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Am I correct in saying that leaving the Catholic Church and joining a Protestant church is a grave, mortal sin?
Michael
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Is leaving the Catholic Church and joining a Protestant church is a grave, mortal sin? }
Eric replied:
Hi, Michael —
If done (knowing that it is grave matter [i.e. a serious sin]), and done freely and deliberately, then yes, it is a mortal sin. Vatican II put it:
This Sacred Council wishes to turn its attention firstly to the Catholic faithful. Basing itself upon Sacred Scripture and Tradition, it teaches that the Church, now sojourning on earth as an exile, is necessary for salvation. Christ, present to us in His Body, which is the Church, is the one Mediator and the unique way of salvation. In explicit terms He Himself affirmed the necessity of faith and baptism and thereby affirmed also the necessity of the Church, for through baptism as through a door men enter the Church. Whosoever, therefore, knowing that the Catholic Church was made necessary by Christ, would refuse to enter or to remain in it, could not be saved.
846 How are we to understand this affirmation, often repeated by the Church Fathers? (cf. Cyprian, Ep. 73.21:PL 3,1169; De unit.:PL 4,509-536.)
Re-formulated positively, it means that all salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is his Body:
Basing itself on Scripture and Tradition, the Council teaches that the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is the mediator and the way of salvation; he is present to us in his body which is the Church. He himself explicitly asserted the necessity of faith and Baptism, and thereby affirmed at the same time the necessity of the Church which men enter through Baptism as through a door. Hence they could not be saved who, knowing that the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God through Christ, would refuse either to enter it or to remain in it.
Yes, you are correct. The doctrine that there is no salvation outside the Church is relevant here. If someone walks away knowing that this is Christ's Church, they are in serious peril for it is a damnable offense. If they are ignorant, their culpability is less but only Christ can judge to what degree that culpability is.
These days the devil is doing a tremendous job of destroying people's faith in the Church, because too often, we associate it simply with the hierarchy, who are largely getting pressed for corruption. Scandal after scandal would make you believe this can't be a holy Church; but in truth, this is Christ's own Church, built on His Apostles, even if some Judases are sometimes in charge. The Teachings that have been passed down through the ages are Christ's own truth which, if rejected, is like rejecting Christ himself.
Sometimes people come full circle if they are truly on a quest to know the truth, and they make this stop along the way because what they believe about Catholicism is very distorted and the Protestant portion of truth seems clear. What they can't see at first is the plethora of errors in Protestantism, which ultimately becomes just as distorted as the erroneous version of Catholicism they once held.
So there is hope, but I would work to help this person find their way home, because anyone who jumps out of the Ark risks drowning.
Peace,
Bob Kirby
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