Can I become a Catholic?

Question

I was raised as a Protestant and am considering converting to Catholicism. My wife is a Catholic and it is much more important to her than my form of Christianity is to me. We've decided to raise our children as Catholics. The next logical step is for me to convert. However, I am pro-choice, pro-death penalty, and pro-birth control. Would it still be possible for me to become a Catholic?

Answer 1

yes you can become catholic with those views, its just not mainstream. You will need to take a few classes and get confirmed. Thats it.

Answer 2

Well, yes - you can become a Catholic while believing those things, but you cannot participate in abortion (I doubt your wife would be doing that anyway, as a Catholic). For a Catholic to actively procur an abortion incurs the penalty of excommunication latae sententiae (automatic).

Likewise, you could not participate in artificial birth control methods, though you can use Natural Family Planning (NFP). Again, your wife, as a Catholic, cannot be participating in that anyway.

Whether you "believe" these are OK or not is not the issue, moreso it is a matter of obedience and yielding to due authority.

As for the death penalty, Catholics can and do accept the death penalty - there is no discipline or decree which says Catholics must not support this. His Holiness, John Paul II, was openly opposed to the death penalty but never forbade it. I am not sure of what Pope Benedict XVI's personal stance is on this, but I do know that there is nothing which says we cannot or must not support it. It is the right of a nation to protect itself, and if the nation includes capital punishment - the Church does not stand in the way of that - though it does recommend alternative measures where ever possible.

Anyway, to summarize - holding those other two "beliefs" is not an impediment to being a Catholic, ACTING on them is.

I hope this helps.
Scott<<<

Answer 3

First you need to be open to the formation process of the Rite of Christian Initiation For Adults (RCIA). Being open will allow you to understand why the Catholic Church supports the culture of life rather than the culture of death.

For most Catholics birth control is not a big deal. When I lived in Italy the national Catholic magazine carried condom ads. There is a difference in using birth control responsibly and being totally cut off from the pro creative moment that is the Church's ideal.

Don't make assumptions about what the Church teaches and open yourself to the mystery of God's plan for you and the Catholic faith. Ultimately, the goal of the RCIA isn't to make more Catholics, it is to help you have a deeper relationship with Jesus.

Answer 4

Any person who wishes to become Catholic can become Catholic.

I suggest that you study the teachings of the Catholic Church more thoroughly before you make up your mind. When you understand more thoroughly the background of the issues you cited, you may change your mind and agree with Catholicism.

For example, if you insist that your wife use hormonal birth control (the pill, the patch, injectable), you might be surprised to find out that you are actually shortening her life. Just sit down and read the insert that comes with her pills/patch someday and read about all the side effects. Liver disease, cardiovascular disease, strokes, and deadly blood clots are all normal side effects of these forms of birth control. Recently, the medical community revealed that heart disease is on the rise for women under 45. So is the number of prescriptions for hormonal birth control to women under 45. And heart disease is a recognized side effect of it -- no coincidence there, is there?

Anyway, before I converted, I wasn't opposed to birth control or the death penalty, either. In the process of converting, however, I discovered that the Church had very good reasons to support her positions on these topics and I ended up changing my mind. So study more and keep an open mind and see what you come up with.

Answer 5

Anything is possible with God.

If you are interested in joining or just learning more about the Catholic Church, contact your local parish and ask about information about their RCIA Inquiry group.

You can go and ask any questions you want.

This is the first step in RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults) but you can stop at any time.

There is no obligation to become a Catholic.

With love and prayers in Christ.

Answer 6

Talk to your wife about it and your local Parish priest.. Very important.

Read about Catholicism..

http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/ (a great place to start)

Chistianity started with the Immaculate conception, so that is why many Catholics are anti-abortion - in a way abortion is the antithesis of the immaculate conception.

You might read this to put the Blessed Virgin Mary's role in the Church in perspective..

http://www.vatican.va/edocs/ENG0224/_INDEX.HTM

St. Kolbe influenced greatly the stances of Popes and Vatican II writers' position on Mary..

You might check out this and chat with your wife about it..

http://www.consecration.com http://www.marytown.com

Also down the road I highly recommend that you read the Vatican II documents which are amazing and ecumenical.. The documents are on http://www.vatican.va

Then you will have a pretty good grounding in Catholicism - so much misinformation on Catholicism floats around Yahoo Answers in my opinion.

Answer 7

Yes you can... But I have to tell you, If your wife can't accept you for who you are and what you believe then her love isn't as strong as yours.. And I commend you for your dedication to her! You guys should raise your children to learn about both forms of Religions, It never hurts to show them variety. Besides the fact that I personally think your Religion is the better choice. Catholics or overrated, and has far more corruption than other forms of Christianity. Good Luck to both of you!! God Bless.

Answer 8

To be a Catholic you must hold and believe all that the Catholic Church believes and teaches.

Answer 9

being catholic means accepting the doctrine whole and entire otherwise, just do your best until you get the courage to change your mind about child murder (abortion) perverted sexuality (artificial birth control) the death penalty is more recent and i do not know if there is a moral teaching tha fporbids it however it is obvious that life must be upheld over death.

Answer 10

you can convert, though many, myself included, may not understand your pro choice ways. however I myself am both a staunch catholic and a supporter of the death penalty.

you could if you so desired but there would be many classes that awainted you, if you choose to continue welcome to our faith brother

Answer 11

Do you LOVE children? I don't know. Ever since more and more stories about priest molesting children came out, I hold Catholicism to be one of the worst religions in the world. Children are sacred to me, you don't mess with them. There is NO way I would let any catholic priest come near any of my children! But I suppose if you're a hypocrite, you can become a catholic.