Doctrine de l'Eglise Catholique

1260‘Since Christ died for all, and since man’s ultimate vocation is truly unique—namely, divine—we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all, in a way known to God, the possibility of being associated with the Paschal Mystery’ (GS 22; cf. LG 16; AG 7). Any person who, unaware of the Gospel of Christ and his Church, seeks the truth and does the will of God as they know it, can be saved. It may be assumed that such people would have explicitly desired Baptism had they known of its necessity.

1261As for children who die without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to God’s mercy, as she does in the rite of burial for them. Indeed, God’s great mercy, which desires that all people be saved (cf. 1 Tim 2:4), and Jesus’ tenderness towards children, which led him to say: ‘Let the children come to me; do not hinder them ’ (Mk 10:14), allow us to hope that there is a path to salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent, too, is the Church’s call not to prevent little children from coming to Christ through the gift of Holy Baptism.

1262The various effects of Baptism are signified by the tangible elements of the sacramental rite. Immersion in water evokes the symbolism of death and purification, but also of regeneration and renewal. The two main effects are therefore the cleansing from sins and the new birth in the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 2:38; John 3:5).

1263Through Baptism, all sins are forgiven: original sin and all personal sins, as well as all the penalties of sin (cf. DS 1316). Indeed, in those who have been regenerated, nothing remains that would prevent them from entering the Kingdom of God: neither the sin of Adam, nor personal sin, nor the consequences of sin, the most serious of which is separation from God.

1264In the baptised person, however, certain temporal consequences of sin remain, such as suffering, illness, death, or the frailties inherent in life, such as weaknesses of character, etc., as well as an inclination towards sin which Tradition calls concupiscence, or, metaphorically, ‘the seat of sin’ (fomes peccati): ‘Left to us for our struggles, concupiscence is not capable of harming those who, refusing to yield to it, resist it courageously through the grace of Christ. Moreover, ‘the one who has fought the good fight will be crowned’ (2 Tim 2:5)” (Council of Trent: DS 1515).

1265Baptism not only cleanses one of all sins, but also makes the neophyte ‘a new creation ’ (2 Cor 5:17), an adopted child of God (cf. Gal 4:5–7) who has become ‘a partaker of the divine nature’ (2 Pet 1:4), a member of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 6:15; 12:27) and a co-heir with Him (Rom 8:17), a temple of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 6:19).

1266The Most Holy Trinity bestows upon the baptised person sanctifying grace, the grace of Justification, which – enables them to believe in God, to hope in Him and to love Him through the theological virtues; – enables them to live and act under the guidance of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Holy Spirit; – enables them to grow in goodness through the moral virtues. Thus, the whole structure of the Christian’s supernatural life has its roots in Holy Baptism.

1260 “Since Christ died for all, and since man’s ultimate calling is truly one and the same, namely, to be divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all, in a way known to God, the possibility of being associated with the Paschal Mystery” (GS 22; cf. LG 16; AG 7). Any person who, unaware of the Gospel of Christ and his Church, seeks the truth and does the will of God as they know it, may be saved. It may be assumed that such people would have explicitly desired Baptism had they known of its necessity. 1261As for children who have died without Baptism, the Church can only entrust them to God’s mercy, as she does in the rite of funeral for them. Indeed, God’s great mercy, which desires that all people be saved (cf. 1 Tim 2:4), and Jesus’ tenderness towards children, which led him to say: ‘Let the children come to me; do not hinder them’ (Mk 10:14), allow us to hope that there is a path to salvation for children who have died without Baptism. All the more urgent, too, is the Church’s call not to prevent little children from coming to Christ through the gift of Holy Baptism. 1262 The various effects of Baptism are signified by the sensible elements of the sacramental rite. Immersion in water draws on the symbolism of death and purification, but also of regeneration and renewal. The two principal effects are therefore the cleansing from sins and the new birth in the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 2:38; Jn 3:5). 1263 Through Baptism, all sins are forgiven: original sin and all personal sins, as well as all the penalties of sin (cf. DS 1316). Indeed, in those who have been regenerated, nothing remains that would prevent them from entering the Kingdom of God: neither the sin of Adam, nor personal sin, nor the consequences of sin, the gravest of which is separation from God. 1264 In the baptised person, however, certain temporal consequences of sin remain, such as suffering, illness, death, or the frailties inherent in life, such as weaknesses of character, etc., as well as an inclination towards sin which Tradition calls concupiscence, or, metaphorically, ‘the root of sin’ (fomes peccati): ‘Left to us for our struggles, concupiscence is not capable of harming those who, refusing to yield to it, resist it courageously through the grace of Christ. Moreover, ‘the one who has fought the good fight will be crowned’ (2 Tim 2:5)” (Council of Trent: DS 1515). 1265 Baptism not only purifies from all sins, but also makes the neophyte ‘a new creation " (2 Cor 5:17), an adopted child of God (cf. Gal 4:5–7) who has become "a partaker of the divine nature" (2 Pet 1:4), a member of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 6:15; 12:27) and a co-heir with him (Rom 8:17), a temple of the Holy Spirit (cf. 1 Cor 6:19). 1266 The Most Holy Trinity bestows upon the baptised person sanctifying grace, the grace of justification, which – enables them to believe in God, to hope in Him and to love Him through the theological virtues; – enables them to live and act under the guidance of the Holy Spirit through the gifts of the Holy Spirit; – enables them to grow in goodness through the moral virtues. Thus, the whole structure of the Christian’s supernatural life has its roots in Holy Baptism.