Are all Protestants heretics?  Is a person a heretic if they never professed the Catholic faith?  Would N.O. Catholics be heretics too since they practice communion in the hand et al?  My question is is a person a heretic even if they don't know they are a heretic?

Protestants are considered heretics. A heretic is not merely one who rejects anything related to the Catholic faith but one who "pertinaciously denies or doubts a truth of divine and Catholic faith" (Canon 1325 - 2). Protestants openly deny many Catholic dogmas such as The Immaculate Conception of Our Lady. Also nominal (cafeteria) Catholics who say "I will believe this and not that", picking and choosing from the Catholic Faith according to their whim, are considered heretics. In formal terms, a Catholic who denies the supremacy of the Pope becomes a schismatic (such as the Eastern Orthodox), whereas a Catholic who renounces his religion is considered an apostate.

I personally believe that most the Conservative Novus Ordo/Indult are not Heretics, and adhere to the True Faith if they are not Falsifying data in order to back up their positions on Vatican II.  

Most Post Vatican II "catholics" are now what the mainstream calls cafeteria catholics, and they are most certainly Heretics.

The Eastern Churches do adhere to some Heresies, but most of these Heresies have occurred after Papal and Council declarations of which they were not a party of due to the fact of Schism. For this reason many Traditional Catholics prefer to call them Schismatics, rather than Heretics.

Protestants are certainly Heretics as they Objectively deny Multiple Dogmas very explicitly, most notably in the Eschatology of the (Invisible) Church of Christ as apposed to the Visible Catholic Church (which is the True Church of Christ).

Ultimately Vatican II accepted this Hersey in the docuмent Lumen Gentium, which means that the Novus Ordo is Ultimately a member of the Protestant Hersey.

The Eastern Churches do adhere to some Heresies, but most of these Heresies have occurred after Papal and Council declarations of which they were not a party of due to the fact of Schism. For this reason many Traditional Catholics prefer to call them Schismatics, rather than Heretics.

The Eastern Rite Catholics are Catholics in the fullest sense of the word.

I used Eastern Churches, because I don't like to use eastern orthodox.

Sorry if that is an improper term.

The Eastern Rites put most Latins to shame now days.

Where is Traditional Catholic teaching on Protestants?  

I just read this post on another site:

They (Modern-day Protestants) aren't heretics, they simply (from the Catholic point of view) hold erroneous views.

Of course this is probably a Novus Ordite speaking, but.....

What about a non-Catholic who actually accepts everything the Church teaches, considers himself a Catholic, attends Mass, but sees no need to join the Church formally? (I'm sure there must be such people!) Is he a heretic?

It's important to distinguish between various types of heresy, because the "type" of heresy determines the punishment of the heretic, his guilt before God and his relationship to the Church.  All formal heresy, which is when a person knows that the Catholic Church teaches X and the person chooses to deny or doubt X, is a mortal sin.  If such heresy is public, then in addition to the mortal sin one is no longer a member of the Church.  Material heretics dissent from what the Church teaches, but they are unaware that they're supposed to believe what the Church teaches-- such a heretic is not guilty of heresy before God, however if he is a public heretic, he is not a member of the Church.

Private heresy does not sever one's membership in the Church.

So where does the person born into Protestantism fit in?

Does one have to be Catholic first to be a heretic?

Quote from: 2Vermont

Quote from: Mithrandylan

It's important to distinguish between various types of heresy, because the "type" of heresy determines the punishment of the heretic, his guilt before God and his relationship to the Church.  All formal heresy, which is when a person knows that the Catholic Church teaches X and the person chooses to deny or doubt X, is a mortal sin.  If such heresy is public, then in addition to the mortal sin one is no longer a member of the Church.  Material heretics dissent from what the Church teaches, but they are unaware that they're supposed to believe what the Church teaches-- such a heretic is not guilty of heresy before God, however if he is a public heretic, he is not a member of the Church.

Private heresy does not sever one's membership in the Church.

So where does the person born into Protestantism fit in?

Does one have to be Catholic first to be a heretic?

An infant validly baptized is a Catholic until he reaches the age of reason, where if he manifests his false religion, he can't be considered a Catholic.  He is a material heretic at least at this point.  If he reaches such a point where he both holds materially to error and rejects the rule of faith of the Catholic Church while being aware that he ought to be subject to it, his heresy is then formal.  

The material/formal distinction is a moral one, and deals with the heretic's guilt before God.  However, protestants are public heretics and as such, without regard to whether they're formal or material, they are not to be counted as members of the Church.  

In a certain sense, yes; one must be Catholic first to be a heretic because part of the definition of a heretic is one who claims the name of Christian (which really and ontologically means Catholic) and dissents from a truth of the Christian faith.  Jєωs, Buddhists, atheists etc. can't really be called heretics.  

I like you answered my question in the other thread all in one post! Thanks!  :-)