Limbo of the Infants

What happens to unbaptized children who die?

There is no infallibly defined doctrine in the Catholic Magisterium, but a reflection on Our Lord’s Words in Holy Scripture leads to the following conclusion, which is the ‘Common Opinion’:

«Unbaptised infants who are incapable of making an act of desire, but who have committed no ‘Actual Sin’ (a technical term differentiating from ‘Original Sin’) are not eligible, by any way that has been revealed to us, for Supernatural Life and the Beatific Vision [If God has such a way, He has not revealed it to us. This heads off the temptation of a parent to kill their child and say, ‘I am sending him to Heaven’]. But, having committed no sin, they are given no suffering. They enter the place or state on ‘the Border’ (Limbus) of Heaven, where they enjoy an eternity of Natural Happiness. They do not suffer on account of the lack of the Beatific Vision, because it is not in our nature. In the same way, we do not suffer because we cannot fly like a bird. No injustice is done here, because neither they nor we have a Right to supernatural happiness, which by definition is ‘above our nature’.»

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Some of the confusion on the subject is due to the failure to distinguish between natural happiness and supernatural happiness.

I think the best analogy was given by C. S. Lewis. The following is my extension of his words. If cats are in the Next World, if they are in ‘Limbus félicis’ … the mice and milk are plentiful, and there are no dogs or fleas…. if they are in ‘Caelum féilicis’, they are enabled to talk and think like a human being, and to join in our life.

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Here is an extract from New Advent Website…

<<The New Testament contains no definite statement of a positive kind regarding the lot of those who die in original sin without being burdened with grievous personal guilt. But, by insisting on the absolute necessity of being "born again of water and the Holy Ghost" (John 3:5) for entry into the kingdom of Heaven (see BAPTISM, subtitle Necessity of Baptism), Christ clearly enough implies that men are born into this world in a state of sin, and St. Paul's teaching to the same effect is quite explicit (Romans 5:12 sqq.). On the other hand, it is clear from Scripture and Catholic tradition that the means of regeneration provided for this life do not remain available after death, so that those dying unregenerate are eternally excluded from the supernatural happiness of the beatific vision (John 9:4, Luke 12:40, 16:19 sqq., 2 Corinthians 5:10; see also APOCATASTASIS). The question therefore arises as to what, in the absence of a clear positive revelation on the subject, we ought in conformity with Catholic principles to believe regarding the eternal lot of such persons. Now it may confidently be said that, as the result of centuries of speculation on the subject, we ought to believe that these souls enjoy and will eternally enjoy a state of perfect natural happiness; and this is what Catholics usually mean when they speak of the limbus infantium, the "children's limbo.”>>

See

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09256a.htm

A rumour was circulated some years ago that ‘the Catholic Church has discarded the dogma of Limbo’. This was a ‘planted story’ with no basis in actual fact. This piece of Fake News was refuted by Pope Benedict.