Catholic Membership
When Is One A Catholic, And When Not?
This is a great difficulty in the Catholic Resistance. Most of those who are members of the Resistance, at some time or the other, took part in the rites of the New Church, which we now recognise as an unlawful, schismatic and heretical sect.
The rules of the Catholic Church forbid participation in the rites of such schismatic and heretical sect. But what exactly does the Catholic Church prescribe, and under what conditions do Catholics lose membership in the Church, is something I do not know. This is what I must learn, be able to determine.
What I do know is that when a person has incurred excommunication from the Church for whatever reason, he must, in accordance with the law, be received back into the Church - reconciled - by an authorised representative of the Church. Further, depending on the particular crime, the representative of the Church who can reconcile is different - generally, the more the gravity, the higher the representative must be in the Heirarchy - culminating in the Pope.
Further, a non-member or convert must also be admitted by an authorised representative.
Woywod & Smith, Practical Commentary on the Code, vol. II, p.511, c. 2314: “...according to Canon 2200, when there is an external violation of Church Law, malice is presumed in the external forum until its absence is proved. The Holy See insists that converts from heretical or schismatic sects be not received into the Church until they have first abjured the heresy or schism and been absolved from the censure.”
Reason for Raising this Issue: I am raising this issue as a legitimate doubt that must be settled.