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Hi Michael,
Thanks for the question.
It depends.
If one knows the Catholic Church
to be the one Church founded by Our
Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and
has sought to understand with [his|her]
mind, Her Divine Teachings, yet refuses
to enter:
Yes, that person gravely
risks [his|her] salvation and cannot be saved. (CCC 846)
No man or woman can damn anyone to
Hell. Only Jesus, the True Judge
and Lord of all, judges and allows
others to damn themselves through
their free will.
In your situation, if John Doe was
an active member of the First Assembly
of God, but was unaware that Jesus
founded one Church on St. Peter and
His successors before ascending into
Heaven, he would not be culpable
for what he didn't know.
Through the Church, he would receive
many graces that would encourage
him to investigate and look into
the Church's Teachings, doctrines
and history. If he refused
to follow these suggestions of the
Holy Spirit, he would be more culpable,
but we can't say whether his degree
of culpability is worthy or unworthy
of his salvation. Only the
Lord can decide this at his particular
judgment, a judgment we will all receive.
If John Doe was an active member
of the Catholic Church, but has left
and is now an active member of the
Assembly of Gods, he gravely risk
his salvation, if he knows that the
one, true Church Jesus founded is
the one he has left.
Church scandals or no scandals — the
gates of Hell will not prevail, Matthew
16:17-19, on
issues of faith and morals.
He has an obligation to develop his
conscience and knowledge on an ongoing
basis, even as a Assembly of God
minister or lay person and be open
to returning to the Church which
is wounded by his leaving.
Being a minister of a false Christian
Church doesn't ensure salvation,
like the ark in the
Old Testament. Only the Catholic
Church can save from the flood as
it is the New Testament symbol of
the Ark of the Covenant.
Some of our previous replies may
give you a better understanding of
what we believe:
I hope this helps,
Mike
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