Do unborn or unbaptized babies go to heaven?

[Michie]

Question: What of children who die in the womb or of babies and young children who die before baptism? Can we suppose that they are in heaven?

— Richard Mackin Jr., Maine

Answer: The Scriptures do not address such a matter, and God has not explicitly revealed to us the destiny of unbaptized children. But, it is generally held by the Church that children who die in the womb, or die before age seven without being baptized, do enjoy happiness with God in heaven.


Continued below.

Do unborn or unbaptized babies go to heaven?

A reader asks: “What of children who die in the womb or of babies and young children who die before baptism? Can we suppose that they are in heaven?” While the Scriptures do not address such a matter, and God has not explicitly revealed to us the destiny of unbaptized children, it is generally...

www.oursundayvisitor.com

 

[SavedByGrace3]

When I was 4 months old my mother came into the nursery and found me blue and not breathing. It took them 15 minutes to get me to the hospital. They believed me to be dead, and the Episcopal priest was called to baptize me. They somehow revived me and, thinking I had polio, put me in a iron lung for ??? long. Turns out no. Years later, desiring to be scripturally correct, I was baptized by "dunking."
I do think unbaptized babies are not culpable. Interested in seeing the Catholic line on this.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

It use to be taught that unbaptized babies went to "Limbo." However, this was misunderstood
by Catholics for many years. "Limbo," essentially means a state of unknown. In other words,
the Church doesn't know.

Also, the Church doesn't know when ensoulment takes place. So, she choose to error on the
side of life, which is why she opposes abortion from conception to birth.

 

[SavedByGrace3]

It use to be taught that unbaptized babies went to "Limbo." However, this was misunderstood
by Catholics for many years. "Limbo," essentially means a state of unknown. In other words,
the Church doesn't know.

Also, the Church doesn't know when ensoulment takes place. So, she choose to error on the
side of life, which is why she opposes abortion from conception to birth.

Ahhhhh... good response. "Ensoulment" Never heard of that.

 

[Ain't Zwinglian]

Ahhhhh... good response. "Ensoulment" Never heard of that.

There are two distinct understandings of "ensoulment." First, God creates a perfectly good soul and places it into a tainted body of sin....and at a later date the soul becomes tainted with sin. The problem with this is God stopped creating on the seventh day and also this would make God the author of sin. For God Himself, made the body tainted with sin, he is the author of it. This view allows the soul to be placed in the body at a later date.

The other response which many protestants take, especially Lutherans as it is their Confessions (FC 1:7 ¶27-28). The corrupt soul is passed on through propagation at conception. The full argument goes like this:

• The soul of the newborn infant is derived from its parents, in the same way Eve’s soul was derived from Adam. Scripture informs us God breathed life into man only once and we are never told that it was repeated. Therefore, God breathed the breath of life (soul) into Adam not Eve. Eve acquires her soul from Adam. We see a similar instance in the Incarnation. Jesus derives his sinless nature from the Holy Spirit and not from Mary

• In conformity to Scripture, the place where the seat of sin resides is the soul. This is the immaterial part of man. In the Fall, Adam’s sin now resides in his soul. Adam’s sin is passed on from parent to child through propagation. That propagation includes the sinful soul. How this occurs is unknown and how the soul contracts sin is unknown. Scripture is silent on this issue.

• With the soul contaminated, we inherit Adam’s sin. When the sinful soul is passed on from parent to child through propagation, this explains how an infant could be sinful and guilty without having committed sins personally. .

• This then also relieves God from the charge of being the author of sin or responsible for its continuance. Adam and Adam’s descendants are solely responsible for the continuance of sin. Sin is therefore not an external substance or learned behavior of the environment, but the very part of the essence of what it means to be a person.

 

[Michie]

Since the Church Has Not Said When Ensoulment Occurs, Does That Make Abortion and Embryonic Research Morally Acceptable?

The Declaration on Procured Abortion states the foll...

www.catholic.com

A Person From the Moment of Conception

In the final analysis, I guess Horton really does have it right: “A person is a person, no matter how small.”

www.catholic.com

When Babies Get Their Souls

One of the arguments used by pro-abortion individual...

www.catholic.com

Because early scientists observed nothing distinctively human at primitive stages of human development (they knew nothing of genetics and possessed no microscopes), it was concluded no human soul was present.

Modern biology has shown the conceptus does have distinctively human traits. It is living and possesses a human genetic code to guide its growth and development. If Aquinas had had the benefits of this knowledge, his principles would have led him to conclude ensoulment occurs at conception.

Was St. Thomas Aquinas Wrong about When Human Life Begins?

Notwithstanding his belief in delayed animation and ...

www.catholic.com

 

[SavedByGrace3]

There are two distinct understandings of "ensoulment." First, God creates a perfectly good soul and places it into a tainted body of sin....and at a later date the soul becomes tainted with sin. The problem with this is God stopped creating on the seventh day and also this would make God the author of sin. For God Himself, made the body tainted with sin, he is the author of it. This view allows the soul to be placed in the body at a later date.

The other response which many protestants take, especially Lutherans as it is their Confessions (FC 1:7 ¶27-28). The corrupt soul is passed on through propagation at conception. The full argument goes like this:

• The soul of the newborn infant is derived from its parents, in the same way Eve’s soul was derived from Adam. Scripture informs us God breathed life into man only once and we are never told that it was repeated. Therefore, God breathed the breath of life (soul) into Adam not Eve. Eve acquires her soul from Adam. We see a similar instance in the Incarnation. Jesus derives his sinless nature from the Holy Spirit and not from Mary

• In conformity to Scripture, the place where the seat of sin resides is the soul. This is the immaterial part of man. In the Fall, Adam’s sin now resides in his soul. Adam’s sin is passed on from parent to child through propagation. That propagation includes the sinful soul. How this occurs is unknown and how the soul contracts sin is unknown. Scripture is silent on this issue.

• With the soul contaminated, we inherit Adam’s sin. When the sinful soul is passed on from parent to child through propagation, this explains how an infant could be sinful and guilty without having committed sins personally. .

• This then also relieves God from the charge of being the author of sin or responsible for its continuance. Adam and Adam’s descendants are solely responsible for the continuance of sin. Sin is therefore not an external substance or learned behavior of the environment, but the very part of the essence of what it means to be a person.

Thank you for the explanation. Good info to know.

 

[JimR-OCDS]

For the Church, ensoulment is when the soul enters the body of the unborn. Some believe it's at
the moment of conception, but early miscarriages present a problem with this belief. Others believe
that it happens when the fetus is viable, about 21 weeks. Still others believe it only happens when the
child is born which is problematic. Scripture tells us about Mary visiting St Elizabeth and the child within
her(John the Baptist) leapt for joy at the sound of Mary's presence. So according to our belief, ensoulment
took place before birth.

Either way, the only belief the Church teaches is that it is better to error on the side of life. So, the
Church teaches that life begins at conception, which it does, and that life must be protected from that
moment and through birth.

 

[WarriorAngel]

As we pray for sinners in purgatory, a baby who never 'intentionally sinned' is released from the level closest to Heaven by a single prayer or one Mass.
Never feeling pain, I suppose they remain as a small babe wrapped in love despite not being in the Beautific presence immediately.