CCC 605

At the end of the parable of the lost sheep Jesus recalled that God's love excludes no one: "So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish."⁴¹⁰ Mt 18:14. He affirms that he came "to give his life as a ransom for many"; this last term is not restrictive, but contrasts the whole of humanity with the unique person of the redeemer who hands himself over to save us.⁴¹¹ Mt 20:28; cf. Rom 5:18-19. The Church, following the apostles, teaches that Christ died for all men without exception: "There is not, never has been, and never will be a single human being for whom Christ did not suffer."⁴¹² Council of Quiercy (853): DS 624DS — Denzinger–Schönmetzer (Enchiridion Symbolorum); cf. 2 Cor 5:15; I Jn 2:2.