Receiving sacraments

[Bashful]

Is it required that you register with the parish in order to receive any sacrament (such as baptizing a child, sacrament of penance (going to confession), etc.) and fulfilling the Sunday or holy day of obligation to attend mass? Just moved into a new house outside of my old parish boundaries into a new territory. I thought there is only one Catholic church and that all Catholics are members of the church and there is no where in canon law that states that you are required to register or fill out a census form.

 

[SMHW]

Is it required that you register with the parish in order to receive any sacrament (such as baptizing a child, sacrament of penance (going to confession), etc.) and fulfilling the Sunday or holy day of obligation to attend mass?

No one is going to ask you to register to attend Mass, receive communion, or receive absolution.

However in the case of the one time or first time sacraments, the pastor of the parish has a responsibility to make sure the that the recipient (or the parents in the case of infants) the sacrament is properly prepared and disposed to receive the sacrament. That means the pastor has to know the parishioner. In the United States, registration is the normal first step by which the pastor gets to know the parishioner.

 

[Vico]

Is it required that you register with the parish in order to receive any sacrament (such as baptizing a child, sacrament of penance (going to confession), etc.) and fulfilling the Sunday or holy day of obligation to attend mass? Just moved into a new house outside of my old parish boundaries into a new territory. I thought there is only one Catholic church and that all Catholics are members of the church and there is no where in canon law that states that you are required to register or fill out a census form.

There are 23 Catholic sui iuris churches: the Latin and twenty-two eastern. They have different canon laws. The Latin Canon law has:

Can. 518 As a general rule a parish is to be territorial, that is, one which includes all the Christian faithful of a certain territory. When it is expedient, however, personal parishes are to be established determined by reason of the rite, language, or nationality of the Christian faithful of some territory, or even for some other reason.

Can. 519 The pastor (parochus) is the proper pastor (pastor) of the parish entrusted to him, exercising the pastoral care of the community committed to him under the authority of the diocesan bishop in whose ministry of Christ he has been called to share, so that for that same community he carries out the functions of teaching, sanctifying, and governing, also with the cooperation of other presbyters or deacons and with the assistance of lay members of the Christian faithful, according to the norm of law.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

A Catholic can attend Mass and Confession at any Catholic parish. You should register at a parish and be known to the pastor.

 

[ServusHumilis]

I still don’t think I’m technically registered with the parish I go to, though the only sacraments I’ve received are Holy Communion and Confession. I would think you’d definately have to be registered to receive some of the others.

If you liked your old parish and are still close enough you can continue going there if you wish. For me a nice Sunday drive out to a country church became a weekly thing and I’m still going there most Sundays nearly two years later. There are three closer Catholic churches I pass on my drive to Mass.

 

[ServusHumilis]

I still don’t think I’m technically registered with the parish I go to, though the only sacraments I’ve received are Holy Communion and Confession. I would think you’d definitely have to be registered to have a child baptized.

If you liked your old parish and are still close enough you can continue going there if you wish. For me a nice Sunday drive out to a country Extraordinary Form Mass became a weekly thing and I’m still going there most Sundays nearly two years later. There are three closer Catholic churches I pass on my drive to Mass.

 

[Phemie]

Is it required that you register with the parish in order to receive any sacrament (such as baptizing a child, sacrament of penance (going to confession), etc.) and fulfilling the Sunday or holy day of obligation to attend mass? Just moved into a new house outside of my old parish boundaries into a new territory. I thought there is only one Catholic church and that all Catholics are members of the church and there is no where in canon law that states that you are required to register or fill out a census form.

Parishes are defined by either territorial boundaries (you live on Street X, in Town Y, you belong to Parish Z) or by language, ethnicity, etc (Personal Parish established to serve all the insert nationality or language here in a given area).

Regardless of whether you belong to a territorial or a personal parish, it belongs to the Pastor of that parish to confer the sacraments of Baptism & Matrimony. You need your Pastor’s permission to receive those sacraments in another parish, though, in my experience, when it comes to Baptism that is often ignored in practice. If you want to marry in another parish in another diocese, both bishops also have to grant permission.

It belongs to the bishop of the diocese in which you reside to confer the sacrament of Confirmation.

Communion, Confession, and Sacrament of the Sick you can receive anywhere.