St. Peter Julian Eymard – Bad Catholic vs Good Protestant
People often say, “It is better to be a good Protestant than a bad Catholic.” That is not true! That would mean that one could be saved without the true faith. No. A bad Catholic remains a child of the family, although a prodigal; and however great a sinner he may be, he still has a right to mercy. Through his faith, a bad Catholic is nearer to God than a Protestant, for he is a member of the household, whereas the heretic is not. And how hard it is to make him become one! (St. Peter Julian Eymard)
CHRISTIAN. A name first given to the followers of our Lord at Antioch (Acts xi, 26). Since the rise of Protestantism the name has been used in so many different senses as to have become almost meaningless: it may indicate a Catholic or a Unitarian, or even be applied to an infidel who displays some virtue which is associated with Christ. It may reasonably be applied to the members of all the ancient churches whether in communion with the Holy See or not, and to those Protestants who profess, explicitly -or implicitly, the Nicean creed in its traditional Interpretation. The Church puts no definite official rneaning on the word, as she does on Catholic. (Catholic Dictionary, Donald Attwater, 1958, TAN Books)
Slightly Older Catechism:
"Protestant: Protestants teach that everyone should read the Bible and interpret it for himself. As a result, they do not agree within their own ranks as to just what is to be believed. Indeed, the number of Protestants who believe in the Trinity is diminishing rapidly; and many who profess to believe in it have only a vague notion of what the Trinity means. Therefore, there are many Protestants, including Protestant ministers, who either doubt or deny Christ's divinity, and so can hardly be considered Christians."