The church and the unbeliever: recent Roman Catholic theology with special reference to Vatican II

Abstract

This thesis is an attempt to state and document recent changes in attitude of the Roman Catholic Church to those who are not Roman Catholics, Pre-Vatican II Catholicism used "Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus" in an exclusive manner, deifying that those not in communion with the Pope could be in Comnunion with Christ. It will be shown that the exact nature of this exclusivism needs careful study and statement. The middle section of the thesis provides detailed study of the Vatican II documents related to the problem of the Church and the Unbeliever. For the first time official Catholicism admits the ecclesial reality of other comunions and allows that there are many possible ways of approach to God. The final section gives evidence of the implementation of the Vatican II decrees but notes that Official Catholicism is Invariably cautious in its advance. The contrast with pre-Vatican II literature with its presumptions of membership and a clearly-defined Church is remarkable testimony to the working-out of Pope John XXIII's "aggiornamento" in the life of the Church