You may be interested to know that the CCC specifically says that you and I, as believers, are saints. In the Catholic Church, we started to call people Saint if they had certain verifiable information. So much so that today, most Catholics would say “I am no Saint”. The fact remains though, that the teaching of the Catholic Church says we are saints and has never taught otherwise. It is simply in the common usage of the word, Catholics apply it to verifible saints.
The question for your friends would be what happens to saints who die? Do they cease to be saints?
God Bless,
Maria
P.S. This was one of the things that my fundamental friends said, “You know, Catholic Church teaches that you and I aren’t saints, but the Bible says otherwise.” Guess what! The Catholic Church doesn’t teach that you and I are not saints!
1475 In the communion of saints, "a perennial link of charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth. between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all good things."87 In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others. Thus recourse to the communion of saints lets the contrite sinner be more promptly and efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin.
saint in heaven, saints in purgatory and saints on earth. All Saints!
God Bless