Becoming Catholic...

[clmowry]

This is much closer to what I would expect.

Not everybody “needs” to go through the entire RCIA process.

Others need exactly that.

I’ve seen the process take anywhere from a couple months to several years in my parish.

Chuck

This is really shocking. I was raised Lutheran and studied the Catholic faith five years prior to entering RCIA. The priest evaluated my knowledge the Catholic doctrine and the CCC, and decided I only needed to go through the last step of RCIA. Throughout the chatechesis, he was always very encouraging and extremely joyful to my conversion. I recommend finding a new priest, one who is extremely glad to hear of your conversion. Also, if you are validly baptized and have prior knowledge and experience of the Catholic faith, I recommend finding an alternative then the 8 or 9 month process, whatever it is.

The Church states: “Those who have already been baptized in another church or ecclesial community should not be treated as catechumens or so designated. Their doctrinal and spiritual preparation for reception into full Catholic communion should be determined according to the individual case, that is, it should depend on the extent to which the baptized person has led a Christian life within a community of faith and been appropriately catechized to deepen his or her inner adherence to the Church” (NSC 30) (U.S. Conference of Bishops, National Statutes for the Catechumenate).

 

[Catholicdeacon]

Why is it that you would have to go through a class for a year to be in “God’s Church?”

It’s starting to hack me off.

I talk to one priest is who just not interested in my joining the Catholic Church and then another schedules a meeting, cancels the second and won’t call me back.

I love the love.

Hi Rodney,

As a cleric let me first apologize for the human shortcomings of the church. I do not know the situations of the priests you talked to, but if they are any like the priests in my diocese they are overworked and and over stressed. This is way usually RCIA inquiries are handled by the director of religious education or the director of family life. I suggest you contact these people as they might have more time in their hands to help you in your journey.

The reason for the class is that Catholicism is not just another religion but a way of life that must permeate everything in your own life if you decide to become Catholic. It takes a long time to understand what this way of life entices. This is why even if you have gone through the RCIA process if you feel that this is “not for you” you can just step away and nobody will blame you or get their feelings hurt.

If there are any specifics you would like to discuss, just drop me a note.

In His love…

Catholic Deacon

 

[VociMike]

Contact the bishop and tell him what you’re going through.

 

[chris_molter]

Why is it that you would have to go through a class for a year to be in “God’s Church?”

It’s starting to hack me off.

I talk to one priest is who just not interested in my joining the Catholic Church and then another schedules a meeting, cancels the second and won’t call me back.

I love the love.

I went through similar trials when I decided to come into the Church. Once I was in, it didn’t get much better. Some parishes are really good at bringing in new people and some aren’t. Seems like I only ran into the latter!

Keep at it, brother. If being Catholic is that important (and it is!), you’ll get where you need to be.