Baptism of Desire and Theological Principles by Fr. Cekada

[Vetus Ordo]

Loopholes in the sense that "water" in John 3:5 has to be explained away as a relative necessity. Not that such principle is in itself foreign to the interpration of Scripture, of course. Now, I'm not saying that BoD invariably leads to those distressing opinions about Jews and Muslims being saved in their religions, sometimes without even knowing it, but the fact remains that such opinions were common even before the Council and that all men who held them, also (and naturally) believed in BoD.

I always remember St. Thomas conjecturing something along the lines of God sending an angel to preach and baptise one of his elect that is lost somewhere in the jungle before missionaries could arrive at the spot. That seems to be the most correct interpretation of extraordinary circumstances: God providing all that is necessary to the elect, including baptism.