church is confessed and worshipped one God, one faith is confessed and taught, one baptism and one uniform order of sacraments are ministered without schism or division, having one head in earth: God’s vicar in the apostolic see, the successor to St Peter. (p 22-3)

Q27: Who be alienated and utterly separated from the Church of Christ?

The Jews, and all infidels, and they that by apostasy forsake their faith (Cf. Mt 18:17). And heretics, which although they be christened yet obstinately defend error against the Catholic faith (Cf. 1 Cor 5). Moreover schismatics, which separate themselves from peace and Catholic unity. Also they that be lawfully excommunicated. […] (p 25)

Fr Diego de Ledesma
The Christian Doctrine
1573

Q2. What is a Christian?

The disciple of Christ: that is, he which having been baptized, believeth and maketh open profession of the law of Christ. (p 114)

Q28. What is the holy Catholic Church?

It is the whole congregation of the faithful Christians, who have and confess the faith of Jesus Christ: the head of which Church is Christ himself, and the pope his vicar on earth. (p 118)

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The Catechisms found in:
Tradivox II – Three seventeenth-century catechisms
(UK readers)
Sophia Institute Press, Manchester NH, 2020

St Robert Bellarmine SJ
A Shorte Catechisme
1614

Q2: What mean by a Christian?

Him that maketh profession of the faith and law of Christ. (p 4)

Q23. Declare the ninth [article of the Apostles’ Creed]

I believe also that there is a Church, which is the congregation of all faithful Christians that are baptized, do believe and confess the faith of Christ our Lord, and acknowledge the high bishop of Rome for vicar of the same Christ in earth. (p 21)

Fr Henry Turberville
The Douay Catechism, or An Abridgement of the Christian Doctrine
1649

Q139: What mean you by the Church’s unity?

That all her members live under one evangelical law, obey the same supreme head, and profess the same faith even to the least article, and use the same sacraments and Sacrifice. (p 132)

Q143: Who are those who are not to be accounted members of the Church?

All such as are not in the unity of the Church by a most firm belief of her doctrine and due obedience to her pastors; such as Jews, Turks, heretics, etc. (p 133)

Fr Thomas Vincent Sadler
The Childes Catechism
1678

Q1: Who may rightly be called a Christian?

He who being baptized, believes in his heart, and professes with his mouth the Christian doctrine. (p 311)

Q22: How is the Church one?

Because all her members are united to their head in the self-same faith and sacraments. (p 315)

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The Catechisms found in:
Tradivox III – three texts by Bishop Richard Challoner
(UK readers)
Sophia Institute Press, Manchester NH, 2021

Bishop Richard Challoner
An Abridgement of Catholic Doctrine
1759

Q73: How is the Church one?

Because all its members agree in one faith, are all in one communion, and are all under one head. (p 13)

Bishop Richard Challoner
The Grounds of the Catholick Doctrine
1737

Q2: What do you gather from these words?

[…] 2) That this Church is always one by the union of all her members in one faith and communion. 3) That she is always pure and holy in her doctrine and terms of communion, and consequently free from pernicious errors. (p 319)

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The Catechisms found in:
Tradivox IV: Three significant Irish catechisms
(UK readers)
Sophia Institute Press, Manchester NH, 2021

The Most Rev. Dr James Butler’s Catechism
1775

Q107: How are we known to be Christians?

By being baptized, by professing the doctrine of Christ, and by the sign of the cross. (p 28)

Q116: What do you mean by the true Church?

The congregation of all the faithful who, being baptized, profess the same doctrine, partake of the same sacraments, and are governed by their lawful pastors, under one visible head on earth. (p 29)

Q129: In what else is the Church one?

In all its members believing the same truths, having the same sacraments and sacrifice, and being under one visible head on earth. (p 31)

The Catechism Ordered by the National Synod of Maynooth.
1884

Q100. How are we known to be Christians?

We are known to be Christians by being baptized, by professing the doctrine of Christ, and by the sign of the Cross. (p 118)

Q108: What do you mean by the true Church?

The true Church is the congregation of all the faithful, who, being baptized, profess the same faith, partake of the same sacraments, and are governed by their lawful pastors, under one visible head on earth. (p 119)

Q119: In what else is the Church one?

The Church is also one, In all its members believing the same truths, having the same sacraments and sacrifice, and being under one visible head on earth.

Shorter Catechism Extracted [from Maynooth]
1891

Q37: How are we known to be Christians?

We are known to be Christians by being baptized, by professing the doctrine of Christ, and by the sign of the cross. (p 194)

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The Catechism found in:
Tradivox V: Two by Irish priests in the 1700s
(UK readers),
Sophia Institute Press, Manchester NH, 2021

Fr Thomas Burke OP
A Catechism Moral and Controversial.
1752

Q112. Why is the Church said to be one?

Because all her members worship one God, profess one law, use the same sacraments, believe the same articles of faith, and obey one supreme head. (p 208)

Q141. But how do you prove […] that all novellists [SDW: Viz. innovators – not writers of novels!] and heretics are cut off from the true Church of Christ on earth?

[…] All novellists who differ from that Church in matters of faith, are cut off from the sole and only Church of Christ upon earth. (p 216)

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A catechism found in:
Tradivox VI: Aquinas, Pecham, and Pagula
(UK readers)
Sophia Institute Press, Manchester NH, 2021

St Thomas Aquinas
The Catechetical Instructions
c. 1260

The unity of the Church arises from three sources.

1. The unity of faith. All Christians who are of the body of the Church believe the same doctrine. “I beseech you… that you all speak the same thing and that there be no schisms among you.” (1 Cor 1:10) And: “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” (Eph 4:5) (pp 66-7)

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Published as:
Tradivox VII: Trent
(UK readers)
Sophia Institute Press, Manchester NH, 2022

The Catechism of the Council of Trent
(“The Roman Catechism”)
1566

The Members of the Church Militant

The Church militant is composed of two classes of persons, the good and the bad, both professing the same faith and partaking of the same Sacraments, yet differing in their manner of life and morality. […] (pp 131-2)

Those who are not Members Of The Church

Hence there are but three classes of persons excluded from the Church’s pale: infidels, heretics and schismatics, and excommunicated persons. Infidels are outside the Church because they never belonged to, and never knew the Church, and were never made partakers of any of her Sacraments. Heretics and schismatics are excluded from the Church, because they have separated from her and belong to her only as deserters belong to the army from which they have deserted. It is not, however, to be denied that they are still subject to the jurisdiction of the Church, inasmuch as they may be called before her tribunals, punished and anathematised. Finally, excommunicated persons are not members of the Church, because they have been cut off by her sentence from the number of her children and belong not to her communion until they repent.

But with regard to the rest, however wicked and evil they may be, it is certain that they still belong to the Church: Of this the faithful are frequently to be reminded, in order to be convinced that, were even the lives of her ministers debased by crime, they are still within the Church, and therefore lose nothing of their power. (p 133)

The Marks of the Church

The first mark of the true Church is described in the Nicene Creed, and consists in unity: “My dove is one, my beautiful one is one.” So vast a multitude, scattered far and wide, is called one for the reasons mentioned by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Ephesians: “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.” […]

“Finally, the faith which all are bound to believe and to profess is one: Let there be no schisms amongst you, says the Apostle.” (pp 134-5)

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The Catechisms found in:
Tradivox VIII: Pope St Pius X and Frassinetti
(UK readers)
Sophia Institute Press, Manchester NH, 2022

Fr Giuseppe Frassinetti
Dogmatic Catechism
1872

20. How do you define the Church of Christ?

[…] The true Church of Christ on earth that is, the Church Militant, is the union of all the faithful, who communicate one with another, by profession of the same faith, by the participation of the same sacraments, and who are subject to their own Bishops, and in especial to the Roman Pontiff, who is the centre of all Catholic union. Such is the definition common to theologians. (p 17)

21. What persons do not belong to the Church of Christ?

A. Those who have not yet received baptism; and therefore, not infidels only, but even catechumens, although they believe all the revealed truths of the holy faith, do not belong to the Church. Heretics, that is to say, those who belong to some sect which does not believe all the dogmas of the faith, do not belong to it. (All Protestants are heretics.) Schismatics, that is to say, those who refuse to submit to their own lawful pastors, and, still more, to the authority of the Roman Pontiff, do not belong to it. Excommunicated persons also who are notoriously and publicly declared such, do not belong to it.[4] (p 17)

22. Are there then excommunicated persons who do belong to the Church?

A. Of right, no excommunicated person belongs to the Church; but by indulgence or permission of the Church herself, such excommunicated persons as are called tolerated, that is, such as are not publicly declared excommunicated, belong to it. In like manner secret heretics, that is, such persons as, without declaring themselves for any sect in particular, secretly gainsay some Catholic dogma, whilst they affect to be united to the Church, and subject to their lawful pastors, belong to it. (p 18)

27. Explain to me the first mark.

A. The true Church is One, especially by the unity of her Head, which is Christ; by the unity of the means which lead her to her end, which is eternal salvation; by the unity of her one and the same spiritual food, which is the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ; by the unity of one and the same faith, of one and the same hope, of one and the same Spirit who directs and governs her.

28. Who is the origin and centre of this unity which the Church has on earth?

A. Following the authority of all the Holy Fathers, all Catholics are agreed that the origin and centre of this unity is the Roman Pontiff; that he has a primacy of honour, jurisdiction and authority over all the various churches of the earth, which all, united under this head constituted by Jesus Christ, form one sole Church. Take away this centre of unity, and they would be so many separate churches, and no longer one Church. (p 19)

344. What can we say then of certain Catholics, who, listening to errors against the Faith, as for example, against the eternity of the pains of Hell, against Purgatory, against the Virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, against the Supremacy of the Pope, profess themselves Catholics, but still think that the Protestants who teach these errors may probably, or at least possibly, be right?

A. If they admit doubt, that is to say, if they admit the probability, or even the possibility, that the Church may err in teaching the contrary truths, they have lost the Faith, and if they profess still to be Catholics, they profess to be what they are not. He who does not believe firmly, absolutely, does not believe with that Divine Faith which is necessary for salvation. (p 107)[5]

Catechism of Pope St Pius X
1908

3. Who is a true Christian?

A. A true Christian is he who is baptised, who believes and professes the Christian Doctrine, and obeys the lawful pastors of the Church. (p 183)

149. What is the Catholic Church?

A. The Catholic Church is the Union or Congregation of all the baptised who, still living on earth, profess the same Faith and the same Law of Jesus Christ, participate in the same Sacraments, and obey their lawful Pastors, particularly the Roman Pontiff. (p 208)

150. State distinctly what is necessary to be a member of the Church?

A. To be a member of the Church it is necessary to be baptised, to believe and profess the teaching of Jesus Christ, to participate in the same Sacraments, and to acknowledge the Pope and the other lawful pastors of the Church. (p 208)

155. Why is the Church called One?

A. The true Church is called One, because her children of all ages and places are united together in the same faith, in the same worship, in the same law; and in participation of the same Sacraments, under the same visible Head, the Roman Pontiff.[6] (p 209)

224. Who are they who are outside the true Church?

A. Outside the true Church are: Infidels, Jews, heretics, apostates, schismatics, and the excommunicated. (p 220)

227. Who are heretics?

A. Heretics are those of the baptised who obstinately refuse to believe some truth revealed by God and taught as an article of faith by the Catholic Church; for example, the Arians, the Nestorians and the various sects of Protestants. (p 221)

230. Who are the excommunicated?

A. The excommunicated are those who, because of grievous transgressions, are struck with excommunication by the Pope or their Bishop, and consequently are cut off as unworthy from the body of the Church, which, however, hopes for and desires their conversion. (p 221)

The Catechisms found in:
Tradivox IX: St Peter Canisius
(UK readers)
Sophia Institute Press, Manchester NH, 2022

St Peter Canisius
A Sum of Christian Doctrine
1555
Available Online

1. Who is to be called a Christian?

He which doth profess the wholesome doctrine of Jesus Christ, true God and man, in his Church.

18. What addeth the ninth article, “I believe the holy Catholic Church”?

It doth shew and declare unto us the Church, that is to say, the visible congregation of Christ’s faithful people, for which the Son of God taking upon him the nature of man, did and suffered all things.

And first it teacheth that the same Church is one, and uniform in faith, and in in the doctrine of faith, and administration of Sacraments; which, under one only head Christ Jesus, and one vicegerent upon earth , the chief Bishop, is governed and kept in unity. […]

Out of this communion of Saints (like as out of the Ark of Noe) there is certainly undoubtedly destruction, but no salvation for mortal men: not for the Jews or Heathens, that never received the faith of the Church: not for Heretics that have forsaken the faith one received, or any way corrupted the same: not for Schismatics, that have divided themselves from the peace and unity of the Church: finally, not for Excommunicate persons, that for any grievous crime or cause have deserved to be cut off, as hurtful pernicious members, from the body of the Church.

And all and every of these, because they do not appertain unto the Church and to her holy communion, they cannot be partakers of the grace of God and eternal salvation, except they be first reconciled and restored unto the same Church, from which, they through their own default have once been separated.”

19. What is the Church?

The Church is the whole multitude of all those that profess the faith and doctrine of Christ, which Christ the Prince of Pastors, committed both unto St Peter the Apostle, and also to his successors to be fed and governed.

And therefore all heretics and schismatics do not deserve the name of a Church, but do falsely arrogate the same unto themselves.[7]

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Appendix

In this appendix, I will provide texts from other comparable catechisms on the same four points.

St Peter Canisius
A Small Catechism for Catholics 
(and for UK readers)
1558
Translated by Ryan Grant, Published by Mediatrix Press

What is the Church?

The Church is the assembly of all those professing the faith and doctrine of Christ, which is ruled under one supreme head, and one shepherd on earth, subordinate to Christ.

Who are altogether foreign to the Church?

In the first place, Jews and all unbelievers and also apostates from the faith; thereafter heretics, those who, of course, were baptized, but pertinaciously uphold error against the Catholic faith. Besides these, schismatics, those who separate themselves from the peace and Catholic unity itself; and last of all, those who are legitimately excluded from the communion of Saints, from the participation of the Sacraments and the aid of the Church and from divine offices, through Ecclesiastical power, wherefore they are called “the excommunicated”. […]

[W]hile all of these are to be avoided by Catholics, more particularly, heretics and schismatics should be detested and avoided no less than some deadly plague.[8] (p 15-6)

St Robert Bellarmine
Doctrina Christiana: The Timeless Catechism of St. Robert Bellarmine 
(and for UK readers)
1598
Translated by Ryan Grant, Published by Mediatrix Press

S. I ask that you explain this to me word for word, and firstly, what is the Church?

T. The Church is a certain convocation and gathering of baptized men who profess the same faith and law of Christ under obedience to the Roman Pontiff. It is called a convocation because we are not born Christians (like we are born either as Italians, or Frenchmen, or of some other nation). We are called by God, and entered this congregation by Baptism, which is like a door of the Church. Still, Baptism alone does not suffice for us to be in the Church; rather, it is necessary to believe and profess the holy faith and law of Christ just as the pastors and preachers of the Church propose. Furthermore, this alone does not suffice, but it is also necessary for us to be in obedience to the Roman Pontiff as the Vicar of Christ, which is to hold and recognize him as the Supreme Head in place of Christ.

S. Why is this Church called holy when still there are many wicked men in it?

T. There are three principal reasons why it is called holy. The first is because of its head which is Christ, for He is most holy, in just the same way a man is said to be beautiful because he has a beautiful face, even if he has deformed fingers or some blemish in either his chest or shoulders. The second is because all the faithful are holy by the faith of their profession, for they have the one faith that is the most true and divine, they have the same use of the most holy Sacraments, and likewise, the same most just law, insofar as it commands nothing but what is good, and forbids evil. The third is that some really are in the fullness of the saints, while on the other hand, Jews, Muslims and Heretics and similar groups are outside the Church and cannot really be holy in any fashion. [9]

S. Therefore, are the excommunicated outside of the Church like the Jews and other unbelievers?

T. They certainly are, but still with this distinction: the Jews and the Muslims are outside the Church for the reason that they never entered it through Baptism, while heretics, who are baptized, for the reason that they forsook the faith, they are outside the Church because they went out of their own will and became fugitives. Therefore, the Church compels them with different penalties to return to the true faith from which they left, just as a shepherd compels the fugitive sheep that left the sheepfold by the crook of his staff to return to it. Furthermore, because the excommunicated are Baptized and have the faith, therefore they entered the Church and do not leave it, rather, they are cast out of it by force just as a shepherd separates a mangy sheep from the sheepfold, and sends it as prey to wolves. Still the Church does not drive out the excommunicated from its mind so that they might remain outside forever, but so that they might be contrite over their disobedience, and in the same way, being humbled, may seek to return to the Church and again be received into the bosom of their mother and the communion of the saints.[10]

Abbé J. Gaume
Catechism of Perserverence
(UK readers)
Also at Internet Archive
1850

Q. What is the church?

A. The church is the society of all the faithful, united by the profession of the one same faith, the participation in the same sacraments and by submission to the same lawful pastors, chiefly to our holy father the pope.

Q. Who are they who are not members of the church?

A. Infidels, heretics, schismatics, and rebellious Christians, whom the church cuts off from her body, by excommunication.

Q. How many ways are there of belonging to the church?

A. There are two ways in which we can belong to the church, actually and virtually. We belong actually to the church when we exteriorly profess the faith of the church and submit to its pastors. A person belongs virtually to the church and can be saved, when, without any fault of his, he belongs to a society different from the true religion, provided he has true charity, desires to know the true religion, and does good according to his knowledge. […]

Q. What is meant by the unity of the Church?

A . By the unity of the church is meant, that she has always taught the same faith, commanded the same duties, and held the same sacraments.[11]

Father Franz X. Weninger
Manual of the Catholic Religion for Catechists, Teachers and Self-Instruction
(and for UK readers)
1867

Q. Who is called a Christian, and is so in the true sense of the word?

A. He who, after the reception of the sacrament of Baptism, believes in Jesus Christ and his doctrine, and professes the same in the true Church.[12]

Q. By what marks may we discern the true Church of Christ?

A. By the very marks by which Christ our Lord wished to point out His Church, in order that it might be known from all other temporal or spiritual institutions, and recognized as such by the whole world.

Q. Which are these marks of the true Church of Christ?

A. They are — Unity, Sanctity, Universality, Apostolicity or Apostolic institution. In other words: the Church of Christ is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic.

Q. In what consists the internal, and in what the external unity of the Church?

A. The internal unity consists in the preserving and professing one and the same doctrine of salvation, which Christ revealed through himself and His Apostles.

The external unity consists in the connection of all the members of the Church by subordination to their superiors, the bishops and priests, under one and the same head, the vicegerent of Christ, the successor of St. Peter, the Pope of Rome.[13]

[Proofs of the mark of unity]

For all the heretics, sectarians, and schismatics, were, since the beginning of the Church, cut off from it by the chief pastors of the Church, and of course numbered no more amongst the members of the true Church, which on account of her truth is one.[14]

Q. How may this be proved, and first that the Roman Catholic Church is one?

A. […] It is one in respect to its doctrine; for, all the children of the Roman Catholic Church profess, in reality, one and the same faith. Regarding this, we appeal to the Creeds which the Church publicly professes, to the Decrees of the Councils, and the Catechisms which are authorized by the Church.[15]

Bishop George Hay
The Sincere Christian Instructed
Vol. I
(and for UK readers)
c. 1770s

Q. 2. In what are all the members of the Church united together, so as to compose one body in Christ?

A. Chiefly in these three things: (i.) In one and the same Faith, believing and teaching all those Divine truths which Jesus Christ revealed and His apostles taught, and no other; for there is but ” one Lord, one Faith, one Baptism,” Eph. iv. 5; and of the Church, in the time of the apostles, it is said that ” they were persevering in the doctrine of the apostles,” Acts, ii.[16] 42.

Q. 2. How does it appear that the Church of Christ is one?

A. This we have seen in the preceding chapter, where the Church is shown to be one body, of which Christ is the Head, and that all her members are united to Him in His body, by having all one and the same Faith, being all in one communion, and subject to one supreme Church authority. […]

[A]ll the members of the Church of Christ make but one body, having all one faith, and are governed by one shepherd.[17]

Q. 9. What judgment does the Scripture pass on all those Christians who are separated from the Church by heresy? Can they be saved if they be in invincible ignorance, and live and die in their state of separation from the true Church of Christ?

Editor’s Comment: this is a question about salvation, not membership. Bishop Hay does not directly address heresy in relation to membership, but both this question and its answer are based on the presumption that heretics are separated from the Church.

A. [Regarding heretics,] if they either have no baptism, or have altered the form of giving it ordained by Christ, then they are in no better state as to the possibility of their salvation than heathens, though they may assume the name of Christians. But if they have valid baptism, then they are, by it, made true members of the Church of Christ, and those who die young, in their baptismal innocence, shall undoubtedly be saved. But as to those among them who come to the years of discretion, are educated in a false faith, and live and die in a state of separation from the communion of the Church of Christ, [then, for the question of salvation – but not membership] we also must distinguish between two different cases.[18]

Rev. Joseph Deharbe
A Complete Catechism of the Catholic Religion
(and for UK readers)
1847

6. What, then, is the Church even at the present time?

The Church is the same congregation of all the faithful, who, being baptized, profess the same doctrine, partake of the same Sacraments, and are governed by their lawful pastors under one visible Head, the Pope.[19]

33. Why is the Roman Catholic Church evidently One’?

Because she has at all times and in all places, 1. The same Faith; 2. The same Sacrifice and the same Sacraments; and 3. A common Head.[20]

66. Who is a member of the Catholic Church?

Every one who is baptized, and has neither voluntarily separated himself, nor has been excluded, from her.

67. Who have voluntarily separated themselves from the Church?

1. All those who by their own fault are Heretics, i.e., who profess a doctrine that has been condemned by the Church; or who are Infidels — that is, who no longer have nor profess any Christian faith at all; and

2. All those who by their own fault are Schismatics — that is, who have renounced, not the doctrine of the Church, but their obedience to her, or to her Supreme Head, the Pope.

68. Who are excluded from the Catholic Church?

Excommunicates — that is, those who, as degenerate members, have been expelled from the communion of the Church.

69. Are not those also who are heretics without their own fault separated from the Catholic Church?

Such as are heretics without their own fault, but sincerely search after the truth, and in the meantime do the will of God to the best of their knowledge, although they are separated from the body, remain, however, united to the soul of the Church, and partake of her graces.

Even those who are heretics without their own fault are derived, though not of all, at least of many, graces and blessings of our holy religion; as, for instance, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the true Lord’s Supper, Sacramental Absolution, the Holy Sacraments administered to the dying, etc. Therefore, we should fervently pray for heretics, and by sincere charity, and an edifying life, contribute towards their conversion.

70. Who is a heretic by his own fault?

A heretic by his own fault is:

1. He who knows the Catholic Church, and is convinced of her truth, but does not join her; and

2. He who could know her, if he would candidly search, but, through indifference and other culpable motives, neglects to do so.

71. Does it become us to judge whether this one or that is outside the Church by his own fault or not?

No; for such judgment belongs to God, who alone is “the searcher of hearts and reins’ (Ps. vii. 10), and ‘judges the secrets of men” (Rom. ii. 16).

Editors’ Comment: It may not “become us” to judge this matter, in Deharbe’s opinion, but we must indeed generally be able to tell who is a Catholic or not. How do we reconcile these things?

As Deharbe himself says: even those who are heretics with no personal fault “are separated from the body.” We are not making a moral judgment, but a factual one. Further, sometimes are we obliged to make such a judgment when it comes to fulfilling other duties.

Baltimore Catechism III
1885[23]

Q. 489. What is the Church?

A. The Church is the congregation of all those who profess the faith of Christ, partake of the same Sacraments, and are governed by their lawful pastors under one visible Head.

Q. 493. What do you mean by “profess the faith of Christ”?

A. By “profess the faith of Christ” we mean, believe all the truths and practice the religion He has taught.

Q. 520. Can the Church have the four marks [unity, sanctity, catholicity and apostolicity] without the three attributes [authority, infallibility and indefectibility]?

A. The Church cannot have the four marks without the three attributes, because the three attributes necessarily come with the marks and without them the marks could not exist.

Q. 521. Why are both marks and attributes necessary in the Church?

A. Both marks and attributes are necessary in the Church, for the marks teach us its external or visible qualities, while the attributes teach us its internal or invisible qualities. It is easier to discover the marks than the attributes; for it is easier to see that the Church is one than that it is infallible.

Q. 549. How is the Church One?

A. The Church is One because all its members agree in one faith, are all in one communion, and are all under one head.

Q. 553. How is it evident that the Church is one in faith?

A. It is evident the Church is one in faith because all Catholics throughout the world believe each and every article of faith proposed by the Church.

Q. 554. Could a person who denies only one article of our faith be a Catholic?

A. A person who denies even one article of our faith could not be a Catholic; for truth is one and we must accept it whole and entire or not at all.

Batimore Catechism II
(and for UK readers)
1898[24]

Q. 115. What is the Church?

A. The Church is the congregation of all those who profess the faith of Christ, partake of the same Sacraments, and are governed by their lawful pastors under one visible head.

Q. 129. How is the Church One?

A. The Church is One because all its members agree in one faith, are all in one communion, and are all under one Head.

Batimore Catechism I
(and for UK readers)
1898[25]

Q. 115. What is the Church?

A. The Church is the congregation of all those who profess the faith of Christ, partake of the same Sacraments, and are governed by their lawful pastors under one visible Head.

Excursus: doctrinal points present in even the most basic catechisms

The Baltimore Catechism II – and even more, the Baltimore Catechism I – are very basic catechisms for children. It is striking that these doctrinal points are present here, and indeed in the very short text from St Peter Canisius given above.

And yet these points are unknown to many today, and some are surprised when they hear them and try to deny them or nuance them back into oblivion. This just goes to show how much has been lost and obscured.

Canon H. Cafferata
The Catechism Simply Explained
1910
Available Online

95. How is the Church one?

The Church is one because all her members agree in one faith, have all the same sacrifice and sacraments, and are all united under one head. […]

(a) Unity of faith. Our Lord sent His apostles to teach all nations all things whatsoever He had commanded (Matt. 28:20). There was to be no picking and choosing. All men must accept the whole body of teaching both the pleasant truths and the unpleasant ones. Now, go where you will, all over the world, and you will find every Catholic bishop and priest teaching, and every Catholic believing, exactly the same doctrine; there is among us no High Church, Broad Church, or Low Church party. But, in the Anglican Church, for instance, how little unity of doctrine exists! Some clergymen teach nearly every Catholic doctrine, such as Mass, the seven sacraments, devotion to our Lady and the saints, prayers for the dead. Other clergymen of the same Church reject these practices as being contrary to the teaching of the English Reformation. There are indeed professed members of the Church of England who even deny that Christ was God. Surely a Church in which such disunity, even on fundamental doctrines, exists, cannot claim to have the first mark of the true Church.

103. How are the faithful on earth in communion with each other?

The faithful on earth are in communion with each other by professing the same doctrines, and obey the Pope. They pray for one another and help one another by good works of various sorts. All this makes a common bound of union among them.

Penny Catechism
1921

Q95: How is the Church one?

The Church is One because all her members agree in one Faith, have all the same Sacrifice and Sacraments, and are all united under one Head.[26]

Baltimore Catechism no. IV
(and UK readers)
Fr Thomas Kinkead
(A later expansion of no. II for teachers)
1921

115 Q. What is the Church?

A. The Church is the congregation of all those who profess the faith of Christ, partake of the same Sacraments, and are governed by their lawful pastors under one visible head.

Q. 129. How is the Church One?

A. The Church is One because all its members agree in one faith, are all in one communion, and are all under one Head

[…] The Church is one also in doctrine—that is, every one of the three hundred million of Catholics in the world believes exactly the same truths. If any Catholic denies only one article of faith, though he believes all the rest, he ceases to be a Catholic, and is cut off from the Church.

Comment: This text’s language diverges from the others by saying “believes” rather than “professes.” However this is evidently related to a united external profession: otherwise, how would Fr Kinkead know that they believe the same truths?

323 Q. Who are they who do not believe all that God has taught?

A. They who do not believe all that God has taught are the heretics and infidels.

There are many kinds of unbelievers: atheists, deists, infidels, heretics, apostates, and schismatics. […] Heretics are those who were baptized and who claim to be Christians, but do not believe all the truths that Our Lord has taught. They accept only a portion of the doctrine of Christ and reject the remainder, and hence they become rebellious children of the Church. They belong to the true Church by being baptized [Ed. Viz., they should return to her], but do not submit to its teaching and are therefore outcast children, disinherited till they return to the true faith. [27]

Fr Francis J. Connell
Father Connell’s New Baltimore Catechism 3
(and for UK readers)
1949

136. What is the Church?

The Church is the congregation of all baptized persons united in the same true faith, the same sacrifice, and the same sacraments, under the authority of the Sovereign Pontiff and the bishops in communion with him.

Since Baptism, according to the ruling of Christ, is the gateway to the Church, a person becomes a member of the Church on receiving this sacrament. To remain a real member of the Church after Baptism a person must profess the one true faith and must not withdraw from the unity of the body of the Church in schism or heresy or be excommunicated by legitimate authority because of serious sins. Even schismatics, heretics, and those excommunicated are subjects of the Church and are obliged by its laws unless exempted by the Church.

156. Why is the Catholic Church one?

The Catholic Church is one because all its members, according to the will of Christ, profess the same faith, have the same sacrifice and sacraments, and are united under one and the same visible head, the Pope. […]

(d) Catholics accept all the doctrines of faith and morals which were taught by Our Lord and the apostles and are proposed by the Church for belief and practice. A person who deliberately denies even one of the doctrines of the Church cannot be a Catholic. The Church is one in faith.

317. What are the effects of the character imprinted on the soul by Baptism?

The effects of the character imprinted on the soul by Baptism are that we become members of the Church, subject to its laws, and capable of receiving the other sacraments.

(a) Baptized persons remain members of the Church as long as they are united to it by profession of the same faith and have not broken the bonds of communion with it.

(b) All validly baptized persons are subjects of the Church, even if they are not members. […][28]

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Editors’ note: this page will be updated from time to time.

Tradivox Catechism Review
Part I: How can we find the teaching of the universal ordinary magisterium?
Part II: What do the catechisms tell us about heretics and the Church?
Part III: How is the Church “visibly united in faith,” according to Cardinal Billot?
Part IV: Why is it essential that the Church is visibly united in faith?
Part V: What sort of heresy results in being outside the Church?
Part VI: What is the difference between an excommunicate and an open heretic?

Objections
Obj. I: Are we obliged to believe every person who calls himself a Catholic?
Obj. II: Should mistaken Catholics be called “material heretics”?
Obj. III: What is the state of a Catholic who submits to a false magisterium?

Get your copies of the Tradivox Catechism series:

Tradivox I – Three shorter catechisms. (UK readers)

• Bishop Edmund Bonner – An Honest Godley Instruction. A foundational text written by a bishop who repented under Queen Mary, returned to the Catholic Church and died a confessor under Elizabeth I (1556)
• Fr Laurence Vaux – A Catechisme of Christian Doctrine (1567)
• Fr Diego de Ledesma – The Christian Doctrine (1573)

Tradivox II – Three seventeenth-century catechisms. (UK readers)

• St Robert Bellarmine SJ – A Shorte Catechisme. This consists mostly of restored woodcuts. (1614)
• Fr Henry Turberville – The Douay Catechism, or An Abridgement of the Christian Doctrine. Very polemically ordered towards catechising Catholics against Protestantism, with many Scripture references and details on the Mass. (1649)
• Fr Thomas Vincent Sadler – The Childes Catechism. Written for parents. (1678)

Tradivox III – three texts by Bishop Richard Challoner, reviser of the Douay-Rheims Bible and Vicar Apostolic of London during a period of oppressive penal laws. (UK readers)

• An Abridgement of Christian Doctrine. A synopsis of the Douay Catechism. (1759)
• The Catholic Christian Instructed. A longer, very annotated work with a lot of focus on worship and the sacraments. (1737)
• The Grounds of Catholick Doctrine. A simple Q&A catechism based on the Tridentine Profession of Faith (1752)

Tradivox IV: Three significant Irish catechisms, comparable to the Penny or Baltimore Catechisms (UK readers)

• The Most Rev. Dr James Butler’s Catechism. Approved for national use by all of the Irish bishops, serving Irish Catholics for 150 years at home and in Canada and the USA. (1775)
• The Catechism Ordered by the National Synod of Maynooth. (1884)
• The Shorter Catechism Extracted [from the above]. (1891)

Tradivox V: Two by Irish priests in the 1700s. (UK readers)

• Fr Andrew Donlevy – The Catechism, or Christian Doctrine, By Way of Question and Answer. The oldest major Irish catechetical manuscript. (1742)
• Fr Thomas Burke OP – A Catechism Moral and Controversial. Written for more advanced audiences, with practical and apologetic notes. (1752)

Tradivox VI: Aquinas, Pecham, and Pagula (UK readers).

• St Thomas Aquinas – The Catechetical Instructions. An arrangement of other Opuscula in catechetical form. (ca. 1260)
• Archbishop John Pecham (of Canterbury) – Ignorantia Sacerdotum. Product of the Council of Lambeth. (1281)
• Quinque Verba – pocket manual to “remedy the ignorance of simple priests.” (1300)
• William of Pagula – Oculus Sacerdotis – a chapter, frequently excerpted and circulated at the time, from Pagula’s large guide for priests. (1320)

Tradivox VII: The Catechism of the Council of Trent (UK readers)

Tradivox VIII: Pope St Pius X and Frassinetti (UK readers)

Tradivox IX: St Peter Canisius (UK readers)

Tradivox X: Gaume (UK readers) – Jan 2023

Other texts have not been confirmed, but the following are mentioned on the website. They may be intended for publication, or just for the online database.

• Doulye – A Brief Instruction. (1604)
• Perry – A Full Course of Instructions for the Use of Catechists.(1847)
• Fr F.X. Weninger SJ – Manual of the Catholic Doctrine (1867)
• Baltimore Catechism (1891)
• Thomas J. O’Brien – An Advanced Catechism of Catholic Faith and Practice (1902)
• Deharbe’s Large Catechism (1921)
• Bishop Hay – Abridgement of Christian Doctrine (1800)

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[1] Pope Pius XII, Encyclical Mystici Corporis Christi, 1943, available at https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-xii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xii_enc_29061943_mystici-corporis-christi.html 22

[2] Mystici Corporis Christi 23

[3] Those who are heretics in a public sense are considered to be outside the Church. Those excommunicated as “vitandi” are considered to be outside the Church. Such an excommuniation comes either ipso facto for violence against the Pope (Can. 2343, § 1, n. 1), or by a publicly-announced excommunication by name, by the Apostolic See, expressly as one to be avoided (Can. 2258 §2). A minority of theologians hold “harsher” positions, namely that even secret heretics and tolerated excommunicates are outside the Church.

[4] Giuseppe Frassinetti, A Dogmatic Catechism, trans. Oblate Fathers of St Charles. R. Washbourne, London, 1872. Internet Archive. 20.

[5] Ibid. 148.

[6] Published by Fr Hagan, A Compendium of Catechetical Instruction, Unknown publisher, Dublin 1910. Accessed via iPieta, available at EWTN.

[7] St Peter Canisius, A Sum of Christian Doctrine, pp 19, 37-9, 97  https://archive.org/details/ASumOfChristianDoctrine/page/n17/mode/2up

[8] St Peter Canisius, A Small Catechism for Catholics, trans. Ryan Grant, Mediatrix Press 2014.

[9] St Robert Bellarmine, Doctrina Christiana: The Timeless Catechism of St. Robert Bellarmine, trans. Ryan Grant, Mediatrix Press, 2016. Pp 70-2

[10] Ibid. 75-6

[11] J. Gaume, Catechism of Perseverance, trans. Francis Jamison. Thomas B. Noonan & Co. Boston, 1850. Internet Archive. Ch 52, p 246

[12] Franz X. Weninger, Manual of the Catholic Religion for Catechists, Teachers and Self-Instruction, John P. Walsh, Cinncinati, 1867. 9. Internet Archive.

[13] Ibid 86

[14] Ibid 88

[15] Ibid 91

[16] Bishop George Hay, The Sincere Christian Instructed, in Works of the Right Rev. Bishop Hay Vol I, William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh 1871. 42. Internet Archive.

[17] Ibid. 197-9

[18] Bishop George Hay, The Sincere Christian Instructed, in Works of the Right Rev. Bishop Hay Vol II, William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh 1871. Pp 289-90. Internet Archive.

[19] Joseph Deharbe, A Complete Catechism of the Catholic Religion, Schwartz, Kirwin & Fauss, New York, 1912. 132. Internet Archive.

[20] Ibid. 140

[21] Mgr Joseph Clifford Fenton, ‘Father Journet’s Concept of the Church’, in The American Ecclesiastical Review, Vol. CXXVII No. 5, November 1952 p 378. Scanned by The Bellarmine Forums and available at: https://wmreview.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Father-Journets-Concept-of-the-Church.pdf

[22] From St Robert Bellarmine’s De Ecclesia Militante, translated by Fenton and included in Ibid.

[23] Baltimore Catechism III, Baronius Press, London, 2006

[24] Baltimore Catechism II, Baronius Press, London, 2006

[25] Baltimore Catechism II, Baronius Press, London, 2006

[26] A Catechism of Christian Doctrine (Penny Catechism), Approved by the hierarchy of England and Wales, Catholic Truth Society, London, 1921.

[27] Thomas Kinkead, Baltimore Catechism No. 4, Baronius Press, London, 2015. Project Gutenberg.

[28] Fr Francis Connell, Baltimore Catechism 3, Fr Connell’s Confraternity Edition, 1949, 1952 republished by Seraphim Company, Colorado Springs, CO, 2001. Internet Archive