Question about CCD and non Catholic Churches

[Bilromo]

I am a divorced dad who’s daughter goes to CCD at a Catholic Church. My ex wife belongs to this church. I do not. I belong to a different church (it is not a Catholic Church). I would like to take my daughter to mass at my church on sundays that I have her. It’s a beautiful church and I’ve really come to love the message and people there. They do a lot for younger kids and the community. My ex wife says she has to go to mass at her church tho.
My question is, can my daughter go to ccd At one church then go to mass at non Catholic Church?

 

[Joe_5859]

Welcome to the forum!

I think you are going to have to work this out with your ex-wife.

Generally speaking, Catholics over the age of reason (i.e. about 7 years old) are obligated to attend Mass every Sunday and on Holy Days of Obligation. This obligation is not fulfilled by attending non-Catholic churches (unless it were some type of Orthodox Church with valid apostolic succession in the eyes of the Catholic Church).

 

[TheLittleLady]

When you and your ex wife were married, you were aware she promised to do all she could to raise the children as Catholics. Thought divorced, successful co-parenting is important. Help support your ex wife in keeping the promises she made.

 

[vsedriver]

My question is, can my daughter go to ccd At one church then go to mass at non Catholic Church?

No, a non-Catholic service doesn’t fulfill the Catholic Sunday obligation. Also a Catholic may not participate in any other communion except a Catholic Communion.

 

[1ke]

I would like to take my daughter to mass at my church on sundays that I have her.

You stated you are not Catholic and do not go to a Catholic Church. So, I’m not understanding how you can take her to mass at your church? What denomination is this you are a part of?

My ex wife says she has to go to mass at her church tho.

If your daughter was baptized Catholic, she is a Catholic and does indeed need to go to the Catholic Church for religious education and Catholic Mass.

She could go to church with you AND to Catholic mass, but depending on her age that may be very confusing.

My question is, can my daughter go to ccd At one church then go to mass at non Catholic Church?

No.

 

[1ke]

This obligation is not fulfilled by attending non-Catholic churches (unless it were some type of Orthodox Church with valid apostolic succession in the eyes of the Catholic Church).

FYI, Attending an Orthodox Church does not fulfill the mass obligation.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Profile says Episcopal, they do use the term “Mass”.

 

[1ke]

Little Lady has pointed out your profile says Episcopalian. Some Anglican and high church Episcopalians do call their services “mass”. From the Catholic perspective it is not mass.

And no, it cannot substitute for Catholic mass. I also think it would be very confusing for your daughter to attend both.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

This obligation is not fulfilled by attending non-Catholic churches (unless it were some type of Orthodox Church with valid apostolic succession in the eyes of the Catholic Church).

Why not? It is a perfectly valid liturgy and a true Mass, even though they don’t use that word.

A Catholic could not ordinarily receive communion there, and the Orthodox do not administer communion to Catholics anyway. You can go up and receive a piece of blessed antidoron bread at the end of the liturgy. I have done that.

 

[1ke]

Why not?

The Orthodox are not in communion with Rome. They are in schism.

The obligation is to attend mass in a Catholic rite:

Can. 1248 §1. A person who assists at a Mass celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the feast day itself or in the evening of the preceding day satisfies the obligation of participating in the Mass.

is a perfectly valid liturgy and a true Mass, even though they don’t use that word.

The Orthodox do indeed have valid holy orders, and a valid Eucharist in their Divine Liturgy.

That has nothing to do with whether or not the obligation is fulfilled.

A Catholic could not ordinarily receive communion there, and the Orthodox do not administer communion to Catholics anyway. You can go up and receive a piece of blessed antidoron bread at the end of the liturgy. I have done that.

A Catholic can certainly attend Divine Liturgy, and is free to receive the Eucharist there (from the Catholic Church’s perspective) in situations meeting Canon 844:

§2. Whenever necessity requires it or true spiritual advantage suggests it, and provided that danger of error or of indifferentism is avoided, the Christian faithful for whom it is physically or morally impossible to approach a Catholic minister are permitted to receive the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick from non-Catholic ministers in whose Churches these sacraments are valid.

Again, that is a separate issue from whether or not Divine Liturgy in an Orthodox Church satisfies the obligation. It doesn’t.

 

[po18guy]

Sorry to hear about this admittedly difficult situation. The question, as I see it is: Disregarding everything else, do they have Jesus Christ made present, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity? Catholic and Orthodox: Yes. All others: Sadly, no.

For the Christian, what else could matter?

Not to sound too curmudgeonly, but the virtues of the other congregation sound to me more like a social club.

 

[dochawk]

It is a perfectly valid liturgy and a true Mass, even though they don’t use that word.

I’d phrase that as “The Mass is a perfectly valid liturgy and a true Divine Liturgy, even though they don’t use that word.”

:crazy_face:

 

[Joe_5859]

Thanks for the clarification. Since they have valid orders and valid Eucharist, I was thinking it might be allowed in extreme circumstances, but I think I was confusing whether a Catholic could licitly receive Communion there and whether it actually fulfilled the Sunday obligation. Sorry about that.