Some Questions About Protestant Converts

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Emma2829

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  1. Is there a difference between “converting to Catholicism” and “being received into the Catholic Church”? Example: I was baptized Episcopalian as an infant. During college, I went through RCIA and received 1st communion and confirmation when I was 19. I was recently told that it was inaccurate/inappropriate to refer to myself as a “convert” because “conversion” gives the impression that Catholicism and Christianity are somehow separate religions.
  2. Does “once a Catholic, always a Catholic” apply to Protestant converts (i.e., people who were not baptized Catholic)? If my baptism made me a Christian, but not a Catholic, then when exactly did I become a Catholic? Was it when I first received the Eucharist or was it when I received the sacrament of Confirmation? And does this mean that I will always be a Catholic in the eyes of Church?
  3. On a related note, if an Episcopalian baptism and a Catholic baptism are both equally valid sacraments (meaning they have the same effect on a person’s soul), what exactly is the difference? How does one baptism make the recipient a full member of the Church, but the other does not?
  4. Finally, I’ve noticed that whenever an article or statistic makes reference to the U.S. Catholic population, it is defined as anyone who was baptized in the Catholic Church. Does this mean that Catholic converts from Protestantism are not counted as part of the Catholic population? Or are they counted in a separate category?
 
Emma2829 said:
  1. Is there a difference between “converting to Catholicism” and “being received into the Catholic Church”? Example: I was baptized Episcopalian as an infant. During college, I went through RCIA and received 1st communion and confirmation when I was 19. I was recently told that it was inaccurate/inappropriate to refer to myself as a “convert” because “conversion” gives the impression that Catholicism and Christianity are somehow separate religions.
  2. Does “once a Catholic, always a Catholic” apply to Protestant converts (i.e., people who were not baptized Catholic)? If my baptism made me a Christian, but not a Catholic, then when exactly did I become a Catholic? Was it when I first received the Eucharist or was it when I received the sacrament of Confirmation? And does this mean that I will always be a Catholic in the eyes of Church?
  3. On a related note, if an Episcopalian baptism and a Catholic baptism are both equally valid sacraments (meaning they have the same effect on a person’s soul), what exactly is the difference? How does one baptism make the recipient a full member of the Church, but the other does not?
  4. Finally, I’ve noticed that whenever an article or statistic makes reference to the U.S. Catholic population, it is defined as anyone who was baptized in the Catholic Church. Does this mean that Catholic converts from Protestantism are not counted as part of the Catholic population? Or are they counted in a separate category?
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  1. A convert is someone who comes into the Church from another religion-- an unbaptized person who receives baptism. A baptized person can’t “convert” as they are already a Christian. They are received into full communion. In practice people use these terms interchangeably even though they really aren’t.
  2. At your profession of faith and reception into full communion you become a Catholic and are henceforth bound by ecclesial law.
  3. Yes, baptism makes one Christian and brings one into the Church (since the Church is one). However, baptism outside the Church binds one imperfectly to the Church as the Church chooses to refrain from applying ecclesial law to non Catholic Christians except when they seek to marry a Catholic.
  4. Well, statistics vary widely and you would have to ask the author of the article in question where they got their stats and what the stats include. It’s possible the author didn’t ask the right question and got baptisms because that’s what they asked for-- authors are often ignorant. In my experience, most articles use self-identification as “Catholic” which can mean anything from an active, practicing Catholic to someone whose grandmother was Catholic but who never sets foot in any church,
The Church itself certainly includes all those who are baptized into or received into the Church as 100% Catholic. I report annually to the diocese the # of baptisms, confirmations, Eucharist, marriages, convalidations, deaths, and receptions into full communion from our parish.
 
What 1ke said! 👍

The only point I can add is that there are three Rites of initiation - the first Rite is Baptism, the second Rite is Confirmation and the third Rite is Eucharist. To be fully initiated into the Catholic Church you need to receive all three … though Baptism - done with proper matter [water] and form [in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit] - marks you as a Christian person

🙂 Have a Blessed Easter Season
 
YADA said:
What 1ke said! 👍

The only point I can add is that there are three Rites of initiation - the first Rite is Baptism, the second Rite is Confirmation and the third Rite is Eucharist. To be fully initiated into the Catholic Church you need to receive all three … though Baptism - done with proper matter [water] and form [in the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit] - marks you as a Christian person

🙂 Have a Blessed Easter Season
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Yes, all three sacraments make on fully initiated, but not Catholic. Baptism or reception into the Church makes one Catholic.

Many Catholics are never fully initiated, and yet they are 100% Catholic.
 
At your Catholic baptism (adult or infant) or at your reception into full communion as a “convert” (which 1ke has already said isn’t the proper word), a profession of faith is made. Don’t overlook the significance of that as part of your incorporation into the Church. It’s part of the sacraments of initiation, but it is not of lesser significance than the sacraments themselves as far as making one truly Catholic.
 
1ke said:
Yes, all three sacraments make on fully initiated, but not Catholic. Baptism or reception into the Church makes one Catholic.

Many Catholics are never fully initiated, and yet they are 100% Catholic.
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Yes - I agree and said so - I agreed with all that you said

I just wanted to make the point that the Three Rites make up the Rites of Initiation … not just one - but all three - As should be our desire to be fully Initiated into the Church - we should want to receive the Rites of Initiation and that means all three Rites -

I think it is sad that many do not do so - nor understand that the three Rites - together - are the Initiation Rites

Have a Blessed Easter
 
So I was baptized and confirmed in the Episcopal church and was a lapsed Episcopalian 18 - 43 yrs. of age and the next 12 years studied Catholicism, Judaism
and returned to the Episcopal Church briefly before joining an Anglican church.
Finally at 56 I joined the Catholic church. So I don’t call myself a convert?
Do I say I was received into the Church or came into full communion?
Which is proper?
 
“Received” and “came into full communion” are both ok. I generally tell people I “joined” the Catholic Church.

I find most people aren’t as concerned about the nuances as those of us who engage in the forums here.

Pax
 
Cor_ad_Cor said:
At your Catholic baptism (adult or infant) or at your reception into full communion as a “convert” (which 1ke has already said isn’t the proper word), a profession of faith is made. Don’t overlook the significance of that as part of your incorporation into the Church. It’s part of the sacraments of initiation, but it is not of lesser significance than the sacraments themselves as far as making one truly Catholic.
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I think the word Convert means one has “converted” from a non Catholic to a Catholic. Baptism is just the first step into the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church includes all who have taken that first step as one of Her children. Even if they don’t realize it. And we pray they will one day continue that journey into full union with the Catholic Church. God Bless, Memaw
 
Memaw said:
I think the word Convert means one has “converted” from a non Catholic to a Catholic. Baptism is just the first step into the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church includes all who have taken that first step as one of Her children. Even if they don’t realize it. And we pray they will one day continue that journey into full union with the Catholic Church. God Bless, Memaw
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Excellent point. I believe there are a great many of us (probably more than not) who when we make our baptismal promises or profession of faith may not fully understand what it means, but our intent is to believe and follow… hopefully, we grow along the way and understand better (which leads to deeper believe, closer following, etc. in an almost cyclic way).
 
7_Sorrows said:
So I was baptized and confirmed in the Episcopal church and was a lapsed Episcopalian 18 - 43 yrs. of age and the next 12 years studied Catholicism, Judaism
and returned to the Episcopal Church briefly before joining an Anglican church.
Finally at 56 I joined the Catholic church. So I don’t call myself a convert?
Do I say I was received into the Church or came into full communion?
Which is proper?
Click to expand...
I was a Protestant who became Catholic. I typically say I converted to Catholicism. I think the word converted is proper. It was a change of beliefs not least concerning the nature of the Church. Modern Protestants typically ‘join’ churches with an understanding of the invisibility of the Church. To me the word join seems to assume the truth of denominationalism. Also, enough Protestants don’t consider Catholicism to be Christian so that for them conversion would be the right word.
 
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