Is it a sin to worship in other Christian churches?

[Sandra_Teresa]

Both me and my friend are Catholic. She recently started looking around for another church to attend for Sunday worship, a place where she can feel comfortable and see what it’s like outside the Catholic Church. She has been going to different denominations and even some non-denominational churches. Isn’t it a sin for a Catholic to participate and pray in non-Catholic churches? She says that she will never give up being Catholic, but I worry about her committing sin by doing this. Can you please help me with this, I don’t know what to tell her?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

While it is not a sin for a Catholic to occasionally attend another Christian church for just cause (e.g., as a guest, for an ecumenical service), so long as the Catholic meets the Mass obligation at a Catholic church and does not receive Protestant communion, what your friend is doing is another matter entirely. Basically, she’s church-shopping. She may intend to remain Catholic but her inordinate curiosity and desire for personal comfort place her at risk for losing her Catholic faith.

What I recommend to you is to propose to her that you both learn more about your Catholic faith, perhaps taking up such study as a mutual project, so that you both will better understand why you are Catholic and the riches that are offered to you only in the Catholic Church. One resource that might be a place to start is Jimmy Akin’s booklet Mass Appeal, which describes what exactly goes on at Mass and why. If your friend understands exactly what the Mass is and what she’ll be giving up by abandoning it, she will be less likely to be impressed by what is offered by other Christian churches.