Understood the title? It’s a Latin phrase meaning “no salvation outside the Church”. The phrase originates from the writings of Saint Cyprian of Carthage in the 3rd century, who used it in the context of a controversy about the validity of baptisms performed by heretics. I again watched the tv show with the two Priests and was astounded by what sensible things these people from time to time have to say. The Priest, who also is a Monk, explained to the audience that “no salvation outside the Church” mustn’t be stripped from its context because it as a stand-alone phrase would be a heresy, no matter whether quoting a Saint!

The Priest then elaborated on the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37), where Jesus already explained the same thing. Not just some random people ignored the wounded man, but they were a Priest and a Levite. So to belong to a certain religion doesn’t make you better! Only the Samaritan, though the Samaritans had forked off from Judaism and had an own Temple, behaved like God demanded. So God ignores organizations and whether He grants you salvation will only depend upon whether or not you do what God asks you to do. Other people interpret the Catholic doctrine in the same way. So it mustn’t be an excuse for Catholics for feeling above members of other religions or other denominations!