Bishop John T. Steinbock
April 2008
My Dear People of God,
The number of unborn children is countless. Besides the millions of unborn children who are killed by abortion, it is also estimated that throughout the world one in five pregnancies end in a miscarriage. Older Catholics remember from the days of their catechism that baptism is necessary for salvation, and that Limbo was a place where unbaptized children would go after death. Many Catholics may not realize it but Limbo was just a theological opinion, and was never part of the official teaching of the Church.
Last year the Holy See initiated a study on this very question and an International Theological Commission published a study entitled “The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die without Being Baptized.” The conclusion of the study is that “there are theological and liturgical reasons to hope that infants who die without baptism may be saved and brought into eternal happiness, even if there is not an explicit teaching on this question found in Revelation.”
This document urges people, especially parents, to confide those children who die without Baptism to the superabundant mercy of God. It quotes the prayer of the Church in the liturgy for the burial of an unborn child: “God of all consolation, searcher of mind and heart, the faith of these parents is known to you. Comfort them with the knowledge that the child whom they grieve is entrusted now to your loving care.”
It also quotes Pope John Paul II in his Encyclical “The Gospel of Life” where he speaks words of compassion and love for women who have had an abortion. He tells them: “The Father of mercies is ready to give you his forgiveness and his peace in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. You will come to understand that nothing is definitively lost and you will also be able to ask forgiveness from your child, who is now living in the Lord.”
God does not demand the impossible and God can give the grace of Baptism to someone who is unable to receive it. Catholic parents should do everything possible to ensure that their children are baptized as soon as possible after birth, but if an unborn child or young child dies without baptism, parents should find comfort from the teaching of the Church, entrusting with hope their unbaptized children to the merciful love of our God.
And may all of us entrust ourselves also to our merciful, loving Lord, who died, not to condemn us but to save us. God bless you all very, very much