Should Catholics try to evangelize Protestants?

[Writer]

Michelle Arnold’s quote from another answer got me thinking.
Michelle Arnold:

If someone were to understand that he should investigate the Catholic Church’s claims or if he knew that those claims were true, and refused to either investigate or enter the Church, then culpability for his decision to reject the Church would begin to be an issue.

Most of my family are wonderful and God-fearing people but they are Protestants. This quote hits on something that bothers me from time to time when in discussions with my family who oppose our move to the Catholic Church (some more than others).

In a sense and for their own eternal good, couldn’t the argument be made that it is best for a Catholic not to try to convert a Protestant, since it could potentially lead to a degree of culpability which otherwise might not exist in the Protestant? What are your thoughts? Should I keep my mouth shut in defense of Catholicism out of concern for their spiritual welfare, or should the truth always be proclaimed and simply trust God to sort out the mess in the end?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Immediately after its discussion of extra ecclesiam nulla salus (Latin, “Outside the Church, no salvation”) and its affirmation that it is possible that those who do not become formal Catholics may be saved, the Catechism of the Catholic Church goes on to say:

“Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men” (CCC 848, citation from Ad Gentes 7).

The Catholic Church has the fullness of Christian truth and that truth is meant to be shared with all. Look at it this way: Suppose you were feasting at a banquet and knew that your relatives were scrounging for crumbs under the table. Should you invite them to the feast, even though they might spurn your offer, or should you let them continue to scrounge, figuring that they’ll scrape up enough off the floor to keep from starving (cf. James 2:15-17)?

Something similar might be said of truth. You can have a seat at the table and eat your fill, or you can make do with what you can find on the floor dropped in the dirt and covered in bugs. Catholics have a seat at the table of truth and have the obligation to share that with those who do not yet have a seat alongside them. Non-Catholics do have some truth (like food), but it is not complete (like a banquet) and may be mixed with error (like the dirt and bugs).

In short, yes, you should defend Catholicism as the opportunity becomes available. But, more than that, you should do your best to make Catholicism “appetizing” to your relatives by being the best Christian God’s grace enables you to be and by showing them not just the plausibility of Catholicism but also its beauty. And if, in the end, your relatives are sincerely unable in conscience to accept the truth of Catholicism, God will judge them on how well they lived according to the truth that they did have.

Recommended reading:

Search and Rescue by Patrick Madrid
How NOT to Share Your Faith by Mark Brumley