Catholic Info
Traditional Catholic Faith => Catholic Living in the Modern World => Topic started by: Tiffany on July 12, 2013, 08:21:36 AM
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Can I have Mass said for someone (deceased) who was baptized Catholic as an infant but raised Protestant?
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Mass can be said for anyone, Catholic, heretic, or infidel.
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Can I have Mass said for someone (deceased) who was baptized Catholic as an infant but raised Protestant?
Fundamentally, any baptism utilizing the integral Trinitarian formula is a Catholic baptism, whether done in a Catholic Church or in some horror of a Protestant meeting house. Having a Mass said for them would be no different than having one said for the Baptist living down the street. Is it being done for sentimental reasons or because you have good reason to believe that they abjured their error before death? To me, I'd always be reluctant to raise the intention of a public heretic to the altar of God, especially one whose reformation is no longer possible.
You say that the person was "raised Protestant". Does that mean that they grew up in a household whose other members were Protestants and they abstained, or that they were actively Protestant until their death?
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Can I have Mass said for someone (deceased) who was baptized Catholic as an infant but raised Protestant?
Fundamentally, any baptism utilizing the integral Trinitarian formula is a Catholic baptism, whether done in a Catholic Church or in some horror of a Protestant meeting house. Having a Mass said for them would be no different than having one said for the Baptist living down the street. Is it being done for sentimental reasons or because you have good reason to believe that they abjured their error before death? To me, I'd always be reluctant to raise the intention of a public heretic to the altar of God, especially one whose reformation is no longer possible.
You say that the person was "raised Protestant". Does that mean that they grew up in a household whose other members were Protestants and they abstained, or that they were actively Protestant until their death?
The parents were Catholic then joined a Protestants church, so some of their children were baptized Catholic. (Their eldest son was raised Catholic and remained faithful.) The person I want Mass said for was active in a Protestant church until they were home bound.
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I started a thread along the same lines recently:
http://www.cathinfo.com/catholic.php/Masses-for-Deceased-Protestants
(I'm not trying to derail your thread, Tiffany. I just linked for reference.)
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You can of course have a Mass said.
I was raised protestant, became Catholic when I was nearly 30 (from atheism), so my whole family are protestants.
I have Masses said for the repose of the souls of my departed protestant family members when they pass.