Does sincere doubt incur excommunication?

[mrbean007]

I’m having a very hard time believing some of the things the church teaches. In some cases (including core tenets of the faith, such as the existence and divinity of Christ, the Eucharist, etc.), I often feel that the best I can do is suspend disbelief. The Church teaches that belief is an act of the will, but I can’t entirely agree, because if one’s conscience very strongly objects (even if it turns out that the conscience is not properly formed), then how can the choice to believe something that you feel very strongly is unreasonable really be much of a choice?

I’m doing the best I can, but I don’t know how long I can continue to claim to be Catholic.

The definition of heresy, according to Canon Law, is this:

Can. 751: Heresy is the obstinate denial or obstinate doubt after the reception of baptism of some truth which is to be believed by divine and Catholic faith; apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith; schism is the refusal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him.

The penalty for heresy is automatic excommunication. Given all of this, have I automatically excommunicated myself because I’m not sure what to believe (but am trying), and if not, if I ever reach the conclusion that the Church is in error while doing my best to arrive at the truth (we’ll make the assumption that such a conclusion would be wrong and that I was incorrect, but that through an honest and sincere effort I made a mistake), would I be excommunicated for that?

I can understand and even appreciate to a certain extent where the Church is coming from regarding a properly formed conscience, but at the same time, being a sincere doubter who’s doing his best, I’m beginning to feel there’s not much of a place in the Church for the likes of me.

Please help. Thank you.

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Dear friend,

You seem so riddled with fear. Over and over in the Gospels, Our Lord tells people to fear not. Before you can possibly deal with the confusion as to what you believe, you must be at peace. The good Lord is not waiting to zap you. When St. Joan of Arc was asked if she was in God’s grace, she answered: "If I am not, may God put me there, and if I am, may God so keep me!” He loves you and understands your desire to be honest. You cannot offend God so long as you are trying your best to be honest!

You seem so obsessed with whether or not you are a heretic that you are paralyzed as to what to do next. You really have to let the dust settle a bit. If you would like to discuss this further with me privately, feel free to click on my name above. Remember, you are not under the gun. There is no deadline for you to have this resolved. The Lord appreciates your sincerity and honesty. (If I can appreciate it, He certainly does.) So be at peace, my friend and we can work on this. You are in my prayers.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.