Fellow Catholics, is it wrong for us to worship in non-denominational christian churches?

Question

I'm a practicing Roman Catholic. I recently moved to a city in the South that does not have a Catholic church. Most of the christian churches here are non-denominational. The nearest Catholic church to me is over 500 miles away into the next county. I cannot always travel that far. Would a non-denominal church be an option for me to worship in? Is it o.k.? Some advise please. I would appreciate responses from my fellow Catholics please so I'd know what you folks would do if you were in my position. Thanks in advance.

Answer 1

It is wrong for a Catholic to attend other protestant churches as it is a sin! Try to attend as frequent as possible! When I join the navy, I did not attend Mass for almost one year but once I back in shore, I will try to attend as much as possible before going back to sea!

Answer 2

I think you can worship(be kind of hard to give up the fullness of the Catholic Church tho) but would not be able to take communion, being they dont believe that Christ is present in the Eucharist. And the majority of protestant and non denominational churches only do communion one a month. 500 miles away is a long way to drive for Mass. There are none closer?I think I would drive 500 miles

Answer 3

What would you think if you started a company and appointed a person to over see it and promised they would always have all truth and your perpetual protection and only they would have all the truth and yrs later a group of or members decided the company you left and promised to protect from all error suddenly left the company and started there own claiming that the Company you started was teaching false works and you read the company manual and now claim you changed your mind and was guiding them with no shepard on earth and kept having people claim each other is wrong and keep starting new companies claiming you guided them. Well this is why you have other Churches not a part of the True Church the Catholic Church.

Answer 4

You must attend a RC church at least once a week. It is part of your obligation. You must also only take communion in your own church. But you are free to worship God in Spirit and Truth wherever the people of God gather.

I would check and see if there is a small fellowship of Catholics in your area that meet in a chapel, Hospital, or University. You may be surprised to find there are some kind of accommodations nearby that is not in a traditional church building.

Answer 5

I am a Catholic and I also value the teachings of the Catholic Faith,
but you might be surprised with the Love and Friendship which you might find in the non-denomination Church. God knows that you have a good heart.

I would attend this Church if I was in the same situation as you.

Answer 6

You could watch for mass on tv such as mass for shut-ins
Check out hospitals in your area, they might have communion available
Area catholic schools might offer mass once a month or so
you could always do a "spiritual communion"
or call the priest at the church 500 miles away and ask him
no doubt he has others with the same problem
there could be retired priests in the area who hold communion in their homes to sovle the problem but it's just not widely known about
as for other churches I see nothing wrong with their worship but I would miss the Bread of LIfe God Bless You

Jesus said pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. That's what I would do first.

Answer 7

I am not a Catholic but that is a great question. I have Lutheran background but I am currently attending the non-denominational church. I love it. It is totally different than I was used to but I was never a big church goer before I found this church.

The main thing is that you attend the church where they keep the Bible as the center of the teaching and they lead people to a life changing connection with the living God.

I was told by my Catholic friend that 'it does not count' as a worship if she did not go to the Catholic church. Please, do not believe that kind of non-sense if you ever hear it. We are talking about the different worship styles here. God is the same, the Bible is the same. Remember always, always to follow Jesus, not a religion. : )

Answer 8

i was raised a catholics and now go to a non-denominational church and don't see anything wrong with it. It's good you are going to church. I have learned so much more and love the church I attend. What the old saying born and raised a catholic aways a catholic.

Answer 9

Visiting non-Catholic Christian churches is all right on occasion but you need to attend Mass and receive the Eucharist as much as possible.

You might want to discuss with the pastor or bishop about starting a new parish in your town or at least have a priest drive in to celebrate the Mass with you and the other Catholics in your area.

With love in Christ.

Answer 10

I would say there has to be a church closer to you than that. You had better check again and do so by asking at the archdiocese head. They cannot just let their flock go hungry. They should be able to tell you what's up at least for Sundays as no other denomination has a valid Eucharist and they cannot make a sinner out of you by making it impossible for you to attend Mass.

Answer 11

No..........

The Sacrifice of the Mass is a propitiatory sacrifice, that is, it is made for the remission of sins and for the appeasement of the Father. The Old Testament sacrifices were ineffectual, but the Sacrifice of Christ on Calvary, which the Mass re-presents, is effectual because Christ Himself is both the High Priest and the perfect Victim. Partaking of His Body (with right intention, as with all Sacraments) remits venial sin and sanctifies.