![]() Pelagius denied that anyone inherited Original Sin at birth, so no infant had any need for the sacrament of baptism. Pelagius reasoned that since infants had neither Original Sin nor any personal sins, they had no need at all to be baptized. ( Photo: Flicker/Roman Catholic archdiocese of Boston) A.D. 344–418), who taught that there was no such thing as Original Sin. This was, in large part, in response to Pelagius (c. They defined it as an upper chamber of Hell, a place where all the unbaptized go: all those who died before, during or just after birth, including those who, through no fault of their own, died without the grace of baptism.ĭigging a little deeper, despite its nebulous nature, the concept of limbo got loads of traction from theologians. ![]() In the Pastįor many centuries, Catholic theologians have speculated about limbo. Thankfully, many now dismiss the idea of limbo altogether, if they think about it at all, and realize that God sent His Son into the world to redeem humanity - not to condemn to limbo all those who die before birth or are killed through abortion. Individuals like me, who had family members die at birth, welcomed this beautifully written study. This document ended the idle speculations. The Church has never officially made any doctrinal pronouncements regarding limbo. Under his approval, a commission of theologians produced The Hope of Salvation for Infants Who Die Without Being Baptized. To them, this place was basically a "Hell light."īut in 2007, but Pope Benedict XVI came to the rescue. And its occupants were denied ever seeing God. ![]() Many mistakenly think that limbo is part of Purgatory - or even just a different name for it. To add to the confusion, Sacred Scripture does not mention limbo even once.Īs I heard it bantered about in my youth, limbo was said to be in an upper chamber of Hell, without the sulfur and brimstone. The second definition, the one being addressed here, is "the permanent place or state of those unbaptized children and others who, dying without grievous personal sin, are excluded from the beatific vision on account of original sin." The first is called the limbo of the patriarchs. The Catholic Encyclopedia describes it as "the temporary place or state of the souls of the just who, although purified from sin, were excluded from the beatific vision until Christ's triumphant ascension into Heaven." But even after understanding it, I argue that we should do away with it altogether.įor the sake of clarity, there are two theological definitions for limbo. Most Catholics, including clerics, have never had a clear understanding of it. While never officially declared as a dogma, the idea of limbo as a border place developed in the Middle Ages to address the thorny theological question of the fate of infants who died without baptism.Despite being a hot topic going back to the early Church, the theological opinions regarding limbo have never been confirmed as official Church doctrine. The word “limbo” means border or something joined on. With Pope Benedict XVI’s approval, the commission stated in 2007 that there is hope unbaptized infants may be saved. In 2004, a Vatican commission declared the traditional view of limbo as “unduly restrictive” of salvation. The role of limbo in Catholic theology has declined. Later theologians taught limbo as an intermediate place between heaven and hell. Some Church Fathers, like Augustine, argued they could not enter heaven without baptism, while others believed unbaptized infants were admitted to eternal life. This concept developed in the Middle Ages as theologians debated the fate of unbaptized infants. They are considered not condemned to hell but deprived of heaven.
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