Catholics Must Believe and Profess that the Sacramental System as a whole is Necessary for Salvation (de fide)

By Brother Peter Dimond, O.S.B.

Source: vaticancatholic.com

Another very important aspect to this issue is the Dogmatic Profession of Faith issued by the Council of Trent and by Vatican Council I.  Both councils infallibly declared that the sacramental system as a whole is necessary for salvation, and this truth must be professed and believed by all Catholics and by converts.

Pope Pius IV, “Iniunctum nobis,” Nov. 13, 1565, ex cathedra: “I also profess that there are truly and properly seven sacraments of the New Law instituted by Jesus Christ our Lord, and necessary for the salvation of mankind, although all are not necessary for each individual…”[1]

Notice that Pope Pius IV in “Iniunctum nobis,” the Profession of Faith of the Council of Trent, declares that “the sacraments” as such (i.e., the sacramental system as a whole) are necessary for man’s salvation, but it adds that all are not necessary for each individual.  This is very interesting and it proves two points:

1) It proves that every man must receive at least one sacrament to be saved; otherwise, “the sacraments” as such (i.e. the sacramental system) couldn’t be said to be necessary for salvation.  Hence, this definition (besides the others) shows that each man must at least receive the Sacrament of Baptism in order to be saved. 

2) Notice that the Council of Trent (and Vatican I below) made it a special point when defining this truth to emphasize that each person does not need to receive all of the sacraments to be saved!  This proves that where exceptions or clarifications are necessary in defining truths the Councils will include them!  Thus, if some men could be saved without “the sacraments” by “baptism of desire” then the Council could have and would have simply said that.

But nothing about salvation being possible without the sacraments was taught in these dogmatic professions of Faith.  Rather, the truth that the sacraments are necessary for salvation was defined, with the necessary and correct qualification that all 7 of the sacraments are not necessary for each person.

The First Vatican Council repeated the same Profession of Faith, which is a dogma.  It made this Profession in the very first statement on Faith at Vatican I.

Pope Pius IX, Vatican Council I, Sess. 2, Profession of Faith, ex cathedra: “I profess also that there are seven sacraments of the new law, truly and properly so called, instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ and necessary for salvation, though each person need not receive them all.”[2]

No matter how hard one tries to avoid it, “baptism of desire” is incompatible with this truth, a truth which must be professed and believed by Catholics and by converts from heresy.  In fact, this dogma blows away the theory of baptism of desire.

Fr. Francois Laisney (Believer in Baptism of Desire), Is Feeneyism Catholic, p. 9: “Baptism of Desire is not a sacrament... it does not produce the sacramental character.”