Leaving the Catholic Church

LifesgoodwithLG

Good afternoon everyone,

This thread may be already discussed to death however I would appreciate it if you anyone can assist me. I was baptized as a baby and I formally wish to leave the Catholic Church and renounce my membership of it. I understand that Canon Law has changed so that I can not use the services of Count me Out. A friend told me that there is no way to remove myself from membership of the RC but I am sincerely hoping that this is incorrect.

Can anyone please advise me how I can officially and formally leave the Catholic Church as it is something that is really important to me. This is not a whimisical decision as I have thought about it for a long time. I can not reconcile my personal beliefs with the teachings of the church. I believe wholeheartedly that everyone should have be allowed to practice their own religion and to chose to follow or not a belief system of their choice.

Many thanks for reading my post and pointing me in the right direction, its greatly appreciated.

All the best, Laura

lmaopml

Hi Laura,

Indeed if you use the search facility you will see similar threads that may be of interest to you.

In my opinion personally - all you really need to do is not believe in God to be an Atheist, or if you wish to change to another Christian denomination you can just go and investigate them and explore them, most of them will recognise that you have been baptised a Christian.

You were baptised Catholic Christian, and this can't be 'undone' insofar as it's in the past - however the 'official' register that the state uses for decision making purposes and planning is really the census and not the baptismal register. So if you would like to be represented as far as important state planning is concerned be sure to tick the relevant box under the religion section on the form.

If you would prefer to be 'recognised' as a person who left the Catholic Church, you could always write to your Bishop outlining the reasons why you don't consider yourself to be a Catholic anymore.

Ohh and you must run around the Church three times anti-clockwise waving a banana too..........


...just kidding

LifesgoodwithLG

Thanks a million for taking the time to respond to me lmaopml,

I indicated my religious choice on the Census however it does not seem enough to me. I understand that you can not change the past in terms of being baptized however I can not get my head around the concept of being tied to the RC as one of their members for ever.

I am not being antagonistic and I firmly believe that people should be allowed and respected in following their belief system.

Now where do I get that banana ? Thanks again and have a good evening.

Benny_Cake

Hi Laura, can I suggest that you may find it helpful to do a search on this forum and on A&A as this is an issue that has come up repeatedly.

My understanding is that there is currently no formal procedure for defecting from the church. If it's something you want to do, you could try digging out on of the sample letters that are available online, and send it off to the Bishop in the diocese you were baptised in (don't forget to include the church and the date of your baptism). Worth a try anyway.

To echo what lmaopml said, the state uses the census returns to determine the membership of religious groups. These figures have their own set of problems (just ask over on A&A and they'll tell you all about them! ).

On a personal note, I recently began attending the services of another denomination, but haven't felt the need to formally defect as it was something I consider a positive decision for me, rather than a negative reaction to Catholicism as there are a great many aspects of Catholicism as well as individual Catholics, which I have huge respect for. If you don't consider yourself Catholic, you aren't Catholic in my book. Best of luck with it whatever you decide to do.

lmaopml

LifesgoodwithLG wrote: »

Thanks a million for taking the time to respond to me lmaopml,

I indicated my religious choice on the Census however it does not seem enough to me.

If you live in Dublin the Archdiocese keeps a list of defectors for those that wish to be recorded as such if that helps? I wouldn't be surprised if other diocese do the same thing if you are living elsewhere you could contact your Bishop about it.

If in Dublin you can send your letter to...

The Chancellery,
Archbishops House,
Drumcondra,
Dublin 9.

I understand that you can not change the past in terms of being baptized however I can not get my head around the concept of being tied to the RC as one of their members for ever.

Baptismal registers are only records that you have received the Sacrament, they are important for very many reasons, much like if somebody got married in the Church it will be recorded too.....they are not used to calculate numbers of members in an area, the Church uses the census figures for this.

Nobody for instance would presume that upon looking at a record that the person is still a practicing Catholic, or even that they may be still 'alive' for that matter......the only time your baptismal cert will become necessary for anybody to look at is if you chose to get married in church etc. etc.

I am not being antagonistic and I firmly believe that people should be allowed and respected in following their belief system.

Thank you. I believe so too..

Now where do I get that banana ? Thanks again and have a good evening.

You too, very best wishes.