Exposing Eli, Is Limbo A Doctrine or A Dogma

EXPOSING ELI: IS LIMBO A DOCTRINE OR A DOGMA?
By: Pastor Manny

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Eli Soriano, the leader of Members of the Church of God International (MCGI), believes that the
issue of limbo contradicts the Catholic Church such as the infallibility. The reason why he said
that is because of the fact that he quoted Pope Benedict XVI. According to Eli Soriano:
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“If Catholic popes speak infallibly (ex-cathedra) as they claim, why is it that the present
pope declared that limbo, which was part of the teachings of all previous popes, is non-
existent [1]?”
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The problem with his statement was that he already answered his question without even noticing
it. Think about it for a while. If limbo is a dogma or a doctrine of the Church, by definition, no
Pope can change that teaching. The fact that Pope Benedict XVI did not see the necessity of
limbo, it follows that limbo is not a dogma nor a doctrine. He already answered the question
without even knowing. And yet, he continued doing the same error by assuming that limbo is a
doctrine just to push his argument that the Catholic Church contradicts herself. It’s like me
saying, “The triangle has four sides.” I am the one who is in error when I made that statement
because that statement is contradictory just as saying that the Pope changed what was infallibly
taught because, by definition, no one can change an infallible decision. Other than that, in his
article, he tried to cite from the Catholic dictionary to show that the limbo of infants is an “article
of the Catholic faith” which would mean that it’s required for everyone to believe.
Unfortunately, by reading what the dictionary actually said, it’s clear that he misread it. In his
article, he presented an image of the dictionary that says:
.
“Regarding the limbo of infants, it is an article of the Catholic faith that those who die
without baptism, and for whom the act of baptism has not been supplied in some other
way, cannot enter heaven. This is the teaching of the ecumenical councils of Florence and
Trent [1].”
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To make it clear to everyone, grammatically, the “article of the Catholic faith” is not referring to
the “limbo of infants”, but to “those who die without baptism, and for whom the act of baptism
has not been supplied in some other way, cannot enter heaven.” To read the definition and then
say, “tadaaa, limbo of infants is a dogma” is simply a misreading of the text. At the same time, it
doesn’t just refer to those people who die without baptism, it also mentions people “for whom
the act of baptism has NOT BEEN SUPPLIED in some other way.”
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Another issue that I have with his article is the fact that he did not quote everything from the
dictionary. As seen in the photo below, the same photo that he used in his article, he just ended
the quotation with “Florence and Trent”. In fact, if we will continue reading the dictionary, we
can see it saying:
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“Trent declared, "Since the Gospel was promulgated, this passing cannot take place
without the water of regeneration OR THE DESIRE FOR IT, as it is written, 'Unless a
man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God'
(John 3:5)" (Denzinger 1524) [2].”
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It’s clear from the statement above that the council of Trent does not claim that those who were
never baptized will never enter the Kingdom of God but it also includes the “DESIRE FOR IT.”
For example, the thief on the cross was saved without being baptized, but he had the desire to be
baptized assuming that he did not die because he had faith in Jesus Christ and repented, a
necessity to be baptized for mature men (Acts 2:48). If we continue reading the same dictionary
that Soriano misquoted, we can see a clearer statement about the belief regarding the possibility
of the infants to reach heaven. The dictionary continues by saying:
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“St. Bernard suggested that such infants could reach heaven because of the faith of their
parents (De Baptismo I, 4; II, 1) [2].”
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How could Eli Soriano claim to his followers that the Catholic Church denied the possibility of
the unbaptized infants to enter the Kingdom of God if the same dictionary that he cited claimed
otherwise? As mentioned by St. Bernard, it’s possible for the infants to enter heaven because of
the faith of the parents which could be a reason for the infants to receive the application of
baptism. Lastly, I hope that the members of the Members of the Church of God International will
see how Soriano is not speaking the truth because Soriano is forcing his own opinion that the
popes speak infallibly about the limbo when the same dictionary claims that:
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“The Church has never defined the existence of limbo, although she has more than once
supported the fact by her authority.”
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References:
[1] http://www.controversyextraordinary.com/2016/10/all-souls-day-all-saints-day-
prophecy.html?m=1&fbclid=IwAR2XZPgf9X6wFFwA3vKsg7el_1csCOzrQlv-8b5z-
6Uo_Dqp4Z3kEeyhSR0
[2]https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/dictionary/index.cfm?
id=34603&fbclid=IwAR3cQRjHuiT6lxO5tFoO5_GQ2h6jYAW5xBlJjJRSnoNQk03qeolWjqgxa
Ng
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EXPOSING ELI: IS LIMBO A DOCTRINE OR A DOGMA?

By: Pastor Manny

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