(For those interested in further reading, see the Catholic Encyclopedia’s excellent summary of the history of the doctrine, and these concise and very helpful articles by Dr. Augustine’s idea proved influential and some variation of it has been taught ever since. Augustine held that without Baptism none could be saved (on account of original sin), but that unbaptized infants had not committed any personal sin that would merit particular punishment. Augustine formulated the notion of what would be described later as the “Limbo of the Children,” ( limbus infantium or limbus puerorum). The fifth-century heretic Pelagius took the comforting but intellectually slack way out by simply denying the reality of original sin and therefore also denying the necessity of infant Baptism. The doctrine of Limbo developed out of theological controversy concerning two Truths that are difficult to reconcile: (1) God wills the salvation of all, while (2) Baptism is necessary for salvation.
Limbo is a complicated topic, and there has been much speculation and debate about it throughout the history of the Church. Dante focuses his discussion on the virtuous pagans, but historically Catholics have been far more interested in the fate of unbaptized infants. IV.33-42)Īs presented by Dante, there are two groups of souls here, the “virtuous pagans” and infants who died without baptism. In this alone we suffer:Ĭut off from hope, we live on in desire. They did not worship God the way one should Which is the gateway to the faith you follow,Īnd if they came before the birth of Christ, Was not enough, for they did not know Baptism, The souls found in Limbo are presented by Dante’s fictional guide Virgil as blameless:
In the next article we will consider the Limbo of the Fathers and the Harrowing of Hell here we will look at Limbo in general. He brings us to Limbo, which he describes as a place of “sighs of untormented grief.” In just under 150 lines of poetry, he will present three doctrines-of varying authority-that are often misrepresented, misinterpreted, or simply misunderstood: Limbo, the particular Limbo of the Fathers, and the Harrowing of Hell. In the fourth canto of Inferno, Dante brings us into the first circle of his version of hell. Image: Chart of Hell by Sandro Botticelli
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