Protestant service ok to attend?

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I think it depends. True Catholics should not be attending New Life regularly without a good reason. For example I think a youth minister should be aware of what other churches offer and are using to try and steal our kids. Also as the Catholic in a mixed marriage I go to worship at my wife’s church a couple of dozen times in an “ecumenical” phase of our marriage or zero in a “hostile” phase.

It is blanket statements that get people riled up or in trouble. To say we can never go is harse and incorrect. To say it makes no difference “where” you pray as long as you do sounds nice but is also untrue. Each Catholic has a number of “services” he can go to without losing the faith. We must be mindful of this when we visit the other side of the Tiber.

The Church must do a better job catechizing and explaining what it means to “participate” in a service. Being there is not participating. Communing there clearly is and is a scandal. Where are the guidlines in between. I think too often we get little guidance but plenty of ridicule when we laymen screw up and do too much.
 

The Church allows and encourages sharing of spiritual resources with other Christians: see this - the [​

DIRECTORY FOR THE APPLICATION OF****PRINCIPLES AND NORMS ON ECUMENISM](http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/p...rc_pc_chrstuni_doc_19930325_directory_en.html)

From section 7 :

IV. Communion in Life and Spiritual Activity Among the Baptized
  1. Christians may be encouraged to share in spiritual activities and resources, i.e., to share that spiritual heritage they have in common in a manner and to a degree appropriate to their present divided state.
  2. The term “sharing in spiritual activities and resources” covers such things as prayer offered in common, sharing in liturgical worship in the strict sense, as described below in n. 116, as well as common use of sacred places and of all necessary objects.
  3. Where appropriate, Catholics should be encouraged, in accordance with the Church’s norms, to join in prayer with Christians of other Churches and ecclesial Communities. Such prayers in common are certainly a very effective means of petitioning for the grace of unity, and they are a genuine expression of the ties which still bind Catholics to these other Christians. Shared prayer is in itself a way to spiritual reconciliation.
There is much more to the same effect (it’s a long & detailed document): - including much that is more “obviously” Catholic 🙂 These few quotations have to be read in their contexts to be understood. Even so, I can’t see everyone being mad keen on all of this ##
 
I do believe you can " attend" other church services. How ever, "participation " is another matter. I “attend” my BF’s church as an observer only. It is my church (St. Margaret’s) that I fully participate in. It is my “home”
~ Kathy ~
 
My question is this, and it has never been answered to my satisfaction anywhere.

If we are the one true Church, the Mother Church, then the others by definition are not true Churches. They are lacking in what? Insight, belief, doctrine, truth all of the above, what?.

So, why attend their services? What do you have to gain? The only reason I can think of is to see just how lacking in faith and spirituality and what a pale substitute for the Mass their services are.

We have the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the highest and most perfect prayer there is and we have those who would rather attend a revival meeting or an interfaith prayer service?? I just don’t understand it. :confused:
 
My conscious does not allow me to even attend non-Catholic weddings or funnerals. I personally don’t have the luxary of being a private person any longer thus I feel that my presence would either give scandel to the faithful or give assent to the error that exists in the non-Catholic service.
 
I’m with you Palmas.

The only reason, aside from funerals, etc, that I can imagine a Catholic would want to go to a protestant service would be to evangelize. Get your non-catholic friend to come to Mass in exchange for you going to his/her service (of course not participating, but observing). I don’t know if this agrees with the Norms of Ecumenism, but since those are pastoral directives and not doctrine, I plan to stick with my more traditional view of attending noncatholic services only if necessary and for the purposes of evangelizing.
 
While I don’t see why most Catholics have reason to attend other services on a regular basis, it makes sense to me that those who are married to non-Catholics or who have non-Catholic familys/inlaws would attend the service of a family member from time to time.

Presumeably this would generally happen for special events like weddings, funerals, and baptisms. Or it might happen during vacation or holiday visits.

If one’s non-Catholic spouse or minor children are active members of a non-Catholic church then it seems it would be practically a hostile act to always avoid attending the family member’s services.
 
If anyone reads my post.

Colorado springs Co has one of the LARGEST Evangelical Churches in the world.
When faced with that kind of majority I am sure forces were behind his resignation you couldn’t comprehend.
In a stronghold city like that you can’t go around angering the establishment.
 
Originally Posted by genealogist
Peter Howard STL directly misrepresents the promises a non-Catholic makes when in a mixed marriage. Those rules changed c. 1970 so for him to say the non-Catholic PROMISES to raise the kids 100% Catholic is just wrong. Mistatken at best or an outright lie. If he is so clearly wrong on that are his other “facts” suspect? I say probably so.

Where does Howard say something about rasing kids 100% Catholic? I would like to see his words. Was it in the article in the Gazette, or else where?
 
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VerbumCordis:
Originally Posted by genealogist
Peter Howard STL directly misrepresents the promises a non-Catholic makes when in a mixed marriage. Those rules changed c. 1970 so for him to say the non-Catholic PROMISES to raise the kids 100% Catholic is just wrong. Mistatken at best or an outright lie. If he is so clearly wrong on that are his other “facts” suspect? I say probably so.

Where does Howard say something about rasing kids 100% Catholic? I would like to see his words. Was it in the article in the Gazette, or else where?
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On the diocesan Q&A web link, Mr. Howard stated:
Moreover, in the case of mixed marriages, the Catholic party must make a promise that any children of the marriage are to be raised 100% Catholic – not 50/50, while the non-Catholic party must be notified of these obligations of his/her Catholic spouse and, hopefully will express good will not to try to impede them.

diocs.org/Q&A/answers.cfm?question=18protestantservices2
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He is correct. I had to make this promise when I married my wife, who was not Catholic at the time.

Note that Mr. Howard corrected the mistake that genealogist pointed out regrading the promise being made by the non-Catholic member, not the Catholic member.
 
The promise the Catholic makes is to do “all in my power” to baptize and raise all children of the mixed marriage Catholic. Since the words were changed they were changed for a reason. It is conceivable not desired, encouraged or celebrated but conceivable that the non-Catholic has just as strong a desire to raise the children non-Catholic(fill in your denomination). The religious freedom that vatican II recognized extends to non-Catholic spouses in mixed marriages.

A Catholic can be limited in their ability to raise the kids Catholic. It is not a good thing but they are no longer excommunicated under the new rules. Maybe the rules should be changed back but Mr. Howard did not state the case objectively. He ignores the wiggle room granted in the new law and that is unfortunate. In fact if a Catholic fails to raise his children Catholic and they are raised Presbyterian instead he is not to be censured let alone excommunicated. I got that from EWTN when their canon law experts still answered questions back in 2000.
 
Palmas, I agree with you 100%. To the Kumbaya Catholics, just keep on adding water to the soup, until there’s no reason for ANYONE at all to be Catholic. But I do see the other side. We have to be open-to a point. But we can never, ever, water down our faith to make it more palitable for them to swallow. I’ve heard or read somewhere that the more orthodox orders are attracting men to be priests and women to be nuns, while the liberal ones are going downhill. I think it’s way past time for the sleeping giant to wake up and re-claim Christianity. Yes, we have to keep the doors open for them, but we can’t compromise the faith to do it.
 
Br. Rich SFO:
There is nothing wrong with attending a Protestant service as long as you have some necessary reason for attending. Praticipating in liturgical actions on a regular basis in an official or ecumenical way like preaching, reading, etc. would require your Bishops permission. Participating in communion or any sacrament like actions would not be allowed. The Bishop needs to start inviting wayward sheep to return home to the flock.
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Do you know if those legitimate reasons are still just weddings and funerals, or has that changed?
 
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genealogist:
… Mr. Howard did not state the case objectively. He ignores the wiggle room granted in the new law and that is unfortunate. In fact if a Catholic fails to raise his children Catholic and they are raised Presbyterian instead he is not to be censured let alone excommunicated. I got that from EWTN when their canon law experts still answered questions back in 2000.
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First you accuse Mr. Howard of deliberately misrespresenting canon law, when he just made a mistake. Now you accuse Mr. Howard of a position he did not take. :rolleyes: Do you even know Peter? I do. He’s not the villain you make him out to be.
 
Dave,

No I do not know Mr. Howard and I am not trying to mailgn him. My only critique is where he said the Catholic promises to raise the children 100% Catholic. He promises to do all in his power to baptize and raise all children Catholic. Just like the participation versus attendance issue I think there are nuances that are often missed.

There are exceptions to rules and here is one many people are not aware of. The rules on mixed marriage changed and Catholics are not excommunicated if their kid is not raised Catholic despite doing “all in their power” to raise them Catholic. Also a Catholic in such a situation has fulfilled his promise, if he has done all in his power. Now that is a subjective standard and God may inform some Catholics at their judgment that they did not do all in their power.

I am not saying it does not matter if the kids are Catholic or not. I am not saying that any church is as good as the next. What I am trying to say is that Mr. Howard overstated his case at least in this one specific comment. Just as the Church frowns on abortion, treatment of the cancerous uterus or ectopic pregnancy can result in similar results as abortion but the intent and double effect relieve the mother of mortal sin. Likewise, a Catholic who despite his best efforts “allows” their children to be raised non-Catholic is not guilty of the same violation today in 2005 that he would have been in 1917 for eg. It is still not a good thing but the discipline has changed and too often that is ignored.

As far as attending Protestant worship services, I attend sporadically and have prayed the Creed when it is recited. I understand it and the Lord’s Prayer the same way I do at Mass but I do have to say maybe I won’t say the Apostles Creed the next time. I have never received Communion there in 13 years. I am not there every week but I do go to Mass each Sunday.

When I first started attending I definitely had the idea that “They tossed the Mass for this?” I have softened a bit but still think it is a bit too much “concert” and could use more prayer and more actual Bible readings. I do have to say though that there is no reason why the Catholic Mass should continue using the piano and so much mindless drivel they call music. Either utilize the organ, GREAT hymns and Gregorian chants or DON’T BOTHER. I only wish that I have heard my last sung responsorial psalm!
 
This is unfortunate…
November 15, 2005
**Diocese official resigns
****THE GAZETTE **

An official with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Colorado Springs who angered many with a column suggesting Catholics should not attend Protestant worship services has resigned.
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Peter Howard, executive assistant to Bishop Michael Sheridan, resigned Oct. 31, three weeks after his column in the Colorado Catholic Herald riled Christians of various denominations.
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In the column, Howard said Catholics should not participate in liturgical Protestant services because of the theological differences between Protestantism and Catholicism.
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“Such ‘active participation’ in a Protestant liturgical service, therefore, acts contrary to our faith which professes fundamentally different beliefs in critical ecclesiological and theological areas,” Howard wrote.
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Howard, who served as the diocese’s spokesman, could not be reached for comment Monday…"
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gazette.com/display.php?id=1312111&secid=1
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Bishop Sheridan’s subsequent articles on Ecumenism in the Colorado Catholic Herald:

Answering Questions on Authentic Ecumenism (Nov 4, 2005)
by Bishop Michael Sheridan
diocs.org/CPC/Corner/newspaper_view.cfm?year=2005&month=Nov4

***Answering Questions on Authentic Ecumenism - Part II ***(Nov 18, 2005)
by Bishop Michael Sheridan
diocs.org/CPC/Corner/newspaper_view.cfm?year=2005&month=Nov18

Bishop Sheridan reiterated the exhortation of the Catholic Church towards dialogue with our non-Catholic Christian brethren. While he admits “there could be a number of good reasons for attending the worship services of a non-Catholic Christian denomination, participation connotes a deeper involvement. Here there are limits.” He continues to describes some of those limits:
“As Catholics we may never enter directly into the sacramental rituals of other denominations. For example, we may not receive confirmation in a non-Catholic church, nor stand as sponsors for those to be confirmed. We may not partake of the eucharistic elements (bread and wine) at a Protestant service. We may serve as witnesses to marriage in a non-Catholic denomination, unless we are aware that the marriage would be held to be ‘invalid’ by the Catholic Church (e.g., when a Catholic marries in a non-Catholic church without dispensation). In other words, ***we may not ‘participate’ in such a way that we could be seen to be expressing faith in the particular non-Catholic ecclesial body or rite or in any way questioning or denying our Catholic faith. ***This could be not only a source of scandal, but also the occasion for the weakening of one’s faith.” (Most Rev. Michael J. Sheridan, Bishop of Colorado Springs, “The Bishop’s Voice,” *Colorado Catholic Herald, *Nov. 18, 2005, emphasis added)
 
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