Is Feeneyism Catholic? - Society of St. Pius X

16 IS F EENEYISM C ATHOLIC?
Closer to us, in our modern pagan world, a mother does not
need a missionary to tell her: “Thou shalt not kill thy little baby in
thy womb.” Every fiber of her being tells her she is made to give
life and love her children. Her “sincerity” and “invincible ignorance”
of the truths of Faith are incapable of forgiving her sin of
abortion, though she may not be guilty of a sin against faith.
To think that invincible ignorance of the truths of Faith is
sufficient to excuse all sins is akin to the condemned proposition:
“there is no mortal sin except infidelity” (Dz. 837).
This is what St. Paul says of ignorance: “This then I say and
testify in the Lord: That henceforward you walk not as also the
Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind: having their understanding
darkened: being alienated from the life of God through
the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their
hearts, who despairing have given themselves up to lasciviousness,
unto the working of all uncleanness, unto covetousness” (Eph
4:17-19). Is he not describing today’s world?
Sins are forgiven only through the infusion of sanctifying
grace, 18 which goes with the virtues of faith (Catholic!), 19 hope
and charity. This infusion of grace is normally given for the first
time in Baptism, which has been established by Our Lord Jesus
Christ in order to give this grace to sinners: it is the means given
by Our Lord to receive it for the first time. (Yet the Author of
grace is not limited by the means He established.)
WHAT ABOUT THE “GOOD HEATHEN”?
It is a very common error of the modern world to believe that
there is such a thing as a “good heathen.” No, without the grace of
Christ, no one can be good, avoiding all mortal sins! To deny this
is the Pelagian heresy.
One must remember that the moral law does not only contain
the last seven commandments. Please, do not forget the first
three! Pagan worship and any false worship are against the First
Commandment and are very grievously sinful. Thus idol worship,
practices of witchcraft, Buddhism or Hinduist worship are
against the moral law.
18 ST, I-II, Q.109, A.7; Q.113, A.2.
19 Ibid., Q.113, A.4.