Changing religions

[joclucsylv]

Can a Catholic who has converted to another religion go to heaven?? They have left truth I know, but they still have the belief in Jesus Christ.

 

[inkaneer]

Can a Catholic who has converted to another religion go to heaven?? They have left truth I know, but they still have the belief in Jesus Christ.

Individual judgement is left to God but I think the general consensus is that when one leaves the fullness of the deposit of faith for another denomination there is no legitimate defense one can claim for a reason for doing so. In addition, that person has removed himself from the only means Jesus established for the forgiveness of sin. So at the very least, they are in very serious jeopardy of eternal damnation.

 

[steve_b]

Can a Catholic who has converted to another religion go to heaven?? They have left truth I know, but they still have the belief in Jesus Christ.

If one

• leaves the only Church Jesus established
• leaves the Eucharist which Jesus said, “unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no life in you…he who…I will raise them up on the last day” [Jn 6:53-58]

If one leaves this, how can one convince themselves they still “believe” in Jesus? Who convinces them to leave what Jesus died to establish, Jesus or Satan?

The Catechism says Re: outside the Catholic Church there is no salvation

**846 **How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers? Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body: Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.

 

[Waiting]

Can a Catholic who has converted to another religion go to heaven?? They have left truth I know, but they still have the belief in Jesus Christ.

If someone knows beyond doubt that the Catholic Church is the true Church, and still leaves, I would wonder about his chances for heaven. But, so many, many Catholics are poorly catechized, that I don’t believe that if they feel that another church is drawing them closer to Jesus, that they would be losing their chance for heaven. Actually, they would be seeking heaven, just not aware of what they are losing when they leave the Catholic Chuirch. God is gracious and merciful. Trusting in His care will suffice, whether they return to the Church, or not. Pray for them.

 

[joclucsylv]

If someone knows beyond doubt that the Catholic Church is the true Church, and still leaves, I would wonder about his chances for heaven. But, so many, many Catholics are poorly catechized, that I don’t believe that if they feel that another church is drawing them closer to Jesus, that they would be losing their chance for heaven. Actually, they would be seeking heaven, just not aware of what they are losing when they leave the Catholic Chuirch. God is gracious and merciful. Trusting in His care will suffice, whether they return to the Church, or not. Pray for them.

So you think the church is doing a better job at catechism now than they did before. It is so sad that people leave the truth.

 

[Waiting]

So you think the church is doing a better job at catechism now than they did before. It is so sad that people leave the truth.

I know that, for the most part, the Church is doing a better job of catechizing now than the previous 40 years, or more. I taught CCD during the post Vatican II days when the unfortunate change in teaching the faith came about. The textbooks we used went from teaching doctrine to just discussions on loving peace and getting along. I desperately tried to teach the catechism along with the new text. Time constraints made that very difficult. I don’t know what the other teachers did, but the end result was many years of very poorly catechized children. These children grew into adults who had children with parents who had little to no knowledge of their faith. We cannot hold them responsible for what we, the older generation, did to them in regards to passing on the truths of the Catholic Church. If many found a greater love for Jesus in a Protestant faith on fire for Him, I can understand that they would leave a Church that meant little to them. These uncatechized Catholics had no idea of how great a treasure they had in their Catholic Church. It is sad.

 

[EricFilmer]

Can a Catholic who has converted to another religion go to heaven?? They have left truth I know, but they still have the belief in Jesus Christ.

It is not enough for someone to simply believe in Jesus Christ in order to be saved. After all, the devil believes in Jesus Christ, and the devil is not saved.

According to Canon Law, a Catholic who “totally repudiates the Christian faith” commits the sin of apostasy (Canon #1364), which incurs an automatic penalty of excommunication. Of course, I doubt if the offenders care, but the point is that excommunication is not only a penalty, but is also a warning that someone’s soul is in extreme danger of eternal damnation.

But aside from what I have stated, I refrain from taking the next step and saying that such people will, indeed, end up in hell, and consequently I do not rule out the possibility of heaven. As I heard Fr. Mitch Pacwa once say, “That’s a management question; I’m in sales.”

 

[cradlecatholic5]

I’ve often wondered about this … thanks for asking the question and the answers.