How many people will enter Heaven?
Dear Australian Bishops
Below are two documents. The first tells us that outside the Catholic Church there is no salvation. Given that around 80% of the world's population is not Catholic, and doesn't seem to be moving toward conversion in any great numbers, it is reasonable to accept that at most one fifth of humans will be saved. Recalling that two thirds of the angels were saved, we are by comparison not doing all that well.
But it gets worse. The sermon of St Leonard (the second document), whose writings were examined and approved by the Church as part of his elevation to sainthood, reckons that few of that one fifth will be saved.
This does not look good for us, given that we already have seen the judgement of the angels, and have learned little from the past.
In today's Catholic parishes, Mass attendance is down from about 80% in the middle of the twentieth century to under 10% today, and in some parishes less than 5%, things don't seem to be going well for our eternity. Attendance at Mass every Sunday is necessary for salvation.
In summary, 10% of 20% brings us down to around 2% of mankind eligible for eternal life.
And among those who actually turn up every Sunday, we learn that only around two thirds believe in the Real Presence in the Western world. This reduces those who are likely to be saved to less than 1.5%.
And then we have the problem of contraception among Catholics. Perhaps somewhere around 90%.
So the figure for those saved could be around 0.15%. Little better than one in a thousand.
That figure assumes that those Catholics who don't use contraception have no other vice in their lives.
One of the problems we face is that many Catholics rarely get information on morals from the pulpit, and clearly have come to accept that these sins are no longer treated as seriously as in the past.
If the above is substantially on target, it would not be impossible to conciude that fewer than 1 in 1 000 are likely to be saved. Imagine seeing a crowd of 1 000 people, and contemplating that all but one will end up being damned for eternity.
Given that this is our second chance (the first was with Adam), this performance is truly dreadful. But only if we can identify the reason can we do something about it.
Of course, my logic could be all wrong. I may have misinterpreted the nature of the evidence, or perhaps have used incorrect data. There is the argument that some will be saved by deathbed confessions. St Alphonsus Liguori tells us in PREPARATION FOF DEATH that these are likely few in number.
I should be grateful if you could help me by pointing out my errors.
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