As stated in the
Baltimore Catechism...
Q. Is Baptism
necessary to salvation?
A. Baptism is
necessary to salvation, because without it we cannot enter into the kingdom of
heaven.
As explained by the
Catechism of St. John Neumann...
Q. Why can we
not be saved without Baptism?
A. Because we
are cleansed from original sin only by Baptism.
Some Reflections...
"Jesus answered
and said to him: Amen, amen, I say to thee, unless a man be born again, he
cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith to him: How can a man be born
when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born
again? Jesus answered: Amen, amen, I say to thee, unless a man be born again of
water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is
born of the flesh is flesh: and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
(Jn. 3:3-6)
"The sacrament of
Baptism is said to be necessary for salvation in so far as man cannot be saved
without, at least, Baptism of desire; 'which, with God, counts for the deed'
(Augustine, Enarrationes in Psalmos 57)." (St. Thomas Aquinas, Doctor of the
Church and "greatest theologian in the history of the Church") [Note:
'Baptism of desire' would be applicable only to cases where it is NOT possible to receive the
Sacrament of Baptism (try
here for more on 'baptism of desire').]
"If any one saith
that baptism is optional, that is, not necessary to salvation; let him be
anathema." (Council of Trent)
"And because of
the transgression of the first man, the whole stock of the human race was
tainted; no one can be set free from the state of the old Adam save through
Christ's sacrament of baptism." (Pope St. Leo I the Great, Doctor of the Church)
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