Francisco Suárez and the non-believers

Abstract

The discovery of the «New World» led many theologians in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to discuss the possibility of salvation for non-believers. Among these was the Jesuit, Francisco Suárez (1548-1617). This article shows how Suárez distinguished between three orders of infidels (tres ordines infidelium): 1) those to whom the faith was proposed to believe in a sufficient manner but who refused to believe: 2) those who never heard anything about the faith; 3) those who heard something of the faith but in an insufficient manner. Although Suárez believes the infidels of the first order cannot be saved, he does believe those in the second and third orders can be saved if: a) they are not culpable for rejecting the faith; b) they are not guilty for sins against the natural law; c) they are seeking the truth; and d) they have a desire to belong to the Church at least in desire and longing. The article concludes by showing how the view of Suárez led to theological development in the Catholic Church leading to the teaching of Vatican II in Lumen gentium, 16.