How should Catholics engage with Christians who are not (Roman) Catholics?

Catholics are Christians and therefore we share many core beliefs about the Trinity (God the Father,God the Son and God the Holy Spirit) with other Christians. Our statements of faith – the Creeds – which we say at Mass each week do not belong only to Catholics. They are key doctrinal statements of faith used and shared with millions of non-Catholic Christians. With them we also share the Bible(the Old and the New Testament), the prayers such as the Our Father, and the history of the earlyChurch. We also share a complicated (and at times painful) history of church events, liturgy and structures; key people such as saints and martyrs; theological discussion; social comment and action; and much more.

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Although our shared history has been fractured, relations between the different Christian communities and churches has improved significantly in the last hundred years or so and as a result there is much that Catholics now do regularly with other Christians. It is quite common for Catholics in the UK to be married to non-Catholic Christians and for them to attend each other’s church services and events as well as raising children together. Catholics are allowed to attend and take partChristian services and other events organised and led by non-Catholic Christians as long as this does not prevent them engaging with their Catholic parish communities too.

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That said, Catholics do not have full unity with other Christians – some are closer to us than others –and ecumenical discussions continue as a result. Because we are not yet fully reunited, Catholics cannot normally receive Holy Communion in non-Catholic churches, and non-Catholics cannot normally receive the Eucharist at Mass. An exception to this is the relationship between Catholics and Orthodox Christians who can receive the Eucharist in each other’s Masses under certain circumstances.