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It seems that many in the Church have accepted the notion that all people are going to Heaven. That makes it rather unnecessary to join the Catholic Church, and indeed it doesn’t matter how you behave. We are going to spend some time on this earth, and then we’ll go to our reward, where we’ll meet Napoleon, Pol Pot, Stalin, Ho Chi-minh, Henry VIII and Chairman Mao.
So many of the modern jingles that masquerade for hymns these days assume that we’ll all be OK in the end. And some bishops go as far as to openly propose that we have little to worry about. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/column/how-many-are-saved-2383 The Church has power to make commandments for Catholics (Matt 18:18). Bishops may decide on laws for individual cases, but in the English-speaking world there are six Commandments of the Church.
1 To keep the Sundays and Holy Days of obligation holy, by hearing Mass and resting from servile work; 2 To keep the days of fasting and abstinence appointed by the Church; 3 To go to confession at least once a year; 4 To receive the Blessed Sacrament at least once a year and that at Easter or thereabouts; 5 To contribute to the support of our pastors; 6 Not to marry within a certain degree of kindred nor to solemnize marriage at the forbidden times. |