Hi Dana,

Thanks for the good question.

You said:

• If you disagree with one of the Catholic Church's teachings, does it mean you are not Catholic anymore?
• For example, if I believed that Communion is a symbol and not actually transformed into Jesus's Body and Blood, does that one disagreement mean that I am not a Catholic?

Once one is baptized a Catholic, they are always a Catholic. The issue is whether they will be:

• a dissenting Catholic at their particular judgment or
• a faithful one.

It depends on the attitude one has.

If they are open to understanding the reasoning behind any given teaching and are trying to understand it, that is good, and can bear good fruit.

If they are not open, they should refrain from receiving Holy Communion when they renew their Sunday Covenant at Mass because they are publicly saying they are in a Common Union with the Catholic Church, when they are not.

If someone in authority publicly protests an issue of faith and morals, the bishop is obliged to warn the faithful about that person and, based on that person's reaction, take the appropriate steps.

All along, the bishop, the pastor, along with his local priests should be focused on what is best for that person's salvation and the salvation of the faithful.

We have answered similar questions which you can find in our searchable knowledge base.

There are a lot of quick answers there, so give it a try.

I searched the knowledge base for you and found these web postings that may help answer anything thing I missed in my reply.

• Can a Catholic receive Holy Communion if they don't believe all that the Church proposes? (Part 1)
• What does one do if a Catholic doubts Church teachings but wants to receive the sacraments?
• Search Results for: disagree doubts

I hope this helps,

Mike