Catholic News Agency reports on the death of Scott Adams, creator of the “Dilbert” comic strip, who publicly professed belief in Christ shortly before dying from cancer at age 68. The article notes Adams had “previously announced his intention to convert to Christianity” in January 2025 before his January 13, 2026 death, with his social media account posting a “final message” stating: “I accept Jesus Christ as my lord and savior, and I look forward to spending an eternity with him.” The report emphasizes Adams’ legacy as a cartoonist and his political controversies while framing his conversion as a positive spiritual conclusion.
Naturalistic Reduction of Conversion
The article reduces the supernatural mystery of conversion to a psychological phenomenon, stating Adams converted because “any skepticism I have about reality would certainly be instantly answered if I wake up in heaven.” This frames faith as intellectual curiosity rather than the virtus infusa (infused virtue) described by the Council of Trent (Session VI, Chapter VII), which teaches justification requires “the instrumental cause of baptism” and “the disposition of him who is justified.” No mention is made of sacramental confession, final unction, or reception of the Holy Eucharist – the ordinary means of salvation taught in Pope Eugene IV’s Exultate Deo (1439).
Omission of Doctrinal Requirements
Nowhere does the article mention Adams’ acceptance of Catholic dogma or submission to the Church’s authority. The Catechism of the Council of Trent (Part I, Chapter III) explicitly states: “He cannot be saved who, knowing the Church to have been divinely instituted by Christ, nevertheless refuses to submit to her.” Adams’ vague reference to “Jesus Christ as my lord and savior” echoes Protestant sola fideism condemned by Pope Pius X in Lamentabili sane (Proposition 25: “Faith… is ultimately based on a sum of probabilities”). The article’s silence on Adams’ ecclesial status reveals the conciliar sect’s abandonment of extra Ecclesiam nulla salus.
Sacramental Amnesia
The report completely ignores the necessity of sacraments for salvation – a cornerstone of Catholic teaching reaffirmed by Pope Innocent III at the Fourth Lateran Council (Canon 1: “One indeed is the universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved”). Pius XII’s Mystici Corporis Christi (1943) further clarified that “only those are to be included as members of the Church who have been baptized and profess the true faith.” Adams’ deathbed declaration – absent any evidence of baptism, confession, or reception into the Church – receives uncritical celebration, demonstrating the neo-church’s de facto adoption of religious indifferentism condemned in Pope Pius IX’s Syllabus of Errors (Proposition 16).
Celebrity Hagiography Replaces Discernment
By emphasizing Adams’ professional achievements (“renowned cartoonist”) while minimizing doctrinal substance, the article exemplifies the conciliar sect’s inversion of spiritual priorities. St. Alphonsus Liguori warns in The Great Means of Salvation: “The devil seeks to persuade us that death is far off to make us negligent in reforming our lives.” The uncritical portrayal of Adams’ eleventh-hour conversion without evidence of repentance or amendment of life contradicts St. Augustine’s teaching that “he who lives badly is not changed by death” (Sermon 97).
Theological Minimalism as Apostasy
This hagiographic treatment of a celebrity conversion devoid of Catholic specifics manifests the conciliar revolution’s essence: reduction of the faith to naturalistic sentiment. Pope Pius XI’s Quas Primas (1925) established Christ’s social kingship, requiring nations to submit to His reign through His Church. The article’s celebration of vague “belief in Christ” while ignoring His Mystical Body constitutes practical denial of His kingship – precisely the secularism Pius XI condemned as causing society’s ruin: “When God and Jesus Christ were removed from laws and states… the entire human society had to be shaken” (Encyclical Ubi arcano).
Source:
On his dying day, renowned cartoonist’s faith in Christ made public (catholicnewsagency.com)
Date: 13.01.2026