There is no Salvation outside the Church

     Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus. Outside of the Church there is no salvation. What is meant by this statement. Are all those who have never heard of the Church supposed to simply perish? What about those who do good deeds in the name of a different God? Or the Protestants, what about them?
     The Statement which is the title is not meant to signify the absolute necessity of the Catholic Church. Those who cannot be part of the Church for a variety of reasons are granted special grace. In general however, the statement means exactly what you think it means; no one who is outside of the Church can receive grace.
     Some people look at this statement and think about how unfair it is. How come I have to be part of the Catholic Church? Why can't I just be a good person? The reason is this; all men have sinned and therefore have fallen short of the glory of God. Without the grace and redemption from Christ, we cannot live with a God who we have not given adequate glory to. Heaven would be beyond any man's reach. The truth is that we need the grace of the sacraments to cleanse us from our sin and to keep us pure. We need those sacraments, and only the Catholic Church can administer them in their entirety. Christ himself instituted the Church, and Christ himself gave his apostles the duty of distributing the sacraments. The direct lineage of bishops comes from the apostles, and that tradition administers the sacraments through the Church.
     Due to the concept of sacraments; people of different religions and Protestants especially sometimes receive the grace from them. Protestants often engage in Baptism and the Eucharist; they gain grace through those measures. Likewise, other religions often have their own rituals. For instance, those who practice the Islamic Faith are required to pray five times a day; under certain conditions a person could receive grace for that.
     So the statement outside the Church there is no salvation is only partially true. The real truth though, is that inside the Church there is undoubtedly, incontrovertibly, and undeniably  a guaranteed salvation.