Unborn Children And Salvation

[tinytherese]

So do unborn children that are aborted or miscarried go to heaven?

[Pio Nono]

JMJ
2/23 - St. Polycarp (St. Peter Damian)

tinytherese,

I'm liable to be crucified for any answer I give to this, but here goes:

St. Augustine was one of the first to argue that a literal baptism with water was the [i]sine qua non [/i]of salvation - anyone who was not baptized with water was, according to him, going straight to Hell, without passing "Go" and without collecting two hundred dollars.

The Church fairly quickly realized that this was a problem once Augustine died. Thus, many theologians posited a "middle ground" that would save the necessity of baptism for salvation AND keep so many people from going to Hell. They proposed the idea of "limbo," a state of eternity where good, unbaptized people go after they die. "Limbo" is basically a realm of eternal, earthly pleasures. Thus, the unbaptized don't go to Heaven, but they don't go to Hell, either.

The only problem is that theological "limbo" is basically the same type of eternity that Islam calls "Heaven"; that is to say, I don't see any difference between the heaven of Muslims and the Limbo of the theologians. I don't think I'm being unfair when I say this.

So, it's a question that is essentially unanswered at this point. It is clear that unbaptized babies don't go to Hell. Where they go is still up for grabs; most serious theologians today would not argue for the "limbo" hypothesis.

I hope this helps, at least a little.

Yours,
Deacon Pio Nono

[StColette]

It has always been my opinion that we should leave this up to the mercy of God. Scripture is filled with many references toward God's love and care for the little ones.

Now, I agree with Pio Nono, that it is unclear where these souls go, other than the fact that they are not in Hell. It's just one of those mysteries. I believe this further pushes the cause for prayers for those unborn who have been killed through abortion or were miscarriages.

[CatherineM]

As someone who has experienced miscarriages, I will say that I take comfort in the idea that the fate of my children lies in God's hands. I continue to pray for them, and hope to meet them again someday.