Given that as Catholics we believe that life begins at
conception, it would necessarily follow that an unborn child
has a soul. If so, are the souls of aborted children lost to
limbo as well? I know of several contrite mothers who have
suffered the pains of an abortion and been consoled by clergy
assuring them that their child is in Heaven. Given your
explanation of limbo, this cannot be... can it? A
reader in Alexandria
Before addressing the question at hand,
we must first be clear on two points.
First, the idea of
limbo is a theological speculation, not a defined doctrine of
the Catholic Church. Remember we must uphold what our Lord
taught concerning the necessity of Baptism: He said, "I
solemnly assure you, no one can enter God's kingdom without
being begotten of water and Spirit" (John 3:5). Therefore,
the Catechism rightly asserts, "The Church does not
know of any means other than Baptism that assures entry into
eternal beatitude" (#1257). Limbo, consequently, was a
speculation as to what happened to the souls of children in
particular who died and who through no fault of their own
were not baptized. They did nothing to warrant eternal
damnation in Hell, but because of Original Sin and the lack
of Baptism they could not enter Heaven. Consequently,
theologians, including St. Thomas Aquinas, posited there was
a limbo, a place of benign existence. Nevertheless, the
teaching of limbo still remains undefined and speculative.
Second, the unborn child is indeed a person at the moment of
conception. The Declaration on Procured Abortion
asserted, "From the time that the ovum is fertilized, a life
is begun which is neither that of the father nor of the
mother; it is rather the life of a new human being with his
own growth. It would never be made human if it were not human
already" (#12). The Church, however, does not specifically
define when ensoulment takes place. However, we rightly
believe that Almighty God infuses the soul into the body when
in accord with His will that creation is a person: for most
of us, that would be at conception, but for identical twins
or others, this would be after the initially fertilized
single ovum divides. Here again the Church emphasizes that
life is sacred from that moment of conception and must be
protected. Even if a doubt existed about the personhood of
the child in the womb, to risk murder would be an objectively
grave sin (#13).
Returning now to the fate of children who
are murdered through abortion, or die in the womb before
birth, or are miscarried, or are born but die without the
benefit of baptism, the Catechism asserts, "The Church
can only entrust them to the mercy of God, as she does in her
funeral rites for them. Indeed, the great mercy of God, who
desires that all men should be saved, and Jesus' tenderness
toward children which caused Him to say, 'Let the children
come to me, do not hinder them,' allow us to hope that there
is a way of salvation for children who have died without
Baptism" (#1261). Therefore, while upholding our Lord's
teaching about the necessity of Baptism, we also focus on
"the great mercy of God." Throughout Sacred Scripture the
mercy of God is extolled: For instance, Psalm 136 reminds us,
"His mercy endures forever," and Psalm145:8-9 proclaims, "The
Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and of great
kindness. The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward
all His works." Throughout the Gospel, Jesus dealt mercifully
with sinners who had freely chosen to sin. St. Paul wrote,
"God is rich in mercy; because of His great love for us, He
brought us to life with Christ when we were dead in sin"
(Ephesians 2:4-5). In all, Sacred Scripture consistently
emphasizes the infinite mercy of God.
Because of our firm
belief in God's infinite mercy and His universal salvific
will that all should be saved, we have a genuine hope that
there is indeed a way of salvation for children who have died
without the benefit of Baptism through no fault of their own.
After all, could we not rightly speculate that the desire of
the parents, of the whole Church, of the child (who is made
in God's image and likeness, and at least in the most simple
way has a natural longing for God), and of God Himself is
truly a desire for salvation? Just as those adults, who
through no fault of their own know neither the Gospel of
Christ or His Church but seek God with a sincere heart and
live by the dictates of their conscience with the help of His
grace, may attain eternal salvation (Dogmatic Constitution
on the Church, #16), we certainly trust that a helpless,
innocent child who has died in the womb, been aborted, been
miscarried, or died without the benefit of Baptism will not
be abandoned by the Lord or denied His saving grace.
This
hope is evident in the "living faith" of our Church. Pope
John Paul II in EvangeliumVitae, when
compassionately addressing women who have had abortions,
wrote, "...You will also be able to ask forgiveness from your
child, who is now living in the Lord" (#99). Such a statement
indicates the Holy Father's trust in the infinite mercy of
God for these children and their place in the Heaven. In the
Opening Prayer for the funeral Mass of an unbaptized child,
the priest offers one of the following prayers: "Lord, listen
to the prayers of this family that has faith in you. In their
sorrow at the death of this child, may they find hope in your
infinite mercy," or, "Father of all consolation, from whom
nothing is hidden, you know the faith of these parents who
mourn the death of their child. May they find comfort in
knowing that he is entrusted to your loving care."
Interestingly, prior to the Second Vatican Council, a priest
always offered the Mass of the Angels for the children who
died without baptism, entrusting their care to the Guardian
Angels who look upon the face of God in Heaven. The graces of
atonement of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass which flow from
the death and resurrection of our Lord must surely give
repose to these children and comfort to their grieving
families. Moreover, we celebrate the Feast of the Holy
Innocents on December 28, who are considered martyrs for the
faith although they were neither technically baptized nor
knew Christ. Surely, the victims of abortion must be
considered modern martyrs, who have shed their blood just
because they were created by God yet rejected by others.
While we may still struggle with this issue and find tension
due to the lack of definitive teaching, we place our trust in
the Lord. While the Lord has revealed to the Church that
Baptism is the means of salvation, He is not restricted in
offering other graced means unknown to the Church to these
helpless children, and for such means the Church has great
hope. However, such a hope in the infinite mercy of God must
not make us complacent and thereby negligent in having
children baptized or in evangelizing others. Rather, we must
conscientiously fulfill our duty and enable all people to
come to the Lord through Baptism.