According to the Los Angeles Times:

In the 5th century, St. Augustine declared that all unbaptized babies went to hell upon death. By the Middle Ages, the idea was softened to suggest a less severe fate, limbo.

In his Divine Comedy, Dante characterized limbo as the first circle of hell and populated it with the great thinkers of ancient Greece and Rome, as well as leading Islamic philosophers.

The document published Friday said the question of limbo had become a “matter of pastoral urgency” because of the growing number of babies who do not receive the baptismal rite. Especially in Africa and other parts of the world where Catholicism is growing but has competition from other faiths such as Islam, high infant mortality rates mean many families live with a church teaching them that their babies could not go to heaven.

Father Thomas Weinandy, executive director for doctrine at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the document “addresses the issue from a whole new perspective — if we are now hoping these children get to heaven, there is no longer any point in worrying about limbo.”

So basically Father Weinandy is saying that century old beliefs can be changed on a whim based on cultural changes and modern practicality. If all it takes is ‘hope’ to change the teachings of the Church then why don’t we stop arguing about issues like gay marriage and just start hoping? Apparently it’s a far more effective catalyst for change.

Having been raised a Catholic, its been difficult to see my faith in the Church diminish over the years. Most of what I accepted as a child no longer seems to be applicable to my life, so I look to more open-minded sources for answers. I completely agree that Church teachings should reflect modern issues, but you can’t pick and choose what changes and what remains the same.

If you are going to say that teachings regarding celibacy, for example, are set in stone, then don’t start making exceptions for situations like this. It’s blatant hypocrisy. It seems like the Church is more concerned with helping itself than those who dedicate their lives to the faith. What an unsettling thought.

Until the Church realizes that people are looking for a faith whose teachings resonate with modern day issues, religious fanatics will continue to exist and the shortage of clerics and followers will surely jeopardize it’s stronghold of the faith community in the future.