Liberal Catholic on an official census?

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Darryl_B

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For the first time in my life, (I have just had to answer the question “religion” on my countries current census), I am answering “Catholic”, which means a lot to me, last census I was in between. I got many choices of Catholic.

Roman Catholic
Melkite Catholic
Syro Malabar Catholic
Liberal Catholic
etc

There was one choice which concerned me. There was an option Liberal Catholic. I know Melkite Catholic and Syro Malabar Catholic are rites within the Catholic Church, but what is Liberal Catholic? Is it permissible for a Catholic to describe themselves as “Liberal Catholic” is it a term sanctioned by the Church? Does my country have the right to offer such an option? Are they just fishing? And I have no idea what it entails to be a Liberal Catholic.

My wife, a protestant, pulled me up on this as we were working through out census forms. And I’m not sure “aren’t protestants just liberal catholics” would have gone down well.
 
Darryl_B said:
For the first time in my life, (I have just had to answer the question “religion” on my countries current census), I am answering “Catholic”, which means a lot to me, last census I was in between. I got many choices of Catholic.

Roman Catholic
Melkite Catholic
Syro Malabar Catholic
Liberal Catholic
etc

There was one choice which concerned me. There was an option Liberal Catholic. I know Melkite Catholic and Syro Malabar Catholic are rites within the Catholic Church, but what is Liberal Catholic? Is it permissible for a Catholic to describe themselves as “Liberal Catholic” is it a term sanctioned by the Church? Does my country have the right to offer such an option? Are they just fishing? And I have no idea what it entails to be a Liberal Catholic.

My wife, a protestant, pulled me up on this as we were working through out census forms. And I’m not sure “aren’t protestants just liberal catholics” would have gone down well.
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Liberal Catholic Church (or churches) is not a Catholic sui iuris church but began in 1916 (from Old Catholic Church) and then fragmented into multiple forms.
 
Thanks for that info. So do they have valid orders? Or are they unrecognized by the Catholic Church.
 
Darryl_B said:
Thanks for that info. So do they have valid orders? Or are they unrecognized by the Catholic Church.
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They don’t have any affiliation with the Catholic Church, I’m sure they believe that their orders are valid.

Although in any event, you aren’t one of them, so its not the right answer on the census. The census takers are looking for your official affiliation, not your opinions on doctrine in relations to other Catholics.
 
They are improperly hijacking the word “Catholic”. There is no such thing as “liberal” Catholic. You can’t be a Catholic and be “liberal”. They embrace everything as being good, even that which the true Catholic Church calls a mortal sin.
 
CherylPurrs said:
There is no such thing as “liberal” Catholic.
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They don’t say they are ‘“liberal” Catholics’, they are Liberal Catholics.

You’ll have people hijacking words in titles, Catholics aren’t the only ones. You have Orthodox Presbyterians who have nothing to do with Orthodoxy, and Westboro Baptists, which have nothing to do with the Baptists.
 
Darryl_B said:
Thanks for that info. So do they have valid orders? Or are they unrecognized by the Catholic Church.
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They trace back their bishops to the Old Catholic Church (Utrecht). Only one of the Liberal Catholic churches does not ordain women, therefomre it could be the only one maintaining any valid succession. However does the intention remain to do what the Catholic Church does?
 
Depends what you mean by that word. If you support democratic process, freedom of religion, or the right of a black man to hold political office, then you are a raging liberal… once upon a time.
The words “liberal” and “conservative” are very ambiguous.
 
CherylPurrs said:
They are improperly hijacking the word “Catholic”. There is no such thing as “liberal” Catholic. You can’t be a Catholic and be “liberal”. They embrace everything as being good, even that which the true Catholic Church calls a mortal sin.
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Actually there is. I see your idea frequently expressed on CAF though. But the Catholic Church claims anyone to be a Catholic who has been baptized in the Catholic Church or received into it. That is basic Catholic 101 teaching. And these who are Catholics at least according to the Catholic Church, do have various political views. Although I realize on a lay organization forum like CAF, some people think Catholics must vote for Republicans over Democrats in the US based primarily on a single issue. But nevertheless, the census with regard to the thread as others have pointed out referred to another faith community.
 
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I am not sure that anyone can say that those Liberal Catholic churches ordaining women cannot or do not validly ordain a male as bishop. Going off the rails theologically does not necessarily impact male ordinations in those other Liberal Catholic churches. Nor do I recall rome saying anything, at least publicly, concerning their ordinations.
 
Augustinian said:
Although in any event, you aren’t one of them, so its not the right answer on the census. The census takers are looking for your official affiliation, not your opinions on doctrine in relations to other Catholics.
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That was never my intention.
 
I agree that it is hijacking although I prefer the term usurping. But I see that in other places. “Evangelical Catholic” for instance, “Christian” has been usurped by non-denominational (unaffiliated Southern Baptists really), but when it comes down to it, the bottom line is, and when all the maths is done, “Catholics” are Evangelical, Christian, and Liberal.

For we have been redeemed through Jesus Christ.

I am seeing a certain Anglican influence in “Liberal Catholic” rather than just purely “Old Catholic”.
 
first of all; is answering the question mandatory?

just leave it blank; enough w/ government spying

if answering the q is mandatory under pain of prosecution:

say “syro-ethiopian orthodox”

none of the govt clucks who process the form will have any idea what your response means…
 
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Be thankful for small mercies. It hasn’t got to the stage yet where the two choices are:

liberal Catholic.
non liberal Catholic.

🙂
 
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