Would I still be considered Catholic?

[lookaround]

In 2008 I converted to Catholicism but after some bad experiences and learning more about the Roman Catholic faith I left. I have not attended a Catholic Church services for more then a year.

 

[DavidFilmer]

In 2008 I converted to Catholicism but after some bad experiences and learning more about the Roman Catholic faith I left. I have not attended a Catholic Church services for more then a year.

If you were baptized in the Catholic Church, or baptized elsewhere but confirmed in the Catholic Church, then you are a Catholic (even if you have not recently participated in the Catholic liturgy).

You are always welcome to return. The process of returning is usually very simple - you simply go to confession. It might be more complex if you have committed serious acts against the Church, but I doubt that is the case.

The Church joyfully welcomes all Her “prodigal sons” back into Her family.

Any lingering questions you have are quite welcome here.

 

[Hippo393]

What caused you to no longer attend? The bad experiences, or learning more about the Catholic faith? Has another “faith” pulled you into another direction? Please advise. Thanks!

Just curious, what were those bad experiences? And even more, what were the experiences that moved you to convert to Catholicism in the first place…that’s a story I’d like to hear. From what church (or other) did you come from? Thanks!

 

[lookaround]

What caused you to no longer attend? The bad experiences, or learning more about the Catholic faith? Has another “faith” pulled you into another direction? Please advise. Thanks!

Just curious, what were those bad experiences? And even more, what were the experiences that moved you to convert to Catholicism in the first place…that’s a story I’d like to hear. From what church (or other) did you come from? Thanks!

I was in a non-christian faith, before I felt the calling to Christ. From reading the scriptures I know it was important to be baptized so I went out looking for a church.

I knew the Catholic Church was one of the oldest and some of my family is Catholic, so I just went there.
I attended RCIA classes for less then 6 months and was taught general Christian theology. After which I was baptized and confirmed.

I attended Mass, was involved at church, and continued to study Catholicism (even visited this forum to learn more).
Eventually I discovered the difference between general Christian theology (what is also commonly known as biblical theology) and Catholic theology (the teachings of the Magisterium).

I believed and was even taught from RCIA general Christian theology. Many of the dogmas and doctrines specific to the Catholic Church were bran new to me. I tried to force myself to believe them, but I just couldn’t. To be Catholic a person needs to believe 100% of what the Catholic Church teaches and I do not.

At this point I prefer not to get into my bad experiences while involved with the Catholic Church because I realize not all Priest are bad, but with everything happening at once it was just too much.

 

[Tomb54]

I was in a non-christian faith, before I felt the calling to Christ. From reading the scriptures I know it was important to be baptized so I went out looking for a church.

I knew the Catholic Church was one of the oldest and some of my family is Catholic, so I just went there.
I attended RCIA classes for less then 6 months and was taught general Christian theology. After which I was baptized and confirmed.

I attended Mass, was involved at church, and continued to study Catholicism (even visited this forum to learn more).
Eventually I discovered the difference between general Christian theology (what is also commonly known as biblical theology) and Catholic theology (the teachings of the Magisterium).

I believed and was even taught from RCIA general Christian theology. Many of the dogmas and doctrines specific to the Catholic Church were bran new to me. I tried to force myself to believe them, but I just couldn’t. To be Catholic a person needs to believe 100% of what the Catholic Church teaches and I do not.

At this point I prefer not to get into my bad experiences while involved with the Catholic Church because I realize not all Priest are bad, but with everything happening at once it was just too much.

I am sorry for you bad experiences and I hope with the help of God you can forgive those who did you wrong and do not hold it against the Church. One thing I do want to say though is while those other churches claim to be Biblical theology they only choose the parts that agrees with their interpretation of it. The Catholic Church compiled the Bible through the guidence of the Holy Spirit so this shows for a fact that the Holy Spirit is guiding the CC even though we have the weeds in with the wheat. The teachings of the Magisterium are really our guide to interpreting the bible and to share the Oral Traditions of the early Church as the bible says the leader of Christ Church are suppose to do. You can never force yourself to believe; It must be done with pure faith so I pray that you will find this faith but at least I see you still call yourself Christian which I see as a hopefully sign.

 

[Holly3278]

Once you become Catholic, you remain Catholic for life in the spiritual sense. You may always return by going to the Sacrament of Reconciliation also known as Penance.

 

[Holly3278]

I was in a non-christian faith, before I felt the calling to Christ. From reading the scriptures I know it was important to be baptized so I went out looking for a church.

I knew the Catholic Church was one of the oldest and some of my family is Catholic, so I just went there.
I attended RCIA classes for less then 6 months and was taught general Christian theology. After which I was baptized and confirmed.

I attended Mass, was involved at church, and continued to study Catholicism (even visited this forum to learn more).
Eventually I discovered the difference between general Christian theology (what is also commonly known as biblical theology) and Catholic theology (the teachings of the Magisterium).

I believed and was even taught from RCIA general Christian theology. Many of the dogmas and doctrines specific to the Catholic Church were bran new to me. I tried to force myself to believe them, but I just couldn’t. To be Catholic a person needs to believe 100% of what the Catholic Church teaches and I do not.

At this point I prefer not to get into my bad experiences while involved with the Catholic Church because I realize not all Priest are bad, but with everything happening at once it was just too much.

I hope that you did not leave the Church based on only a few or even one experience with one or even a few priests. I think that one should realize that all priests are just human and that they sin just as we all sin. Just because one priest does something wrong does not mean that all priests will.

 

[Scoobyshme]

You are Catholic now, and will remain so for all eternity. You have an indelible mark on your soul that even Ajax cannot remove.

Only the Catholic Church has the fullness of the teachings of Christ. Historically, all other Christian Churches came much, much later. The Orthodox broke off in 1054 A.D. And Protestantism didn’t start till 1517 A.D., and has been splintering ever since because by its nature, it is divisive. It allows every man, woman, and child to misinterpret the Scriptures according to their own whims and desires. That’s why there’s over 30,000 Protestant denominations, and counting! Jesus never wrote a book, nor did He instruct anyone else to do the same. He trained the Apostles and commanded them to train others likewise with ALL that He had taught them (Matt. 28:20). Yet, the Bible says that not ALL that Jesus did or taught is IN the Bible (John 21:25). So, if everything’s not IN the Bible, but we are to be taught ALL that is in the Bible, where’s the rest?! In Oral Tradition, a.k.a. Holy Tradition, which St. Paul talks about in 2 Thes. 2:15. Unlike Protestantism, the Catholic Church does not claim the right to correct or change the teachings of Jesus. Because of the nature of mankind, every book needs an authoritative interpreter. Even our Constitution needs a Supreme Court as a final arbiter of what it means. 1 Tim 3:15 says the Church is the “pillar and foundation of truth.” It is this Church, which alone was founded personally by Jesus Christ, the we find that authoritative interpreter of Scripture.

You may enjoy watching a three-part video (Free, of course!) on “Origin of the Bible” at the following link:

alabamacatholicresources.com/Bible.html

 

[Gamera]

In 2008 I converted to Catholicism but after some bad experiences and learning more about the Roman Catholic faith I left. I have not attended a Catholic Church services for more then a year.

My answer slightly differs from those above.

Yes, baptism is indelible, but I get the feeling that you are asking whether you are considered “Catholic” in the sense that the Catholic Church considers you to still be bound by Church law, such as the requirement to attend mass, etc. If that is your question, the answer is yes, you remain “Catholic” until you make a formal move to quit the Church. You don’t cease being a member just because you stop showing up – if that were true, most Catholics would have stopped being Catholic at some time or another. You do stop being a member if you formally join another religious body, though. For instance, if you were to be admitted to a Protestant church as a congregant, that would be a formal way of saying you no longer were Catholic. You wouldn’t be bound by Canon Law then.

But don’t go! LOL

 

[SecretBeliever]

Gamera,

You said, “You do stop being a member if you formally join another religious body, though. For instance, if you were to be admitted to a Protestant church as a congregant, that would be a formal way of saying you no longer were Catholic.”

(sorry, I don’t know how to do the quote)

I sort of asked that same question a while ago, and the answer I got was that if I had never requested release from the church i.e. written a letter to the Bishop stating that I wanted to leave, then I am still Catholic. That only “juridically” (not sure exactly what that means!) I was a member of the other church–to me that meant “circumstantially” I suppose. Can anyone answer this definitively? Thanks!

 

[Della]

I was in a non-christian faith, before I felt the calling to Christ. From reading the scriptures I know it was important to be baptized so I went out looking for a church.

I knew the Catholic Church was one of the oldest and some of my family is Catholic, so I just went there.
I attended RCIA classes for less then 6 months and was taught general Christian theology. After which I was baptized and confirmed.

I attended Mass, was involved at church, and continued to study Catholicism (even visited this forum to learn more).
Eventually I discovered the difference between general Christian theology (what is also commonly known as biblical theology) and Catholic theology (the teachings of the Magisterium).

I believed and was even taught from RCIA general Christian theology. Many of the dogmas and doctrines specific to the Catholic Church were bran new to me. I tried to force myself to believe them, but I just couldn’t. To be Catholic a person needs to believe 100% of what the Catholic Church teaches and I do not.

At this point I prefer not to get into my bad experiences while involved with the Catholic Church because I realize not all Priest are bad, but with everything happening at once it was just too much.

It’s true no one can “force” themselves to believe anything, but if you knew why the Church teaches what it does–and most importantly why it cannot be wrong in matters of faith and morals, the teachings you find difficult might become clearer to you. And while it’s true Catholics must give assent to all the teachings of the Church, it’s not true that we must fully understand them. It’s best to understand them as well as we can–not everyone can be a deep theologian nor are we expected to be.

Why not start threads to discuss the teachings you cannot accept so we can help you understand their history, their rightness, their reasonableness, and their biblical foundations (not biblical proofs–the Bible is not and never was meant to be a proof text for doctrine/dogma but rather a witness to God’s revelation to man, especially the revelation of Christ). We are here to help you all we can.

 

[Tantum_ergo]

My answer slightly differs from those above.

Yes, baptism is indelible, but I get the feeling that you are asking whether you are considered “Catholic” in the sense that the Catholic Church considers you to still be bound by Church law, such as the requirement to attend mass, etc. If that is your question, the answer is yes, you remain “Catholic” until you make a formal move to quit the Church. You don’t cease being a member just because you stop showing up – if that were true, most Catholics would have stopped being Catholic at some time or another. You do stop being a member if you formally join another religious body, though. For instance, if you were to be admitted to a Protestant church as a congregant, that would be a formal way of saying you no longer were Catholic. You wouldn’t be bound by Canon Law then.

But don’t go! LOL

Actually, Gamara, I think that only a few bishops had ‘permitted’ a person who ‘formally joined’ another body to be considered 'no longer Catholic and this only for a relatively short period of time and in a few places, but this was never ‘official’ doctrinal teaching for the entire Catholic body and in any case, has been recently (1980s I think) rejected as a possibility now in any case.

So even if the OP were to join the Church of the Nazarene or something, the OP is STILL considered Catholic.

 

[Deconi]

Actually, Gamara, I think that only a few bishops had ‘permitted’ a person who ‘formally joined’ another body to be considered 'no longer Catholic and this only for a relatively short period of time and in a few places, but this was never ‘official’ doctrinal teaching for the entire Catholic body and in any case, has been recently (1980s I think) rejected as a possibility now in any case.

So even if the OP were to join the Church of the Nazarene or something, the OP is STILL considered Catholic.

Agreed.

Once baptized Catholic, it’s for life!..like circumcision! Confession is the requirement upon returning, for obvious reasons. I understand that RCIA is optional to ‘refresh’ what may have been ‘forgotten’. Even excommunicated Catholics remain ‘marked’ by their baptism for life!

 

[RosaryFan]

I was always under the impression that once you are Catholic (baptized and confirmed), you are always Catholic, even if you join another congregation. Am I wrong?

I didn’t think you could “quit” Catholicism anymore than you could quit being human.

 

[Prophesy]

I was always under the impression that once you are Catholic (baptized and confirmed), you are always Catholic, even if you join another congregation. Am I wrong?

I didn’t think you could “quit” Catholicism anymore than you could quit being human.

Precisely. =p
Whether or not the person would list themselves as a Catholic or not is up to them. But to the Church, you’re still Catholic and it’s praying for a homecoming.

-Prophecy

 

[Texas_Roofer]

I was in a non-christian faith, before I felt the calling to Christ. From reading the scriptures I know it was important to be baptized so I went out looking for a church.

I knew the Catholic Church was one of the oldest and some of my family is Catholic, so I just went there.
I attended RCIA classes for less then 6 months and was taught general Christian theology. After which I was baptized and confirmed.

I attended Mass, was involved at church, and continued to study Catholicism (even visited this forum to learn more).
Eventually I discovered the difference between general Christian theology (what is also commonly known as biblical theology) and Catholic theology (the teachings of the Magisterium).

I believed and was even taught from RCIA general Christian theology. Many of the dogmas and doctrines specific to the Catholic Church were bran new to me. I tried to force myself to believe them, but I just couldn’t. To be Catholic a person needs to believe 100% of what the Catholic Church teaches and I do not.

At this point I prefer not to get into my bad experiences while involved with the Catholic Church because I realize not all Priest are bad, but with everything happening at once it was just too much.

I will bet if you continue to learn you will come back around to catholicism