Page 2 | Has Anyone Successfully Left the Catholic Church?

Mercurial123 · 2023-08-03T12:11:21+00:00

Has anyone formally left the Catholic Church and if so how easy/difficult was it? And how did you feel afterwards? It's something I've been thinking about for a long time. My friends who were baptised Catholic but are now atheist looked a bit shocked, probably because no-one has ever considered it. This is from a US site, but the procedure be the same in the UK? https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/expresident/how-to-leave-the-catholic-church

sashagabadon · 03/08/2023 13:46

You don’t need to do anything. Just don’t go anymore

Isitsixoclockalready · 03/08/2023 13:53

tescocreditcard · 03/08/2023 13:18

There's no such thing as an ex catholic. If you were baptised a catholic then your a catholic.

Whether you choose to practice or not is up to you.

My mum converted to Judaism so she isn't Catholic anymore. When you become a Jew, you don't accept Jesus as a saviour and that is incompatible with being a Catholic.

Weedoormatnomore · 03/08/2023 13:54

NooNooTheNotSoGreat · 03/08/2023 13:40

The church don't base memberships on the census but on their own records.

Can't see anyone adding names of people just baptised or looking for death certificate of lapsed catholics to strike their names off!

Original poster

Mercurial123 · 03/08/2023 13:55

ExtraOnions · 03/08/2023 13:46

I’m Catholic … maybe we could unbaptise you .. dry your hair instead of wetting it?

There is no central register of Catholics, there is a baptism record, but that’s not going anywhere, that’s a record of an event.

What is it you want ? A piece of paper? To say what ??

Remove from the register as on my OP. A blow dry would be quite nice.

OP posts:

DdraigGoch · 03/08/2023 13:57

NooNooTheNotSoGreat · 03/08/2023 13:22

It matters to the OP because she'll be falsely counted as a member even though she no longer considers herself to be one.

As this related article states

"If you stop going to the gym, but retain your membership, you’re only hurting yourself, and your bank balance. By contrast, when you passively let the church count you as a member, you’re doing something more insidious. Because whenever the church exerts political influence, whether it’s in opposing same-sex marriage, or fighting against abortion rights, that influence is bolstered by the huge membership it claims – 1.3 billion Catholics worldwide.^ A^ number that’s enormously inflated by the fact that they’re counting everyone who’s ever been baptised. Even though, in the west, the vast majority of those are thoroughly lapsed."

www.theguardian.com/books/2021/apr/07/i-tried-to-quit-the-catholic-church-but-the-catholic-church-wouldnt-quit-me-now-what

They can claim all of the members they like, they don't have any influence in this country.

UnicornStarfish · 03/08/2023 13:58

Well I'm in the camp "don't go to church anymore and it's sorted". Never heard of anyone "formally" getting out.
I do like the idea of being granted an audience with the Pope! To have a little tête-a-tête with him would be interesting, to say the least.
I'm not sure I would want to be exorcised but I would LOVE to talk to someone who's been/seen/knows something about them in the first person not from watching the Exorcist.

Brokendaughter · 03/08/2023 14:00

It's pretty easy if it's that important to you.

From the Codex Juris Canonici

Canon 1364 - An apostate from the faith, a heretic, or a schismatic incurs a latae sententiae excommunication.

Canon 1367 - A person who throws away consecrated species, or takes (or retains) them for a sacrilegious purpose, incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the apostolic see.

Canon 1370 - A person who uses physical force against the Roman pontiff incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the apostolic see.

Canon 1378 - A priest who acts against the prescript of Canon 977 incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the apostolic see. (Canon 977 prohibits a priest from giving absolution to someone with whom he has had unlawful carnal relations).

Canon 1379 § 3 - Both a person who attempts to confer a sacred order on a woman, and the woman who attempts to receive the sacred order.

Canon 1382 - A bishop who consecrates a bishop without a pontifical mandate, and the person who receives the consecration, incur a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the apostolic see.

Canon 1388 - A confessor who directly violates the sacramental seal incurs a latae sententiae excommunication reserved to the apostolic see.

Canon 1398 - A person who procures a completed abortion incurs a latae sententiae excommunication.

Latae sententiae excommunication means it happens automatically at the moment have done one of the above, so you might already have been excommunicated.

KnittedCardi · 03/08/2023 14:03

tescocreditcard · 03/08/2023 13:18

There's no such thing as an ex catholic. If you were baptised a catholic then your a catholic.

Whether you choose to practice or not is up to you.

Not so. I don't believe, so whether I was baptized or not is irrelevant, because it has no legal or other binding status. I did not consent.

Anoushkaka · 03/08/2023 14:03

Don't be ridiculous. You can't formally leave. It's not like leaving a job, you can't send a letter to the Pope stating your resignation. Stop going to Church, it's really that simple.

Iwasafool · 03/08/2023 14:10

NooNooTheNotSoGreat · 03/08/2023 13:40

The point is that the church still count her as a member, regardless of what she puts on the census or what she tells other people.

In what way do they count her? Would Rome be informed of her death and if they aren't how accurate can any count be? They obviously know who is Baptised but unless you remain active in the church when would they stop counting you or do they just count everyone since the year dot unless they've had a Catholic funeral.

AgnesX · 03/08/2023 14:12

Errr, just don't go? It's not a cult, they don't make you.

Original poster

Mercurial123 · 03/08/2023 14:12

Anoushkaka · 03/08/2023 14:03

Don't be ridiculous. You can't formally leave. It's not like leaving a job, you can't send a letter to the Pope stating your resignation. Stop going to Church, it's really that simple.

Am I ridiculous, or are you hard of comprehension? Read my link in the OP.

OP posts:

Iwasafool · 03/08/2023 14:13

Mercurial123 · 03/08/2023 13:55

Remove from the register as on my OP. A blow dry would be quite nice.

Show quote history

Do you mean you want records of your Baptism removed? Surely that is just historical fact, you were Baptised. If you don't believe in Catholicism then why does that matter because to you it is meaningless but still historically accurate.

NancyPickford · 03/08/2023 14:13

I stopped going to church when I was 14 and haven't had confession or communion or been to Mass since. And I'm now very old. It never occurred to me that there was a formal process. I just no longer call myself a Catholic and any forms which need to know religion I just fill in as atheist. In my day you had to receive holy communion "at least once a year and that about Easter time" (still embedded in my brain) and if you didn't then you were automatically excommunicated. So I don't know if the modern church still operates like that, but if you've not had holy communion in over a year then they've chucked you out anyway. I think.

OchonAgusOchonOh · 03/08/2023 14:15

Mercurial123 · 03/08/2023 13:38

Exactly. Maybe I can become Communist are they still ex communicated? Madonna apparently managed to do it three times, which is quite impressive.

Show quote history

Excommunication doesn't remove you from the church. You only lose rights but you are still bound by ecclesiastical law.

I had high hopes of that as I have had an automatic excommunication as I had an abortion. Interestingly, dh was not excommunicated despite being a party to the decision.

Motherland2624 · 03/08/2023 14:16

You can’t leave unfortunately it’s for life

OchonAgusOchonOh · 03/08/2023 14:16

Anoushkaka · 03/08/2023 14:03

Don't be ridiculous. You can't formally leave. It's not like leaving a job, you can't send a letter to the Pope stating your resignation. Stop going to Church, it's really that simple.

It was that simple. However, they stopped letting people do that, presumably as too many people were doing it.

Museya15 · 03/08/2023 14:17

You just don't go to mass, you don't have to give notice.

OchonAgusOchonOh · 03/08/2023 14:18

NancyPickford · 03/08/2023 14:13

I stopped going to church when I was 14 and haven't had confession or communion or been to Mass since. And I'm now very old. It never occurred to me that there was a formal process. I just no longer call myself a Catholic and any forms which need to know religion I just fill in as atheist. In my day you had to receive holy communion "at least once a year and that about Easter time" (still embedded in my brain) and if you didn't then you were automatically excommunicated. So I don't know if the modern church still operates like that, but if you've not had holy communion in over a year then they've chucked you out anyway. I think.

Excommunicated people are still counted as catholic. They're just not allowed receive the sacraments until they repent.

lilacsinbloom · 03/08/2023 14:18

It's not Scientology.

The world is full of lapsed Catholics. No-one bothers them.

Xenia · 03/08/2023 14:19

At least we don't have the death penalty for apostacy as 9 countries do and I am sure we can all guess which religion those ones are....

NooNooTheNotSoGreat · 03/08/2023 14:21

Xenia. That's completely irrelevant. She's talking very specifically about wanting to formally leave the Catholic church. Also You don't get Brownie points for not not putting people to death you know. It's not exactly an achievement.

NooNooTheNotSoGreat · 03/08/2023 14:22

I really can't type today.

Psyclops · 03/08/2023 14:22

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

sorrythatwasme · 03/08/2023 14:23

I didn't know it was like scientology. I'm really confused by this. Don't want to judge you.

I had no idea there was anything formal going on with religion in this country.

Surely if you don't believe what they believe you aren't a catholic? As for becoming something else to get away, sounds like you're not okay and someone's pressuring you?

ISlam seems a nice easy choice. Tell them you've taken Shahada. They shouldn't want to keep you then.

I'm very curious and hope you're okay.