Geographically bound to a parish?

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forever_always

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I have heard that if you live near a church, then you are geographically bound to that parish. Is this true?

There is a church that is close to my house, but, i really don’t like it. They don’t have kneelers… and some parishoners chew gum throughout the mass! Those are just two of the things that bother me… ESPECIALLY the kneeling one. This church is also extremely modern with their music and morals.

So is it wrong that I don’t attend this church?
My fiance and I have been “church hopping” trying to find a church that isn’t to far a way that we like…
 
Being a registered member of a parish does not mean the same thing as attending that parish. 😉

Perhaps you and your fiance, after you are married, will live elsewhere, making the choice easier?
 
Chatter163 said:
Being a registered member of a parish does not mean the same thing as attending that parish. 😉

Perhaps you and your fiance, after you are married, will live elsewhere, making the choice easier?
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Lol, we aren’t registered there… I dunno, it is kinda complicated. We are registered at the military base (about 30 min away) because my Dad used to be active duty. My family still attends there… but it is hard to get my fiance on base EVERY weekend (as he is civilian). So he and I have been looking for a parish that we like. I didn’t know if that was wrong or not haha.

But you’re right… once we’re married we wont be living in this area… it will be closer to his grandparents church!! haha.
 
I believe that used to be the rule…where one lives determines what parish one attended. However, that’s not the case anymore at least in my diocese. I am free to choose my parish. Then, I register with them.

I’m not sure if the rules are different depending on the diocese.
 
In general a person is associated with a particular parish by virtue of where that person resides. That is, parishes are territorial and one is a part of the parish whose territory encompasses one’s residence. However, a Catholic is free to register at any parish he or she chooses. Such registration also implies support of that parish.

Deacon Ed
 
Deacon_Ed said:
In general a person is associated with a particular parish by virtue of where that person resides. That is, parishes are territorial and one is a part of the parish whose territory encompasses one’s residence. However, a Catholic is free to register at any parish he or she chooses. Such registration also implies support of that parish.

Deacon Ed
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Thank you all for your responses =] I just wanted to make sure what I was doing was okay
 
forever_always said:
I have heard that if you live near a church, then you are geographically bound to that parish. Is this true?

There is a church that is close to my house, but, i really don’t like it. They don’t have kneelers… and some parishoners chew gum throughout the mass! Those are just two of the things that bother me… ESPECIALLY the kneeling one. This church is also extremely modern with their music and morals.

So is it wrong that I don’t attend this church?
My fiance and I have been “church hopping” trying to find a church that isn’t to far a way that we like…
Click to expand...
forever always:

There are actually 3 different and very distinct things here.
  1. **Parish membership **is determined by the place where you actually live. Parishes are territorial. There are some exceptions like the military Archdiocese, ethnic parishes, and some college parishes. But outright membership in a parish is not something one chooses. It’s determined by canon law. Catholics have a right to receive the Sacraments and other spiritual goods of the Church from their proper pastor–and that means the place where they actually reside.
  2. Registration in a parish is purely an administrative function of the parish. It means being on the mailing list; it means that the church has an unofficial record of your Sacraments (the official one is always at the place of Baptism); it means that the parish keeps a record of your donations to that parish. Registration though means nothing in terms of being eligible for things which require the jurisdiction of the proper pastor–like weddings, baptism of ones children, etc. Being registered can be a useful thing, but ultimately it doesn’t carry any “force” in canon law. A parishioner who is not registered at his proper parish is still entitled to the Sacraments from that proper pastor, but the process does help in large parishes where the pastor might not know everyone. Being registered does not actually make one entitled to anything at that parish (see the last sentence in #1).
  3. Attendance: Catholics are free to attend Mass and the other public liturgical functions of the Church anywhere they choose. So attending somewhere else, either occasionally or regularly is perfectly fine. It’s your choice. Just remember that the only priest who has an outright obligation to provide the Sacraments is your proper pastor (#1). [Yes, there are times when “any priest” has certain obligations, but that’s not realy relevant to what you’re asking about]
I hope that helps to clear things up because there’s a common misconception among many Catholics that parish membership and parish registration are somehow the same thing–this is not at all the case.
 
Can someone please provide a link to the relevant Canon Law sections regarding this?

Chris
 
FrDavid96 said:
forever always:

There are actually 3 different and very distinct things here.
  1. **Parish membership **is determined by the place where you actually live. Parishes are territorial. There are some exceptions like the military Archdiocese, ethnic parishes, and some college parishes. But outright membership in a parish is not something one chooses. It’s determined by canon law. Catholics have a right to receive the Sacraments and other spiritual goods of the Church from their proper pastor–and that means the place where they actually reside.
  2. Registration in a parish is purely an administrative function of the parish. It means being on the mailing list; it means that the church has an unofficial record of your Sacraments (the official one is always at the place of Baptism); it means that the parish keeps a record of your donations to that parish. Registration though means nothing in terms of being eligible for things which require the jurisdiction of the proper pastor–like weddings, baptism of ones children, etc. Being registered can be a useful thing, but ultimately it doesn’t carry any “force” in canon law. A parishioner who is not registered at his proper parish is still entitled to the Sacraments from that proper pastor, but the process does help in large parishes where the pastor might not know everyone. Being registered does not actually make one entitled to anything at that parish (see the last sentence in #1).
  3. Attendance: Catholics are free to attend Mass and the other public liturgical functions of the Church anywhere they choose. So attending somewhere else, either occasionally or regularly is perfectly fine. It’s your choice. Just remember that the only priest who has an outright obligation to provide the Sacraments is your proper pastor (#1). [Yes, there are times when “any priest” has certain obligations, but that’s not realy relevant to what you’re asking about]
I hope that helps to clear things up because there’s a common misconception among many Catholics that parish membership and parish registration are somehow the same thing–this is not at all the case.
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Yes, that is clear things up. Thank you Fr David
 
So what if I want my child to receive his First Communion at another parish than the one that I am a member? Can I do that? Do I need permission from someone?
 
iguana27 said:
So what if I want my child to receive his First Communion at another parish than the one that I am a member? Can I do that? Do I need permission from someone?
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You’d have to contact the parish that you want your child to receive their First Communion. They will more than likely insist that your child attend their religious education classes and First Communion preparations requirements. Some parishes around me are very strict about parish members only receiving the sacraments at that parish.

Same with membership, some parishes around me are very strict and you’re mailing address must be within that zip code. Others, welcome members from outside their area.
 
Wow, I’ve never really thought about this much myself. Since I live on the Texas-Mexico border, I have the option of visiting Mexico to attend Holy Mass, in addition to choosing from the parishes on the US side. For the last couple of years I’ve completely been ditching my proper geographic parish in favor of one in Mexico, thus at the same time also ditching my local diocese in favor of the “local” Mexican one. The reason I prefer to attend Mass on the Mexican side is because they have much richer homilies.

I hope there’s nothing unethical in terms of Canon Law.
 
Hmm, there’s a Catholic Church that is a lot closer to me, but we don’t go there. We go to one that is a little farther (not too far) away from my house. I’ve just been going there for like, ever. My dad was Byzantine Catholic and my mom was Greek Orthodox when they met, and their marriage was in the Byzantine Catholic Church, because my mom didn’t really want to do it in the Greek Orthodox Church. The story they told me is they wanted to go to another church where the family went, and my dad said that as long as it was a Catholic Church, it was fine with him. (I think his dad was very Catholic, so he would flip if they even considered another religion). So, the church they went to that most of my family went to was a Roman Catholic Church that was like 2 streets away from the Byzantine Catholic Church, and now that is the church I was baptized in and still go to to this day. My mom explained that she didn’t really care for the Greek Orthodox or Byzantine Catholic Churches, but she really liked the Roman Catholic Church. So, they just continued to go there and when they had me they baptized me there.

I guess it doesn’t really matter what church you go to. If you don’t like the church that’s closest, then, you shouldn’t be forced to go to that church. If you like the church that’s a littler farther from you, then you should be able to go to that one.
 
CatholicZ09 said:
My dad was Byzantine Catholic … a Roman Catholic Church that was like 2 streets away from the Byzantine Catholic Church, and now that is the church I was baptized in and still go to to this day…they just continued to go there and when they had me they baptized me there.
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Actually if your father was Byzantine then he still is canonically Byzantine 🙂 unless he made a formal request to his Byzantine bishop for a formal change in his church sui iuris status to be a Latin Catholic, which sounds unlikely to have ever happened. It’s a change in status (going from an Eastern Church to the Latin Church) which has been strongly discouraged. Preserving Eastern Catholics within their own Churches is strongly supported but the Catholic Church, as reflected in canon law and in various documents of the Second Vatican Council and from the Holy See.

If you were baptized before your 14th birthday then you are also canonically an Eastern Catholic even though you were Baptized in a Latin Catholic church. One’s church sui iuris follows the father unless he is not Catholic and the mother is Catholic, then it follows the mother. The priest of a Latin Church who baptized you should have noted in your baptismal record your status as an Eastern Catholic of the specific Church of your father and have notified the appropriate Eastern Catholic Church. There should have been formal communication with the appropriate ECC to get their permission for you to not be baptized by the appropriate EC priest and by a Latin priest instead.
Canon 29 of the Eastern Code of Canon Law (CCEO) 1. By virtue of baptism, a child who has not yet completed his fourteenth year of age is enrolled in the Church sui iuris of the Catholic father; or the Church sui iuris of the mother if only the mother is Catholic… :
.
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I would encourage you to make contact with an Eastern Catholic priest to clarify your situation as canonically an Eastern Catholic. You live in a great area as there are so many Byzantine Catholics in PA. 🙂

Of course Catholics may assist at Mass/Divine Liturgy at any Catholic Church.
 
PatriceA said:
Some parishes around me are very strict about parish members only receiving the sacraments at that parish.

Same with membership, some parishes around me are very strict and you’re mailing address must be within that zip code.
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How Christian of them.
 
Deacon_Ed said:
In general a person is associated with a particular parish by virtue of where that person resides. That is, parishes are territorial and one is a part of the parish whose territory encompasses one’s residence. However, a Catholic is free to register at any parish he or she chooses. Such registration also implies support of that parish.

Deacon Ed
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How does one find out what their geographical boundaries are? I was told (not by the archdiocese, but by the secretary at another nearby parish) in 1985 when I joined my parish that it that was the correct one for my geographical boundary, but in 1972, another church was built that is about 1 1/2 miles closer. Maybe I’ve been at the wrong one.
Diane Z.
 
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