# Is "limbo" a real thing for christians/Catholics? Or is it made-up? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [January 23, 2026, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945 "2026-01-23T01:17:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Icerigger](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icerigger/32/432_2.png) [@Icerigger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icerigger)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/41 "2026-01-23T19:31:43Z")
From the above article. **Given all of these “reasons for hope,” one might think** the conclusion of the commission would be absolutely certain and definitive. But it was not. The conclusion was that we cannot have the same level of certainty of the salvation of infants who die without baptism that we do for infants who have been baptized. Hence, the commission emphasized what the Church has emphasized for 2,000 years: there still is and always will be the absolutely crucial need for parents to baptize their babies! This truth is paramount. So the babies can still burn! ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/42 "2026-01-23T19:38:40Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > IOW, why didn’t (doesn’t) some pope put on his _ex cathedra_ hat and say “babies get in free?” Interestingly, one of those articles which @DrDeth shared indicates that, prior to becoming pope, Cardinal Ratzinger (who became Pope Benedict XVI) was, in fact, advocating for getting rid of Limbo: > [@](#): > > It [the 2007 document] did not do what many expected—that is, completely abandon Limbo, as Benedict had said the Church _should_ do back when he was Cardinal Ratzinger. But it did reduce the teaching’s prominence. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/43 "2026-01-23T20:29:40Z")
> [@Dinsdale](#): > > Just wondering exactly what distinction is intended. What portions of christian/Catholic doctrine are NOT made-up? There is dogma, i.e. Official stuff. _Limbo is not, nor ever has been dogma_. Now it is not even supposed to be taught, it seems. > [@Jas09](#): > > Not to speak for @Whack-a-Mole , but I assume his distinction is based on what is in the official catechism of the Roman Catholic Church and what falls into the category of “believe it if you like, but it’s not canon”. > > As mentioned, the 1992 catechism does not mention Limbo. And the 2007 theological report gives an official statement for why it is not necessary in the view of the church. > > By contrast, purgatory is in the official catechism of the church. It is at least somewhat defined, and is official doctrine. Right. Not doctrine, not dogma. > [@Dinsdale](#): > > But then they seemed to keep changing the rules - to my mind, somewhat arbitrarily, or for marketing purposes. The Catholic Church has been becoming more liberal, more up with the times. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/44 "2026-01-23T20:37:32Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > There is dogma, i.e. Official stuff. _Limbo is not, nor ever has been dogma_. Now it is not even supposed to be taught, it seems. Let me know when the Roman Catholic Church officially disavows the existence of Limbo. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/45 "2026-01-23T20:39:26Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Let me know when the Roman Catholic Church officially disavows the existence of Limbo. Why should they? It never was Dogma. And why did you ask this question in the first place? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/46 "2026-01-23T20:41:52Z")
Why should they? Because it used to be taught, and now it is winked at. I asked this question because the answer has been hinted at, but never actually answered. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/47 "2026-01-23T20:52:19Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Because it used to be taught, and now it is winked at. [https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/guest-voices/pope-benedict-closed-limbo-and-no-one-complained](https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/guest-voices/pope-benedict-closed-limbo-and-no-one-complained) _Make no mistake about it, though, Benedict killed Limbo just as much as the Second Vatican Council killed the Latin Mass. Hypothesis or not, no one is going to teach it. Limbo will become a theological anachronism that historians of theology note but everyone else ignores. It is not mentioned, for example, in “The Catechism of the Catholic Church.”…Benedict threw it out the window. He threw open the gates of heaven for the unbaptized, reversing centuries of church teaching._ ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/48 "2026-01-23T21:03:22Z")
but I thought the concept of Purgatory was an income stream during the Reformation era? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/49 "2026-01-23T21:13:15Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > I thought the concept of Purgatory was an income stream during the Reformation era? To quote myself, from yesterday: > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > That is what’s called an “indulgence” in the Catholic Church – through prayer and doing good works, one can seek intercession for the soul of someone who has died, and is still in Purgatory, to, in essence, shorten their time in Purgatory. > > Indulgences – particularly the abuse of them, by the Church selling indulgences for money – were the prime reason for Martin Luther to pen the Ninety-Five Theses, which led to the Protestant Reformation. So, “purgatory as an income stream for the Catholic Church” is what _triggered_ the Reformation. ---
**Author:** ![fedman1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e495f1/32.png) [@fedman1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fedman1)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/50 "2026-01-23T21:17:42Z")
sorry, I should have scrolled down before replying; but what you cited as unbaptized babies being ‘sinless’, doesn’t that contradict Psalm 51 which says “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me”, so there are no ‘sinless’ persons ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/51 "2026-01-23T21:20:05Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > So, “purgatory as an income stream for the Catholic Church” is what _triggered_ the Reformation. It still is an income stream, at least it was in the 80s in Germany. I was an altar boy at my local Catholic parish, and whenever my parents or other relatives ordered a mass to be read for one of our deceased, they gave me a an envelope with a 50 Deutschmarks bill to hand out to the priest. There was no fixed price, but it was an unofficial custom that it cost money. Wedding or funeral services probably were even more expensive (us altar boys even sometimes got 10 Deutschmarks for a wedding service from the family, but I surely didn’t invest it in my salvation 😉) . I don’t know what the priests/parishes do with that cash, if it’s properly taxed, but I suspect that’s still a thing in many parts of the world. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/52 "2026-01-23T21:22:01Z")
> [@fedman1](#): > > but what you cited as unbaptized babies being ‘sinless’, doesn’t that contradict Psalm 51 which says “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me”, so there are no ‘sinless’ persons I’m not a theologian, much less a Catholic theologian, so I can’t really answer that for you. [The Catholic Church does believe in “original sin,”](https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/using-the-bible-to-explain-original-sin) but Catholic theologians in the past and present have clearly held that babies and small children were free of “personal sin,” and that they would not go to Hell if they were unbaptized. Maybe it was just a rationalization or “carve-out” made to counter the argument of, “but what has a baby done to deserve eternal damnation?” _shrug_ ---
**Author:** ![SirCreep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sircreep/32/20434_2.png) [@SirCreep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SirCreep)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/53 "2026-01-23T23:34:24Z")
I think you’re thinking of purgatory. That and limbo had better be synonymous 😐 ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/54 "2026-01-23T23:37:53Z")
Anyone else remember being constantly admonished to pray for “the pagan babies?” and my understanding of Purgatory was “Minimum Security Hell with guarantee of eventual parole.” ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2026, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/55 "2026-01-23T23:40:52Z")
> [@SirCreep](#): > > … Purgatory. That and limbo had better be synonymous 😐 Read the thread. They are very much _not_ synonymous. ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2026, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/56 "2026-01-24T00:37:11Z")
So Dante doesn’t have it all his own way regarding purgatory. That’s good to know. I studied The Purgatorio in college. All these decades later, all I remember is that, for the sin of sloth, souls were required to jog. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2026, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/57 "2026-01-24T01:09:26Z")
So hell, basically. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2026, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/58 "2026-01-24T01:17:37Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > and my understanding of Purgatory was “Minimum Security Hell with guarantee of eventual parole.” That’s one of many possible interpretations of Purgatory which is consistent with the Church’s teachings. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2026, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/59 "2026-01-24T01:21:21Z")
> [@SirCreep](#): > > That and limbo had better be synonymous Purgatory is Canon/Dogma. Limbo is not and never has been either. Now, apparently babies just go to heaven- or so they say. > [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > and my understanding of Purgatory was “Minimum Security Hell with guarantee of eventual parole.” Not far off, but no torture or anything. Just realizing what you had done that was wrong, and giving you chances to repent. But not a happy place either. ---
**Author:** ![OttoDaFe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ottodafe/32/356_2.png) [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)\ **Post date:** [January 24, 2026, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945/60 "2026-01-24T05:31:30Z")
> [@TreacherousCretin](#): > > Anyone else remember being constantly admonished to pray for “the pagan babies?" … Not just pray for them, pay for them. Every year there was a drive to collect nickels and dimes so that a PB could be “ransomed” and brought into the bosom of the Church. I have an “adoption certificate” for one such lucky waif which is an absolute non-pc hoot (and loaded with symbolism to boot). I haven’t had the best of luck embedding Imgur links, but here goes: [[Album] imgur.com ![](https://i.imgur.com/iJab0bs.jpeg?fb "imgur.com") ](https://imgur.com/a/FOk0HEj) As I told my siblings when I shared it with them (it had gone missing for decades), there is absolutely no evidence that “Cornelius Thomas” ever existed. My bet is that Richard, Emory and Lawrence used the proceeds to get drunk on sacramental wine in the sacristy; but we’ll never know. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-limbo-a-real-thing-for-christians-catholics-or-is-it-made-up/1026945.md?page=4)