R.C.I.A. Sponsor

[SHAKA_MAKA1]

Would it be wrong to go thru with sponsoring someone when at the very end of R.C.I.A. you ask the person you are sponsoring if they believe everything the Catholic Church teaches (which they have to profess, “I believe everything the Catholic Church teaches as revealed to it by God” at Easter Vigil) and they tell you No, they do not believe every single thing the church teaches. At Easter Vigil I have to say “Yes, I acknowledge this person is ready to come into full communion with the Catholic Church”. So if I back out they will have to get a fill in at the last minute. I just don’t think I could lie like that.

 

[1ke]

I think this is one of those “it depends” situations. It really depends on what they mean by “no” in relation to believing everything the Church teaches.

There is no way for an RCIA program to fully explain everything in a short period of time (typical RCIA is about 9-12 months unless they do it right and then catechumens might be as much as 3 years). In this time period, they will be exposed to many teachings, some will be at a high level that really deserve much deeper discussion and explanation. There will be many things to absorb.

So, if by “no” they mean they embrace the Church as having the fullness of truth and authority, but don’t fully understand everything yet, aren’t sure why the Church teaches what She teaches on various topics, maybe even that they “disagree” in the sense that they don’t fully accept it because they don’t understand it-- this is normal. If they fully intend to obey the Church in all her teachings as they continue to study, learn, and embrace the faith more fully, then I don’t see anything wrong with being their sponsor.

If they mean “no” as in “I don’t believe it and never will, and I fully intend to break XYZ law of the Church” or “no, I’m just doing this to please X, but I don’t really believe it” or “I can be a Catholic and still do X” then, I would not sponsor them. In fact, I would go further and tell the RCIA director and pastor that they are not ready to be admitted to the Church. That’s the role of a sponsor.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

RCIA is a process in which the catechumen comes into the Church. It is their search for truth. Most are not ready to accept all that the Church teaches until well into the program. I have had a few who still had doubts until well into Lent.

As a sponsor you help and encourage them in this search, but the decision is to be theirs. By the time they reach the Vigil they should either be prepared to accept the Church as the source for truth, or they should be honest enough not to go forward.

If they intend to go forward without that full commitment, you, of course, can not certify their readiness. However, I don’t know how you could judge this and withdraw much before Holy Week. One has to presume they will take the honest approach until they demonstrate otherwise.

 

[SHAKA_MAKA1]

Because they tell you “I do not believe everything the church teaches”. Let say they tell you. “I do not believe contraception is wrong and I do not plan to stop using it”. Contraception is an intrinsic evil. I would be saying “Yes, This person is ready to come into full communion, OH, and by the way the plan on continuing to do a instrinsic evil”. Then they are not in full communion.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Would it be wrong to go thru with sponsoring someone when at the very end of R.C.I.A. you ask the person you are sponsoring if they believe everything the Catholic Church teaches (which they have to profess, “I believe everything the Catholic Church teaches as revealed to it by God” at Easter Vigil) and they tell you No, they do not believe every single thing the church teaches. At Easter Vigil I have to say “Yes, I acknowledge this person is ready to come into full communion with the Catholic Church”. So if I back out they will have to get a fill in at the last minute. I just don’t think I could lie like that.

The Sponsor can speak up well before the Easter Vigil. During the interviews that take place (or should) along the way and before the Rite of Election/Continuing Conversion.

When a person answers “No, they do not believe every single thing the church teaches.” Then the Sponsor should reply with then how can I help you.

 

[SHAKA_MAKA1]

And then after you explain it and they still say . No I still don’t believe it.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

And then after you explain it and they still say . No I still don’t believe it.

You might try and find another person who can help them or even speak with the pastor and request his help. There is a difference betwen saying I don’t accept this or that, and saying I accept this as the Church teaches it, however I still don’t understand it.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Note that many think that to accept all that the Church teaches they must investigate all Church teachings and agree with them.

Rather they are to accept the Church as the source of true teachings, and be willing to accept the teachings as they encounter them as true just because the Church teaches them.

Ultimately there are three possible sources of truth - God, experts, and self.

If one takes God as the ultimate source for truth, one must have a way to determine what God states. For a Catholic the Church is God’s authorized spokesman.

“He who hears you hears me, and he who rejects you rejects me, and he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.”

Luke 10:16

One may take experts - scientists, theologians, etc - as the source. Note some will mistake an experts opinion of what God says as dependent on God for its validity; it relies on the expert as its basis as truth.

Common today is the practice of depending on oneself at the ultimate source of truth. Again, ones opinion/reasoning of what God says depends on self, not God, as the ultimate source of truth.