Is Feeneyism Catholic? - Society of St. Pius X

60 IS F EENEYISM C ATHOLIC?
of blood is of no avail to salvation; therefore there is no true martyrdom
outside the Church, as St. Fulgentius, quoted by the
Council of Florence, said. Now since such baptism of blood for
Christ has more power unto sanctification than baptism of water,
and yet outside the Church it cannot save, it follows that baptism
of water outside the Church cannot save. Who does not see that
this earliest testimony in favor of the dogma Outside the Church
there is no salvation is completely distorted from its meaning if one
denies baptism of blood?
In §22 St. Cyprian was most explicit about baptism of blood,
and founded his doctrine on several passages of the Gospel.
In §23 we find a typical case of baptism of desire; this is the
oldest testimony on this topic. St. Cyprian considered what to
think of those converts baptized outside the Church and received
in the Church only with the sacrament of penance without rebaptism.
According to his opinion, they had an invalid baptism.
Though this was not the case in the early Church when even the
heretics were baptizing properly, it can happen today; indeed in
former days the Church considered that, for the certitude of the
sacrament, given the fact that some Protestant sects were not baptizing
properly, we ought to rebaptize conditionally except if the
proof was made of the validity of the first baptism. But, out of
ecumenism, the presumption has now been turned around (not
to rebaptize unless one has the proof of invalidity); hence the door
is opened to cases where converts from Protestantism who really
had an invalid baptism are received without being baptized. So
what happens to them? They have the Catholic faith, live “with
simplicity” and “have fallen asleep in the Church,” yet without a
valid baptism! St. Cyprian gave then the very same answer which
will be always given by the Fathers and Doctors after him: “Potens
est Deus misericordia sua–God is powerful in His Mercy” to save
them! This passage is quoted by St. Robert Bellarmine: thus far
from being disapproved by the Church, the Fathers on this point
of doctrine have been constantly approved by her.
Note that St. Cyprian considered both to be in the Church:
the Catholic catechumen martyrs “advance from the divine
camp,” i.e., they go to the battle against the persecutor as belonging
to the Army of Christ, the Church! And the men with baptism
of desire “fall asleep in the Church.”