[Matthew 8]
{8:5} And when he had entered into Capernaum, a centurion approached, petitioning him,
{8:6} and saying, “Lord, my servant lies at home paralyzed and badly tormented.”
{8:7} And Jesus said to him, “I will come and heal him.”
{8:8} And responding, the centurion said: “Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant shall be healed.
{8:9} For I, too, am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
{8:10} And, hearing this, Jesus wondered. And he said to those following him: “Amen I say to you, I have not found so great a faith in Israel.
{8:11} For I say to you, that many shall come from the east and the west, and they shall sit at table with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.
{8:12} But the sons of the kingdom shall be cast into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
{8:13} And Jesus said to the centurion, “Go, and just as you have believed, so let it be done for you.” And the servant was healed at that very hour.

The Roman Centurion was not a Jews, nor a disciple or follower of Jesus of Nazareth. And yet Jesus states that he has great faith, more so than is found among the Jews to whom Jesus was preaching in Israel. As a centurion, this man would be a believer in the Roman pagan religion of gods and goddesses. As there is very little religious or moral truth in such a belief system, it is a kin to atheism. The pagan religions did not teach morality, as the Jewish faith does with the Ten Commandments. Not much that any pagan religion teaches on religion is true, other than that divine persons exist, and that people should believe and worship. Pagan religions do not really help anyone on the path of salvation. So they are not much different from atheism or agnosticism.

So how could the centurion have great faith? The infused virtues of love, faith, and hope are not only given to Christians, who explicitly believe in Christ and who enter the Church by the formal Sacrament of Baptism with water. A person can enter the state of grace and receive the virtues of love, faith, and hope by an implicit baptism of desire. Now the Centurion was not baptized with water as he was not a disciple of Christ, and he was not a Christian. But since Jesus states that he had great faith, he must have had love, faith, and hope; otherwise, faith without love and hope is a dead faith and would not be called great. So the centurion was in the state of grace — as evidence by his love for his servant.

[Luke 7]
{7:1} And when he had completed all his words in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.
{7:2} Now the servant of a certain centurion was dying, due to an illness. And he was very dear to him.
{7:3} And when he had heard about Jesus, he sent elders of the Jews to him, petitioning him, so that he would come and heal his servant.
{7:4} And when they had come to Jesus, they petitioned him anxiously, saying to him: “He is worthy that you should provide this to him.
{7:5} For he loves our nation, and he has built a synagogue for us.”
{7:6} Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying: “Lord, do not trouble yourself. For I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof.
{7:7} Because of this, I also did not consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant shall be healed.
{7:8} For I also am a man placed under authority, having soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”
{7:9} And upon hearing this, Jesus was amazed. And turning to the multitude following him, he said, “Amen I say to you, not even in Israel have I found such great faith.”
{7:10} And those who had been sent, upon returning to the house, found that the servant, who had been sick, was now healthy.

The centurion ordered that a synagogue be built for the Jews, even though he was not a Jew. This and his love for his servant, shows that the centurion was in the state of grace, as evidenced by deeds of love, faith, and hope.

And here we see an example of what Pope Saint John Paul II taught in Mission of Redemption:

“10. The universality of salvation means that it is granted not only to those who explicitly believe in Christ and have entered the Church. Since salvation is offered to all, it must be made concretely available to all. But it is clear that today, as in the past, many people do not have an opportunity to come to know or accept the gospel revelation or to enter the Church. The social and cultural conditions in which they live do not permit this, and frequently they have been brought up in other religious traditions. For such people salvation in Christ is accessible by virtue of a grace which, while having a mysterious relationship to the Church, does not make them formally part of the Church but enlightens them in a way which is accommodated to their spiritual and material situation. This grace comes from Christ; it is the result of his Sacrifice and is communicated by the Holy Spirit. It enables each person to attain salvation through his or her free cooperation.

“For this reason the Council, after affirming the centrality of the Paschal Mystery, went on to declare that ‘this applies not only to Christians but to all people of good will in whose hearts grace is secretly at work. Since Christ died for everyone, and since the ultimate calling of each of us comes from God and is therefore a universal one, we are obliged to hold that the Holy Spirit offers everyone the possibility of sharing in this Paschal Mystery in a manner known to God.’ [GS 22]”

Like the centurion, some persons do not explicitly believe in Christ or Christianity, and have not received formal Baptism with water, but they are saved by Christ and His Church, and are implicit members of the Church, the Sole Ark of Salvation.

Atheists as well as non-Christian believers today generally do know about Christianity, and so their decision to reject Christ and His Church is an objectively grave sin. However, this sin may not have the full culpability of actual mortal sin, due to invincible ignorance. Such persons therefore can still be in the state of grace, which they can obtain by an implicit baptism of desire. And this is true for non-believers (atheists, agnostics) as well as non-Christian believers. There is an objective and grave obligation for each person to find religious and moral truth, and to adhere to it, and therefore an obligation to find Christianity and be baptized. However, those who fail might not be guilty to the extent of actual mortal sin. So they can possibly be saved.

Pope Pius IX: “Here, too, our beloved sons and venerable brothers, it is again necessary to mention and censure a very grave error entrapping some Catholics who believe that it is possible to arrive at eternal salvation although living in error and alienated from the true faith and Catholic unity. Such belief is certainly opposed to Catholic teaching. There are, of course, those who are struggling with invincible ignorance about our most holy religion. Sincerely observing the natural law and its precepts inscribed by God on all hearts and ready to obey God, they live honest lives and are able to attain eternal life by the efficacious virtue of divine light and grace. Because God knows, searches and clearly understands the minds, hearts, thoughts, and nature of all, his supreme kindness and clemency do not permit anyone at all who is not guilty of deliberate sin to suffer eternal punishments.”

The easiest and surest path to eternal life is to be a believing and practicing Catholic. However, those who fail to realize that they ought to be Christian and Catholic can still be saved, just as Pope Pius IX explains. He states the obligation to become Christian and Catholic, and yet he allows for the possibility of salvation for those who fail without full culpability.

An atheist can love his neighbor, in full cooperation with grace, and thereby implicitly love God, while failing to realize that what he loves in his neighbor is the image of Christ. And like the centurion, an atheist can have great faith, but this faith is implicit. Such a person can be an implicit member of the Church, and thereby be saved by Christ and His Church.

Ronald L Conte Jr