The reason I started thinking about this question is we often hear about "Catholics" as a group in reference to various things such as how they will vote or their beliefs in general. I often wonder, what is the functional definition of a Catholic? What does the Church have to say about this? I don't have all the answers, but I at least have some questions!
Sometimes it seems the term "Catholic" is misused in my opinion. Should a person who does not follow the Catholic faith at all, never goes to Mass, never receives the sacraments and wants to have nothing to do with the Church be called "Catholic"? Seems a little strange to me.
Something I hear often is "I was raised Catholic". It can said in various contexts. Often people will mention this when recounting some aspect of their childhood that was Catholic, whether it be receiving a sacrament or attending Mass, or some other experience such as attending Catholic school.
One trend I see often is how people will preface some "issue" they have with the Church by first declaring their Catholic bona fides. They list off all the ways they believe themselves to be Catholic, such as their attendance in a Catholic school, the fact that they were baptized, confirmed, etc. They will sometimes say "the whole works" in relation to this. Once they believe they have established their credentials, they will then criticize some aspect of the Church, usually something about how the Church must conform more to their personal secular point of view.
This is a very dishonest approach. They should just simply admit that they are no longer Catholic and that they are expressing their view as an outsider. Those who say things like this usually have little to no understanding how the Church actually works, why or how it was established, or any other basic facts. Just because they grew up in a nominally Catholic environment does not make them an expert in Catholicism.
Ultimately the Catholic faith is about growing in grace and virtue and this is accomplished through a life of prayer, penance, and reception of the sacraments. By Grace, we receive the gifts of Faith, Hope, and Charity which are free gifts given by God through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Therefore one must have an active faith. It's not a passport that you get stamped and then you are done. It's an ongoing process of purification and ultimately union with God.
That's why I find it so misleading whenever there are headlines about the political candidate supported by "Catholics". Just because you were raised Catholic or your parents made you go to Mass, does not mean you represent what Catholics truly believe.
Can people who never attend Mass and have distanced themselves from the Church be called Catholic? In a sense, I think they can. In fact, Pope Benedict ended the possibility of what's called a "Formal act of defection from the Catholic Church", which was a possibility from 1983 to 2010. During that period of time, by following certain procedures, a baptized member of the Catholic Church could formally leave the Catholic Church. But in 2010, Pope Benedict officially ended this possibility.
You can read more about this here.
Therefore, on one level, a person cannot technically leave the Catholic Church once they are a member. So on that level, they are Catholic.
However, to me, it would seem strange to consider a person who absolutely rejects the Catholic Faith as "Catholic" in the context of finding out the opinion of Catholics. That should seem obvious.
So who is Catholic? I think in our modern era, it's popular for people to think they can be Catholic and yet disagree on whatever issue they choose. We have a very individualistic society and people seem to place themselves on a pedestal. They agree with the Church as long as its convenient. Often people disagree not on theological grounds but on social grounds, things which will restrict their freedom to act as they please in terms of sexuality, food, and other such things. Many people have considerable pride and place themselves above others, even the Church Christ founded.
In reality, I think a Catholic is someone who can say and believe the Creed which is read at Mass. Obviously they must be baptized. A Catholic is someone who prioritizes their relationship with God. They attend Mass at least once a week if possible.
We have an epidemic of cafeteria Catholics. At first some people might say they agree with most things but not everything the Church teaches. We should have compassion for people struggling with some tenets of the Faith. They are on their own journey. However, part of the faith is obedience and humility. These two virtues mean that even if one does not fully understand something or even if something goes against their secular beliefs, they will assent to them out of humility and obedience, realizing that the Church Christ established knows better than them. To me, people who say they believe most things are really just picking and choosing what to believe and they are refusing to be obedient and humble. It's more than just a simple matter of disagreement.
St. Augustine once said:
If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don't like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.
When it comes to who's Catholic, it's like concentric circles. On the outer edge are those who are baptized but have rejected their faith, closer are those who consider themselves Catholic but disagree on many issues, closer to the center again are those who believe and affirm what the Church teaches, and on the inner circle are the saints with Jesus Christ. We should try to get as close to the center as possible.
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