I don't know if some folks consider 'pissed' to be a bit of a swearage, or not. But anyway, I am indeed feeling rather pissed off at the moment.

On one hand, I'm feeling grateful that I was given the right to formally resign from the LDS Church, even if they don't reduce my membership count. I still have a letter that I can show to people, stating I am no longer considered to be a Mormon.

It may not mean a lot to some, but it means something to me.

On the other hand, when I was an infant, my mother had me baptized in the Catholic Church, at the urging of her own mother. But right after I was baptized, my mother left her church and never returned.

I was given no religious training, except for a brief bit of attendance at the Anglican Church with my Dad, when I was about 3 years old.

After that, it was my own searching which led me first to the Baptist Church and then eventually to the Mormon Church.

But, for the Catholics, they consider a baptism to be an historical event - one which cannot be undone. That's what pisses me off so much.

I was baptized, with no consent of my own, as an infant. But they say I cannot now undo that ordinance. I just wrote to a Catholic Priest, to ask him where the Church would consider me to be, if I'd been baptized, but had never even attended a Catholic Service before.

On January 4th, that's the first time I've ever been to a Catholic Mass, when we attended a Memorial Mass for my Uncle, which is what got me wondering how that church would regard my status with them. I've never been confirmed, or any of those other ordinances.

He wrote back, saying:

"You were baptized Catholic and so you are, unless you have rejected the teachings of the Church.

If you want to learn more about the faith you can refer to the Catholic Church in your area.

Catholic Parishes have RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) programs. THE PROGRAM IS OPEN for Catholics and non Catholics who wish to know more about the faith."

He completely ignored the fact that I identified myself as an atheist and specifically stated that I was quite annoyed that I'd been baptized without my own consent.

Pissed, I am. Grrrr. I hate these religious organizations. I really do.

Well, he said if you have rejected the teachings of the church you are not a member. Guess I am confused as to why you are upset.

All faiths have their "ages" to do things. I believe baby baptisms are fine....it is the parents promising to raise their child in the faith with the support of the congregation until you are confirmed. In my church it is around age 11 but can be longer. At that time YOU make the committment. 11 sure is better than an age of 8 baptism. What does a 2nd grader know about religion then?

Your mom did not fulfill her promise and so it left you in limbo. So now you decide for yourself what you want to do. Regardless of the technicalities, I would send in a resignation to the Catholic church and keep it in your records that you did so because you would want this knowledge passed on to family younger than you.

The only part I don't know about is excommunication for Catholics. I am totally unfamiliar with that.

honestone Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> The only part I don't know about is excommunication for Catholics. I am totally unfamiliar with that.

It's extrememly rare, and your average member never worries about it.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/2012 05:47PM by summer.

I guess what upset me was that in my initial letter to him, I specifically stated that I didn't appreciate being baptized without my consent and I told him that I was an atheist.

Then his first line was, "You were baptized Catholic and so you are." Perhaps it was a post-traumatic stress reaction of sort sort. LOL But I just got to thinking about how they all want to claim you, whether as an infant, or the Mormons baptizing after death.

It just bugged me. But thanks for pointing out the second part of his sentence. I'll try to concentrate on that. But the other thing which is bugging me is that I know that there isn't a letter you can get from the Catholics stating that you've resigned.

There used to be, but they stopped it. Now their position is that you can't undo an historical event.

Once the words are said there's no way to delete them but it doesn't mean the person is forever a Catholic or a mormon.

Catholics have another confirmation ritual for teens which is similar to mormon baptism and represents a formal induction into the faith.

Me too! I was baptized into a Protestant church by a minister relative before I converted to the LDS Church.

Oh well. If I don't believe in the rituals, they no longer apply to me. That was then, this is now.

I love the concept of: letting go and making peace with the past! The freedom is wonderful!

Yeah, I guess the idea of having a piece of paper is like a physical proof to me that I've taken back my own power. If I can't have that, then I'll just have to find another way to make peace with it.

Thanks, Cheryl, for mentioning that about Confirmations. It was just the fact that the Priest specifically said, "You are," (a Catholic). It made me want to go, "Am not!" LOL

Your post inspired me to do some research, Greyfort. This is what I found.

First of all, you are not on the register of your local parish. That would require an act of volition on your part. Even Catholic families who move have to go to their local church to register. As far as I can determine, there are no central membership records in the Catholic church. Records are kept at the local level in the parish and the diocese (roughly equivalent to a wardhouse and a stake.) So the record of your baptism would only be at the church and in the diocese where you were baptised.

Second, once you are baptised, as far as the Catholic church is concerned, you are a member of the church. The church does not currently process resignations, although it did for a brief window of time. This window of time started due to the policy of the German government of associating tax money with church membership. The RC church has since found a workaround to that. You can resign as a member in Germany for tax purposes but otherwise your membership stays intact.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Actus_formalis_defectionis_ab_Ecclesia_catholica

How this squares with U.S. law, I can't tell you. The only official way out is through excommunication, which is almost never done.

The best way I can describe this from the church's point of view is that they see it as a sort of family relationship. You don't normally resign from your family. You can walk away permanently if you want to, and the church will not chase after you. But if you ever want to come "home," the light is always on.

In my experience, most Catholics who lose interest in the church just walk away. They become inactive, or say that they were raised Catholic but no longer practice, they join another church, or they say that they are atheist, agnostic, or whatever. Most don't worry about it because the church doesn't track them down or pester them in any way.

I know that this doesn't solve your problem, but I thought that you might like the information.