Am I officially Catholic?

[Thomas4095]

I was baptized as a baby, and throughout my childhood I recall going to Mass with my parents on a semi-regular basis. However, that was pretty much it. I never went to Sunday School, never had Confirmation/First Communion. When I was 12, my parents divorced, and we stopped going to Mass entirely. It was only recently (I am 35 now) that I decided to return to the Faith.

I really want to go to Confession, but I am a bit confused. Since I was baptized, does that mean that I am Catholic already, or is there another process I need to go through first?

 

[SuscipeMeDomine]

You should prepare to receive your other sacraments of initiation. Talk with your parish. Most likely they will direct you toward RCIA to prepare for Confirmation and First Eucharist (plus Reconciliation). Or they may have other alternatives, but you won’t know until you ask.

Welcome home!

 

[Errham]

Baptism makes you officially Christian, but it’s Confirmation that makes you officially Catholic. So, you’ll probably have to take RCIA classes. Not sure about the confession issue.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

Yes, my friend, you are certainly Catholic. You need some instruction and to be Confirmed. Talk to a pastor as soon as possible. You may be able to make a Confession and First Communion soon.

Do not be embarrassed. This kind of thing happens. The important thing is that you are now home.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

Baptism makes you officially Christian, but it’s Confirmation that makes you officially Catholic.

So, what are Latin rite children before Confirmation? Protestants?

So, you’ll probably have to take RCIA classes.

Strictly speaking, RCIA is for the un-baptized, although converts are often educated together with them.

 

[therese14]

Yes, you are a catholic, but just have not had first communion or sacrament of confirmation yet. This is usually done in catholic school in 9th Grade. Or if you don’t go to a catholic school then usually the parents arrange it to be had in the parish.

Go to RCIA, or ask the priest or your parish about first communion and sacrament of confirmation. They usually have it scheduled at certain time and you’ll need to register first.

 

[Johann_du_Toit]

Two of my friends in RCIA had the exact same problem. They were baptized but never confirmed. So they were not de juro Catholics (even though they never thought of themselves as anything else in their lives).

Confirmation via RCIA is therefore necessary in such a case.

 

[Phemie]

Baptism makes you officially Christian, but it’s Confirmation that makes you officially Catholic. So, you’ll probably have to take RCIA classes. Not sure about the confession issue.

Baptism in the Catholic Church at any point in your life makes you officially Catholic and from that point you are bound by her canonical laws.

Confirmation completes your Baptism.

Confession is required before First Communion for all except those who are baptized as adults since they receive all three sacraments in the same celebration and Baptism washes away their sins only a matter of minutes before they are going to receive.

The OP will need instruction which may or may not be the same as those who are converting to Catholicism through the RCIA process.

 

[Phemie]

Two of my friends in RCIA had the exact same problem. They were baptized but never confirmed. So they were not de juro Catholics (even though they never thought of themselves as anything else in their lives).

Confirmation via RCIA is therefore necessary in such a case.

If they were baptized in the Catholic Church they are Catholic, period. They have not completed their initiation but they are Catholic and bound by all the laws of the Church.

RCIA is not “necessary” for those who simply require Confirmation. A short period of preparation can be sufficient though, for expediency, many parishes put everyone through the same mill.

 

[Johann_du_Toit]

If they were baptized in the Catholic Church they are Catholic, period. They have not completed their initiation but they are Catholic and bound by all the laws of the Church.

RCIA is not “necessary” for those who simply require Confirmation. A short period of preparation can be sufficient though, for expediency, many parishes put everyone through the same mill.

Sorry for the misunderstanding. I never meant to be uncharitable.

 

[Phemie]

Sorry for the misunderstanding. I never meant to be uncharitable.

No apology necessary and you certainly were not uncharitable.

 

[thistle]

Baptism makes you officially Christian, but it’s Confirmation that makes you officially Catholic. So, you’ll probably have to take RCIA classes. Not sure about the confession issue.

That is not correct. Anyone baptised into the Catholic Church is a Catholic even if they have not been confirmed yet.

 

[Mintaka]

A lot of people think Confirmation means “I confirm I’m a Catholic.”

However, the actual meaning of the Latin verb “confirmare” is “to strengthen, harden, support.”

Confirmation strengthens you as a Catholic and a person, as well as being a sort of personal Pentecost. It strengthens the graces of your Baptism by combining them with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. It also strengthens you against temptations and tricks of the Devil, as well as demonic activity. That’s why it was traditionally given either right after Baptism, or given to kids before their first Confession and First Communion. (And yeah, I think it should be now, because kids face a lot of bad stuff before junior high and high school.)

As the old Catholic Encyclopedia says, it is given to the baptized “to make strong and perfect Christians and soldiers of Jesus Christ.”

However, it is Baptism that makes one Christian, and a Catholic Baptism makes one Catholic. So all the original poster has to do is get reconciled with the Catholic Church, get some religious training that was missed, and get the Sacraments that got missed.

 

[rcwitness]

That is not correct. Anyone baptised into the Catholic Church is a Catholic even if they have not been confirmed yet.

Without arguing with you as though I have authority or canon law, I do tend to disagree with this.

When I think of “officially Catholic” I think of consent as necessary. The practice of infant Baptism does not contain consent, while Confirmation does.

A (Catholic) Baptized child, who has never been Confirmed, may be a true Catholic in heart, because he/she does in fact give consent to the Faith. But how can they be bound to the commands of the Catholic Faith if they have never given consent to this faith.

An example I will use is Matrimony. If someone is only Baptized (infant) in the Catholic faith, then marries a non Catholic in a non Catholic Christian Church, then is their marriage considered valid?

But in the pre age of reason, one would be considered Catholic. And after the age of reason, one could be Catholic by desire until completed Confirmation. Confirmation being the binding Sacrament to the faith.

 

[Dorothy]

I was baptized as a baby, and throughout my childhood I recall going to Mass with my parents on a semi-regular basis. However, that was pretty much it. I never went to Sunday School, never had Confirmation/First Communion. When I was 12, my parents divorced, and we stopped going to Mass entirely. It was only recently (I am 35 now) that I decided to return to the Faith.

I really want to go to Confession, but I am a bit confused. Since I was baptized, does that mean that I am Catholic already, or is there another process I need to go through first?

Speak to your priest.

(It is easy to get confused when some answers are not 100% in some ways.)

May our Lord Jesus Christ and his Mother be with you on your spiritual journey!

 

[1ke]

Baptism makes you officially Christian, but it’s Confirmation that makes you officially Catholic. So, you’ll probably have to take RCIA classes. Not sure about the confession issue.

This is not correct.

A person baptized into the Catholic Church is a Catholic.

A person baptized into a non-Catholic Church is a Christian and it is a profession of faith that makes them Catholic and brings them into full communion. Confirmation completes their baptism, it does not bring them into the Church. The fact that the profession of faith and Confirmation typically occur at the same Mass probably obscures that detail.

 

[1ke]

When I think of “officially Catholic” I think of consent as necessary.

What we think isn’t really the point. The truth of fact is what is important. It is a fact that one who is baptized Catholic is incorporated into the Body of Christ and is from that point forward also Catholic and subject to the authority of the Church.

The practice of infant Baptism does not contain consent, while Confirmation does.

It is the parents who give consent in infant baptism. Perhaps you are unaware that Eastern Rite Catholics are baptized, confirmed and receive the Eucharist as infants. They never give consent, ever. Same for any child confirmed in the Latin Rite before age 7 due to danger of death.

Consent is not necessary for either infant baptism OR confirmation.

But how can they be bound to the commands of the Catholic Faith if they have never given consent to this faith.

Because their parents have given consent and the Church ratifies it.

An example I will use is Matrimony. If someone is only Baptized (infant) in the Catholic faith, then marries a non Catholic in a non Catholic Christian Church, then is their marriage considered valid?

No, it isn’t.

But in the pre age of reason, one would be considered Catholic. And after the age of reason, one could be Catholic by desire until completed Confirmation. Confirmation being the binding Sacrament to the faith.

This is wholly inaccurate.

 

[Jon_S_1]

Without arguing with you as though I have authority or canon law, I do tend to disagree with this.

When I think of “officially Catholic” I think of consent as necessary. The practice of infant Baptism does not contain consent, while Confirmation does.

A (Catholic) Baptized child, who has never been Confirmed, may be a true Catholic in heart, because he/she does in fact give consent to the Faith. But how can they be bound to the commands of the Catholic Faith if they have never given consent to this faith.

An example I will use is Matrimony. If someone is only Baptized (infant) in the Catholic faith, then marries a non Catholic in a non Catholic Christian Church, then is their marriage considered valid?

But in the pre age of reason, one would be considered Catholic. And after the age of reason, one could be Catholic by desire until completed Confirmation. Confirmation being the binding Sacrament to the faith.

This is wholly inaccurate. The reason parents should be serious about baptism and parents godparents should take their job seriously is because they are binding the children to the catholic faith and the church’s laws. They must diligently pass on the faith. What you describe is the protestant system of “just choose what you want”. Like a parent taking their kids to a doctor for a lifelong vaccine, they take their kids to the church for spiritual care.

[edited]

 

[Gorgias]

rcwitness:

An example I will use is Matrimony. If someone is only Baptized (infant) in the Catholic faith, then marries a non Catholic in a non Catholic Christian Church, then is their marriage considered valid?

No, it isn’t.

It’s valid if they’ve received dispensation from form.

Even if they haven’t received dispensation, though, it’s not a defect of consent that makes the marriage invalid, it’s a lack of form.

 

[Thomas4095]

Wow, I wasn’t expecting such a large response! Thanks for your advice, everyone!