8.125. I don’t believe in Baptism of Desire or Baptism of Blood for salvation. The Church says we need to be baptized in water—so those must be false.
That position is actually a heresy, historically known as the Feeney error. While it is true that sacramental water baptism is the ordinary means of salvation, the Catholic Church has always taught that in extraordinary circumstances, someone may be saved through Baptism of Desire or Baptism of Blood. This has been affirmed for centuries by the Church’s Ordinary Magisterium, the Council of Trent, St. Thomas Aquinas, St. Alphonsus Liguori, and many others.
Baptism of Desire refers to someone who explicitly desires baptism, has perfect contrition, and dies before receiving the sacrament—such as a catechumen. Baptism of Blood refers to those who die as martyrs for Christ before they are baptized with water. In both cases, the person is united to Christ by charity and receives sanctifying grace, not by the sacrament itself, but by the desire or martyrdom that substitutes for it when reception is impossible.
The Feeneyite position, named after Fr. Leonard Feeney, falsely claimed that absolutely no one could be saved without the reception of water baptism—even if they had faith, charity, or died as a martyr for Christ. This position was formally condemned by the Holy Office under Pope Pius XII in 1949 in the letter Suprema haec sacra. The Church stated clearly that martyrdom for Christ (Baptism of Blood) and desire for baptism (Baptism of Desire) can indeed suffice for justification and salvation, when water baptism is genuinely unavailable.
This condemnation was not new. The Council of Trent had already taught that justification is not possible “without the laver of regeneration or the desire thereof.” St. Thomas Aquinas taught that “a man may obtain salvation without being baptized with water, but he cannot obtain salvation without the desire thereof.” St. Alphonsus Liguori, a Doctor of the Church, wrote: “It is de fide that men may be saved by baptism of desire or of blood.” To deny these truths is to contradict not only theologians, but the consistent Tradition of the Church.
Here is a side-by-side summary of the Catholic position and the Feeneyite error:
| Category | True Catholic Teaching | Feeneyite Error | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Water Baptism | Ordinary means of salvation; absolutely necessary when possible | Only means of salvation in all cases | Church affirms necessity of water baptism ordinarily, but not exclusively |
| Baptism of Desire | Accepted for catechumens with perfect contrition | Rejected entirely | Explicitly affirmed by Council of Trent and saints |
| Baptism of Blood | Accepted for martyrs who die for the Faith | Rejected entirely | Affirmed by Tradition and Magisterium since the early Church |
| Church Teaching | Based on Sacred Tradition, Scripture, and Magisterial authority | Based on personal interpretation of “no salvation outside the Church” | Feeneyism distorts the true meaning of the dogma |
| Condemned? | No; fully Catholic doctrine | Yes; formally condemned by the Holy Office (1949) | Even traditional popes and theologians rejected Feeneyism |
Summary:
To be clear: Baptism of Desire and Baptism of Blood do not replace the sacrament as a norm. But they are real and efficacious exceptions, recognized by the Church in cases of impossibility, without fault on the part of the soul. God binds us to the sacraments—but He Himself is not bound by them. Denying this is not theological rigor—it is heresy. Feeneyism misrepresents the dogma extra Ecclesiam nulla salus (no salvation outside the Church) by twisting it into a caricature that contradicts the Church Fathers, the Magisterium, and reason itself.
In summary: It is Catholic teaching that water baptism is necessary for salvation when it can be received. But the Church also teaches with equal certainty that those who die with the desire for baptism, or in martyrdom for Christ, can be saved without it. To deny this is to repeat the Feeney heresy, which was formally rejected by the true Church long before Vatican II.
Further reading: