If someone is not baptized can they call themself a Catholic?

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No, but if your anything like me you can tell people you plan on becoming Catholic.
 
Catholic, I believe not although not all Catholics may agree. Christian, I think so, since some groups who are not baptized do consider themselves Christian. From the perspective of the Church, however, the answer may also be no. But it’s tricky because there are different kinds of non-Catholic baptism, some valid and others not valid. Ultimately, with regard to being Christian, it depends on whose perspective.
 
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From my perspective, no one can call theirself anything, ever, because theirself is not now nor ever has been a word.

I’m sorry. I held back from criticizing for as long as I possibly could. Theirself sits right alongside hisself on my list of grammar’s mortal sins.
 
“If someone is not baptized can they call theirself a Catholic?”

They can call themselves anything they wish. But that doesn’t make them Catholic.
 
Exactly. I can call myself the Queen of England, but, that does not entitle me to a throne.
 
In my opinion, no.

But that is not a put down. I often refer to my period of wanting to be Catholic but not being yet baptized as my period of being “Catholic at heart” and I don’t think I called myself Catholic even once until I was actually Baptized.

However, I can recall in “The right of welcoming” that our senior pastor read something that pretty much called all of us in RCIA who were to be baptized, pretty much “honorary Catholics” in a sense. Keep in mind I dont remember the exact words he said but I am positive that was the impression the words he read were meant to mean. Not complete Catholics but just as much welcome in the community as Full fledged Catholics. Except of course not being able to receive the Eucharist and participate in certain ministries yet lol.
 
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Honestly, it depends on the context.

For example, I’ve seen catechumens advised to put down “Catholic” on any medical or emergency forms, simply because it ensures the proper clergy is called. Similarly one might identify as Catholic to an employer when asking for an accommodation to attend Mass or explaining the need for fasting. Or even in a political or religious discussion, one could say one is Catholic to explain one’s views.

I have a hard time seeing how this question would be answered in a void.
 
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