Meredith
wrote:
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Hey, guys —
- I was wondering if your being born Catholic is dependent
on whether your mother or father is Catholic?
I can't seem to find the answer anywhere! I had always
thought the Catholic faith was a patrilineal religion,
but a friend recently told me he thought it was a matrilineal
one.
- Do you have any thoughts on this topic?
Thank you,
Meredith
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As a Catholic, is
your birth dependent on whether your mother
or father was a Catholic? }
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John
replied:
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Meredith,
We are born spiritually dead in original sin. In
other words, we are born pagans. We not born Catholic
or Christian. We become Catholic or Christian when
we are baptized and become
born again or born from above.
Any Catholic choosing to marry outside the faith,
must commit to baptizing their children and bringing
them up as Catholics, irrespective of whether they
are the mother or the father.
If the non-Catholic spouse is not willing to agree
to these terms, then the Church will not give a dispensation
for the marriage to take place.
John
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Mike
replied:
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Meredith,
I just wanted to add to my colleague's fine comments.
No one is born Catholic. The majority, if not all,
Catholic parents baptize their child Catholic because
they want what's best for their child's physical
and spiritual well-being, not only on Earth, but
in Eternity. Jesus makes it very clear, in the Scriptures,
"unless you are baptized you cannot be saved." (John 3:5-7)
Jesus founded one Church on St. Peter and His successors.
It is into this Church, Jesus'
Church, that Catholic
Christian parents want their children baptized.
Hope this helps,
Mike
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Mary
Ann replied:
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Meredith,
It is the Jews who count Jewishness from the mother.
Catholics are not born anything. We are baptized
into Catholicism!
Mary Ann
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