Originally posted by chief_counsellor
Well, Garibaldi, a prominent Freemason at the, lead the charge in a war against the Vatican, and resulted in the loss of the Papal states. If I understand correctly. This was an actual war, with bloodshed, and fighting etc..

Several points:

It was not Freemasonry that marched on the papal states, it was an army of Italian patriots, most of whom were not Freemasons, but who demanded an end to the religious persecution issued by the Vatican. Garibaldi's army could have easily annhilated the papacy at this point; instead, out of the spirit of tolerance, Garibaldi simply returned land that the papcy had seized from the peasants to their rightful owners, and allowed the Church to function as normal, with the understanding that the Church would no longer force people to do anything they didn't want to do. He even gave the pope personal guards to protect him from the more violent anti-papists, those who had lost loved ones to the church's tyranny. Unlike the Church at the time, Garibaldi did not believe that executing old men accomplished anything good or holy.

Fiat Lvx.

Well ML, thanks for the clarification and history lesson, I must have misunderstood the full details of the situation from Garibaldi's side. I just had vague details, but you've given me some better understanding of this situation.

I'm getting the impression from CC that Christianity is the only route to "salvation" or some form of rewarding "afterlife."

Is this the case?

Jesus words "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me"

This does not mean only Christians have salvation, but Jesus is the final judge over all. When a Buddhist goes to heaven, it is because Jesus has seen him fit for it, for example.