| Limbo's Days Are Numbered |
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The secular press is having a field day. The concept of Limbo is being reviewed by the Catholic Church. In the Old Testament era, Limbo was a place where the dead went to wait for Christ to redeem them and open the doors to Heaven. Later, Limbo was a place for unbaptized infants who had died. Not being baptized prevented them from entering Heaven. The latter view of Limbo was developed around the 13th Century. This was a response to the harsh teachings of some theologians that any child who died before being baptized was still stained with Original Sin and would go to Hell. Limbo was devised as a place of mercy for these innocent souls. This week, an international commission of Catholic theologians met with Pope Benedict to discuss eliminating Limbo from Catholicism. The pope has never been a great fan of Limbo. In 1984, as Cardinal and the head of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, he said, "Limbo has never been a defined truth of faith. Personally, speaking as a theologian and not as head of the Congregation, I would drop something that has always been only a theological hypothesis." Pope John Paul II also wanted "a more coherent and enlightened way" of defining the fate of unbaptized innocents. So it looks like the concept of Limbo will be dropped from Catholicism. This of course is great amusement for the secular press. They see this as Catholics changing doctrines. What's next? Purgatory will be dropped as well? Maybe the Church will allow contraception. While they're at it, why not review all of the Ten Commandments? One should keep in mind that the primary goal of the secular media is entertainment and advertising sales, not presenting the facts after exhaustive research. With the recent stories that are being published on Limbo, one has to wonder if these reporters even bothered to find out what the Catholic position is? If they did, their story wouldn't have been as entertaining as what they had published. |
