Hello Rosary Lovers! In this post we ask: Is it wrong to be Catholic?
The short answer is: No, it is not wrong to be Catholic.
The reverse to this answer is: It is wrong to NOT be Catholic.
How is it wrong not to be Catholic?
It is wrong not to be Catholic because the holy Catholic and apostolic Church IS the actual Church that Jesus Christ founded in the 1st century AD.
There is no other Church that he founded.
In fact, the Catholic Church was the FIRST Church, before all the others came along much later.
This is why many groups of Christians still claim to be ‘catholic’ even though they are separate from the Catholic Church.
Many Christians still recognise that the word ‘catholic’ is important, and that we should all be ‘catholic’. Many Christians who have separated from the Catholic Church are trying to hold onto the word ‘catholic’ for themselves.
ALL of the apostles followers were catholics. St Ignatius of Antioch in 107 AD was Bishop of Antioch. He knew the Apostle John! He writes that the true Christians are the Catholics.
Someone can claim to be ‘catholic’ all they like, but unless they are full members of the Catholic Church by baptism, confirmation and participation in the body and blood of Christ, they are not Catholic in the full sense of the word.
Let’s face the facts: when all is said and done, the Catholic Church is the only Church in the world which addresses herself as ‘the Catholic Church’. All the other Churches address themselves with some other title.
In addition: the Catholic Church is the only Church in the world which is addressed by the other Churches as ‘the Catholic Church’.
For me, this speaks volumes. This is God’s providence. There is one Church in the world that God has permitted to call herself and be called by everyone else ‘The Catholic Church’.
It’s as if God is pointing with a giant finger: ‘I’m going to make this really obvious: THIS is my Church!’
So the only way to be a true Catholic and a true Christian is to become a member of the Catholic Church, headed up by the Pope of Rome. You do this by baptism, confirmation and partaking of the Holy Eucharist.
You then try and follow what the Church teaches about how to live, and you submit all of your personal opinions about religion, faith and morals to the teachings of the holy Catholic Church.
This is what a Catholic is. This is what submission to God and his will truly looks like.
To not be a Catholic is to not be part of Christ’s true Church on earth. Which is a very serious matter, and could endanger your eternal destiny.
So it really does matter what church you are part of. Is it the one Jesus set up, or is it one set up by a mere man or group of men many years after Jesus?
What if someone doesn’t know about the Catholic Church?
If someone doesn’t know about the Catholic Church or if someone doesn’t understand the Catholic Church, or hasn’t been taught that the Catholic Church is from God and is true, then this person may well be innocent.
They may well be able to claim invincible ignorance before God on judgment day.
We have to do what we can to discover the truth, but if the truth is kept hidden from us by circumstances that are beyond our control, then we are not guilty of failing to become members of the Catholic Church.
This is why the Church teaches that it may be possible that people of other religions, who know nothing of Christ and his Church, can be saved.
God doesn’t expect anyone to do what they cannot do. If someone doesn’t know about the Gospel or the Church, then they have a very valid excuse on Judgment day for not believing in Jesus.
If such is the case, God will investigate how well they followed their conscience, which is the voice of God within the human soul.
Final Thoughts
So no, it is absolutely not wrong to be Catholic, and the very idea is frankly absurd.
It is nothing but RIGHT to be Catholic. To convert to the Catholic Church is the RIGHT thing to do, because this is the path to salvation.
And if you were born and baptised Catholic, then continue in it!
If you have left it, come back to it! It’s only a short step back. Merely go to a Catholic priest and discuss your situation.
You can be absolutely sure of this: the Catholic Church is the only Church in the world which has always kept the Gospel unsullied from worldly ideas.
The Catholic Church has always taught the same truths and she will continue to teach them until Jesus returns.
The Catholic Church gave the world the Bible. There is no Bible without the Catholic Church. And no other Church has the correct Bible other than the Catholic Church.
So what else do we have to rely on? If the Catholic Church gave us the Bible, she must also interpret it.
Who is there to judge that the Catholic Church is wrong, and that it is wrong to be Catholic? Does the Bible say: ‘It is wrong to be a Catholic’? Of course not.
Those who say that it is wrong to be a Catholic have taken it upon themselves to play God with his Scripture. They are using their fallible human reason to interpret the Bible, thinking that it teaches the Catholic Church is wrong.
They cannot see that it is THEY who may in fact be wrong.
If anything, it is wrong NOT to be Catholic.
Failing to become Catholic when someone knows the Church and her teachings, and knows the Church is from God, can result in eternal perdition and estrangement from God.
So please, consider these things, and don’t listen to anyone who says that it is wrong to be Catholic. They don’t know what they are saying. I said this for years, and I was in ignorance of the truth.
If you have any questions, please get in touch.
God bless.