This article is about Catholic Theology. For other uses of the term, see Limbo (disambiguation).
In Catholic theology, limbo describes the temporary status of the souls of good persons who died before the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the permanent status of the unbaptised who die in infancy (without having committed any personal sins, but without having been freed from original sin).
The root meaning of limbo is "boundary". While "limbo" is often popularly understood to be a "place where souls go", the term also describes and reflects theological uncertainty. As such, limbo is not part of the Church's official doctrine (compare purgatory, which is). Official Church teaching remains that the status of these souls (who don't seem to deserve hell, yet cannot follow the divinely-revealed path to heaven) is in limbo -- in other words, their fate cannot be determined.
The foundational importance of the sacrament of baptism (either the ritual baptism by water or the personal baptism by desire) in Catholic theology gives rise to the argument that the unbaptised are not eligible for entry into heaven, because the original sin of human nature precludes the unbaptized from the pure beatific vision enjoyed by the souls in paradise.
Since infants are incapable of either professing their faith or performing acts of Christian charity, babies rely upon their parents (or other caregivers) to bring them up in the faith. If, for whatever reason, an infant dies unbaptized (see infant baptism,) many eminent theologians have argued that a merciful and just God would not condemn infants to the torments of hell.
These same speculations often extend to encompass God's salvific plans for the mentally handicapped, children younger than the age of reason, and the unborn. Catholic theologians have speculated that a just and merciful god may, in some mysterious way incomprehensible to human minds, give these souls the chance to accept or reject's God's grace, and thereby earn themselves a place in heaven or hell.
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