Salvation outside of Cathic Church?

[Anastasia13]

What, if there is one, is the official position of the Catholic Church on salvation outside of the church? How does that view effect the determination of salvation for Protestants, i.e. what does it mean for us?

[Laudate_Dominum]

Here is what the Church says about it:

[quote][The Council] relies on sacred Scripture and Tradition in teaching that this pilgrim Church is necessary for salvation. Christ alone is the mediator of salvation and the way of salvation. He presents himself to us in his Body, which is the Church. When he insisted expressly on the necessity for faith and baptism, he asserted at the same time the necessity for the Church which men would enter by the gateway of baptism. This means that it would be impossible for men to be saved if they refused to enter or to remain in the Catholic Church, unless they were unaware that her foundation by God through Jesus Christ made it a necessity.
Full incorporation in the society of the Church belongs to those who are in possession of the Holy Spirit, accept its order in its entirety with all its established means of salvation, and are united to Christ, who rules it by the agency of the Supreme Pontiff and the bishops, within its visible framework. The bonds of their union are the profession of faith, the sacraments, ecclesiastical government and fellowship. Despite incorporation in the Church, that man is not saved who fails to persevere in charity, and remains in the bosom of the Church "with his body" but not "with his heart." All the Church's children must be sure to ascribe their distinguished rank to Christ's special grace and not to their own deserts. If they fail to correspond with that grace in thought, word and deed, so far from being saved, their judgment will be the more severe.[/quote]
That was from Lumen Gentium (The Dogmatic Constitution on the Church).

If you are still curious here are some links that explain things in more detail:

[url="http://www.ewtn.com/library/SCRIPTUR/EXTRAECC.TXT"]http://www.ewtn.com/library/SCRIPTUR/EXTRAECC.TXT[/url]
[url="http://www.ewtn.com/library/SCRIPTUR/OUTSID.TXT"]http://www.ewtn.com/library/SCRIPTUR/OUTSID.TXT[/url]
[url="http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ106.HTM"]http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ106.HTM[/url]


God bless.