I want to leave the Catholic Church but I dont know how?

Question

I have head that there is no "real" concrete way of leaving. I have been attending a Pentecostal Church that I LOVE dearly (something I never felt in any Catholic Church) and I am slowly thinking about converting or leaving the Catholic Church. How do I do this? Is there paperwork? Some kind of formality? Thanks in advance to all that give advice. I hope I find my answer here!

Answer 1

You have to be true to God and what His Spirit reveals. The Catholic Church does have a formality for doing this, using it check your reasons and intentions, and to make you aware that you will be considered apostate and a heretic.

To them, you will have left the Church of Christ. That is their reality... but is it God's? The early Church of Christ was all who believed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and had received His Spirit. It was also these proofs that Peter used in Acts 10 and 11 to testify that they were hallmarks of those Gentiles who were now Christians.

The Catholic Church is making the same errors that the Jews did in those days, demanding that Gentiles be circumcised and adhere to the Jewish laws and traditions. In Acts 15, Paul, Barnabas and others go to Jerusalem, where Peter addresses the council to discuss this matter. James makes the decision that this was not to be required of them as the first bishop (pope) of the early Church, headquartered there.

The truth is that the Church of Christ is larger than the Catholic Church.... that the Catholic Church is just a part of it, and that it includes all who are Christians, such as the other orthodox and reformation denominations and churches. Of course, Catholics will not accept this truth... proved by the belief in Jesus Christ and with the authority of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

Answer 2

Well, if you want to JOIN the Catholic Church, you go through some education and spiritual formation and "formalize" you commitment. The Sacraments are permanent, though, so there is no real way to "break" them. It is YOUR decision to go to another church - although I might invite you to try another Catholic Church first. There are Charismatic prayer groups and different types of prayer services in the Catholic Church - I'd really invite you to try that first before deciding to leave. Nonetheless - it IS your decision. I'm just speaking from my own experience in searching for another church because the Catholic Church seemed not to "fill the need" I had for a more spontaneous, spirit-filled (contemporary) type of worship service. I called a phone number from an Evangelical organization and the operator directed me to a different Catholic Church - since that was my background.
Over the past few years I've been active with LifeTeen, a youth movement, XLT a monthly praise and worship service (very spirit-filled) and finding out more about the history and depth of the Catholic Church. Sometimes when we understand the "whys" we can appreciate the traditions more. I pray that you will find Christ wherever you decide to go - because that's where you'll find Him. . . .looking for YOU!
Peace!

Answer 3

I don't understand, do you think you need to fill out a form 6b or something to leave a church. If you want to leave, just leave. It's not like a marrage or something there are no legal strings..

Answer 4

Go to a Sunday mass spider style (watch Exorcist first), then hiss loudly when the pastor sprinkle you with holy water

Answer 5

Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you on this decision. May God light your path into His truth!

Answer 6

>>Some kind of formality?<<

Yes. This internal Church memo explains how to formally defect:
http://clsa.org/content/files/USCCB_memo_2006_0405.pdf

Answer 7

Just stop going. It worked for me,my father and both of my brothers. What are they going to do; hunt you down and drag you to mass?

Answer 8

"Outside the Church There is No Salvation"
How do we understand this saying from the Church Fathers? All salvation comes from Christ through his Body, the Church which is necessary for salvation because Christ is present in his Church.
Jesus said, "The man who believes and accepts Baptism will be saved; the man who refuses to believe in it will be condemned" (Mk 16:16). By these words Jesus also affirmed the necessity of the Church, because Baptism is its door to the Church.
Refusing to Enter
Someone who knows the Catholic Church was founded as necessary by God and refuses to enter or remain in it, cannot be saved.
Just Not Knowing
However, those, who through no fault of their own do not know either the Gospel of Christ or his Church, can achieve salvation by seeking God with a sincere heart and by trying to do God's will (Second Vatican Council). Although God can lead all people to salvation, the Church still has the duty to evangelize all men.
No Salvation Outside the Church - Church Fathers
The following quotations from the Church Fathers give the straight story. They show that the early Church held the same position on this as the contemporary Church does—that is, while it is normatively necessary to be a Catholic to be saved (see CCC 846; Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 14), there are exceptions, and it is possible in some circumstances for people to be saved who have not been fully initiated into the Catholic Church (CCC 847).

Notice that the same Fathers who declare the normative necessity of being Catholic also declare the possibility of salvation for some who are not Catholics.

These can be saved by what later came to be known as "baptism of blood" or " baptism of desire" The Fathers likewise affirm the possibility of salvation for those who lived before Christ and who were not part of Israel, the Old Testament People of God.

However, for those who knowingly and deliberately (that is, not out of innocent ignorance) commit the sins of heresy (rejecting divinely revealed doctrine) or schism (separating from the Catholic Church and/or joining a schismatic church), no salvation would be possible until they repented and returned to live in Catholic unity.

Origen
"[T]here was never a time when God did not want men to be just; he was always concerned about that. Indeed, he always provided beings endowed with reason with occasions for practicing virtue and doing what is right. In every generation the wisdom of God descended into those souls which he found holy and made them to be prophets and friends of God" (Against Celsus 4:7 [A.D. 248]).

"If someone from this people wants to be saved, let him come into this house so that he may be able to attain his salvation. . . . Let no one, then, be persuaded otherwise, nor let anyone deceive himself: Outside of this house, that is, outside of the Church, no one is saved; for, if anyone should go out of it, he is guilty of his own death" (Homilies on Joshua 3:5 [A.D. 250]).
Infallible Authority to Teach with Certitude
The Catholic Church was founded by our Lord to bring salvation to all men. Christ established only one Church with one set of beliefs (Eph. 4:4–5). He did not establish numerous churches with contradictory beliefs.

He commissioned his Church to teach all nations and to teach them infallibly—guided, as he promised, by the Holy Spirit until the end of the world (John 14:26, 16:13). The mere fact that the Church teaches that something is definitely true is a guarantee that it is true (cf. Matt. 28:18-20, Luke 10:16, 1 Tim. 3:15).

"And so I tell all of you; what you prohibit on earth will be prohibited in heaven, and what you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven". - Matthew 18,18

"Whoever listens to you listens to me; whoever rejects you rejects me; and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me." - Luke 10,16

You can take your chances of course.

Peace and blessings!

Answer 9

well first have you tried talking to youre parents if so talk to them again now im not catholic im christian so if i were in ur position i would talk to the minister, pope or watever he is called to to him/her they will give you advice as well

Answer 10

Nope, you just stop going. I did anyway. seems to have worked. Maybe i should try to get excommunicated?