Out Of Limbo?

[Lonan3]

It seems likely that the pope is about to abolish the idea of 'Limbo' or 'Purgatory' - a sort of halfway house where souls of stillborn or unbaptised kids, or those who are not a complete state of grace, go to while they wait for entry into Heaven.

Link

 

My question is; can I get a refund on all the pennies I Voluntarily (?) put in the boxes for prayers for the souls trapped in this in-between place when I was a kid?

 

NB: In this respect, Islam is far more humane in its belief that stillborn children automatically find a place in Heaven

[Chinahand]

I'm intrigued by this and most things theological. Doing little more than quoting the article Lonan3 has posted I find it amazing that the pope can say things such as:

 

The Pope, himself, has been quoted in the past as saying that he would let the idea of limbo "drop, since it has always been only a theological hypothesis".

 

He was quoted as saying that limbo has never been a "definitive truth of the faith".

 

He's using the language of science ... is he saying the notions of heavan and hell are more than hypotheses? I'd love to see the evidence for that!

 

Then there's this:

 

The current review of limbo began in 2004, when Pope John Paul II asked the commission to come up with "a more coherent and enlightened way" of describing the fate of such innocent babes.

 

If we are talking about a factual event finding a more enlightened way of describing it isn't relevent and is just so much window dressing. I don't care how various theologians describe the fate of people after death, I'm much more interested in knowing what it actually is ... I presume this involves rotting and turning to goo, but have always been interested in other ideas!

 

And then there's this:

 

Father Brian Harrison, a theologian, told the BBC News website that while limbo may have been a "hypothesis", he argues that the clear "doctrine of the Catholic Church for two millennia has been that wherever the souls of such infants do go, they definitely don't go to heaven".

 

He argues that this is borne out in the various funeral rites for unbaptised children practised by the Church.

 

"A papal decree reversing the firm Catholic belief of two millennia that infants dying unbaptised do not go to heaven would be like an earthquake in the structure of Catholic theology and belief," he said.

 

If removing limbo still leaves the unbabtised not going to heaven ... what ever that is ... then this is even more window dressing.

 

Prior position: the unbabtised don't go to heaven, they go to limbo.

 

New position: the unbabtised don't go to heaven, but they don't go to limbo.

 

Gosh that's helpful thank you!

 

Plus my understanding of Catholic theology tells me this in no way affects Purgatory, which is something entirely different, but sounds similar ... thought you'd like to know that!