Non-Catholic Attending Catholic High School?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about the other parts of the Mass that non-Catholics wouldn't participate in. Like reciting the Nicene Creed ("We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.") or making the sign of The Cross through out the Mass?

You'll notice that in this part of the Creed, it's not said that the Catholic Church is one of many alternatives. It's the only one.

In the Nicene creed, catholic is lowercase - it is not talking about the Catholic church, it means universal, which is meant to include all Christian faiths. Other denominations also recite the Nicene creed.

You are misinterpreting what it says.

It does say "one" church. One catholic or universal Church. It also says "apostolic" and Catholics believe that there is only one church founded by the apostles. Which makes the Catholic Church the "one true church" which is what the Church teaches.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son will be applying this fall to several Catholic high schools. We are not Catholic and my son has never been to church. He's hoping for a better education and better athletic opportunities. We support exposure to religious education. Can anyone shed some insight on how the interview process will work for a non-practicing student? What might interview questions look like and what is the best way to respond?

SJC parent here. There is no interview process per se, although your son will meet the admissions staff when he does his shadow day.

It's hard to get a fix on it, but I'd say SJC is close to majority non-Catholic. It is very different than Catholic K-8 parochial, which is almost 100% Catholic. As a student, he will take 4 years of religion, prayer before just about all classes, games, etc., and Mass once per month. If that much Catholicism is a problem, you won't be a fit. But there are Jewish, Muslim, and atheist (!) kids there, and I think they do their best to not have anyone feel left out. The staff only has about 3 brothers that teach - the rest are all lay people. The mission and campus ministry program is obviously very Catholic, but all that is optional.

Thank you for posting this. I had no idea! During Mass, how is Communion handled? Do they allow anyone to take the cup or do they restrict it to Catholics who've been to confession?

If your kid is not Catholic, they do not take Communion in a Catholic church.

They may go up for a blessing but no Eucharist.

Only Catholics who have received First Holy Communion may receive Communion.

As a non Catholic, your son should remain in the pew for Communion.

I am not Catholic and I take the Eucharist on a regular basis.

Well, what you are doing is incorrect (unless your Eucharist is in a protestant church).

If it is a Catholic church you need to abstain from Communion.

No, I am definitely taking Communion in a Catholic church and I am not Catholic. YOU are incorrect to say you must be Catholic, because that is just not true. There are other non-Catholic religions that can take Holy Communion, and mine is one of them.

If you are not "In Communion" with the Catholic Church you should not take Communion. Do you believe what you are taking is the transubstantiated body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ? Then they would probably appreciate you not taking it, since you are not consuming it with the proper reverence and you do not know the protocols on how to respectfully consume it. Double-check with the priest at your school to make sure. Communion is different at different types of churches but that can be confusing as the Catholic Host still maintains the physical properties of the bread. Many churches give blessings during Communion but some priests do not like to mix the blessings and the Eucharist so they request that attendees who have not received their FHC remain seated. Technically you can go up and imitate everyone else and take Communion, so yes you can take it, but may you?

Like I said, I am not Catholic, but I am able to take communion because my religion does have the same beliefs as the Catholic church. I went to Catholic school for years and was denied Holy Communion, which was wrong on the priest's part. My brother was denied Holy Communion at his own wedding -- wrong again. As someone from a Christian Orthodox faith that believes in transubstantiation, I should not be denied Holy Communion. Now I am married to a Catholic and my kids are Catholic, and even though I did not convert, I still take communion. More priests should get educated about this.

[Anonymous]

By whom should these priests be educated?

You know it's against the rules, but you do it anyway.

If the priest knows you are not a Roman Catholic and haven't had the sacrament of First Communion then he should not be giving you communion. It's that simple.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son will be applying this fall to several Catholic high schools. We are not Catholic and my son has never been to church. He's hoping for a better education and better athletic opportunities. We support exposure to religious education. Can anyone shed some insight on how the interview process will work for a non-practicing student? What might interview questions look like and what is the best way to respond?

SJC parent here. There is no interview process per se, although your son will meet the admissions staff when he does his shadow day.

It's hard to get a fix on it, but I'd say SJC is close to majority non-Catholic. It is very different than Catholic K-8 parochial, which is almost 100% Catholic. As a student, he will take 4 years of religion, prayer before just about all classes, games, etc., and Mass once per month. If that much Catholicism is a problem, you won't be a fit. But there are Jewish, Muslim, and atheist (!) kids there, and I think they do their best to not have anyone feel left out. The staff only has about 3 brothers that teach - the rest are all lay people. The mission and campus ministry program is obviously very Catholic, but all that is optional.

Thank you for posting this. I had no idea! During Mass, how is Communion handled? Do they allow anyone to take the cup or do they restrict it to Catholics who've been to confession?

If your kid is not Catholic, they do not take Communion in a Catholic church.

They may go up for a blessing but no Eucharist.

Only Catholics who have received First Holy Communion may receive Communion.

As a non Catholic, your son should remain in the pew for Communion.

Non catholic kids don't "remain in he pew", they walk up to communion with the catholic kids and cross their arm so the priest knows to bless them instead of give them communion.

As I stated in my second sentence, he may go up for a blessing during communion. The other option of staying in the pew was added on at the end of my post.

In my parish (not school), the pastor does not want non-Catholics coming up for a blessing. He refers to it as a liturgical abuse or something like that. He's Opus Dei though, which makes everything a little tense for run-of-the-mill Catholics.

Good for your Priest.

Of course, it's a difficult concept for the Catholic Church to process. After all, Catholics are forbidden to attend the regular religious services of other churches (Not including weddings, funerals, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:By whom should these priests be educated?

You know it's against the rules, but you do it anyway.

If the priest knows you are not a Roman Catholic and haven't had the sacrament of First Communion then he should not be giving you communion. It's that simple.

Perhaps they should ask their bishop, who would certainly know that certain Christian Orthodox religions can partake in the Eucharist.

This link further explains as does the following quote from the Catholic Bishops website. "The Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Polish National Catholic Church are urged to respect the discipline of their own Churches. According to Roman Catholic discipline, the Code of Canon Law does not object to the reception of Communion by Christians of these Churches (canon 844 §3)." http://www.usccb.org/prayer-and-worship/the-mass/order-of-mass/liturgy-of-the-eucharist/guidelines-for-the-reception-of-communion.cfm

I urge you to also educate yourself as now you can see that I am not breaking any rules. In fact I had my first communion at my baptism, where I was also confirmed. All three sacraments at once, and the Catholic recognizes all three.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:By whom should these priests be educated?

You know it's against the rules, but you do it anyway.

If the priest knows you are not a Roman Catholic and haven't had the sacrament of First Communion then he should not be giving you communion. It's that simple.

ACtually, we are in communion with certain orthodox churches. (Greek?)

[Anonymous]

I know many non-Catholics that have attended Catholic schools. I think it's pretty common at Catholic schools.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not Carholic, and I went to Catholic schools my whole life. In HS, they will have religion class and will be required to attend mass. If it's Gonzaga, they have some faith based retreats and students are very involved in faith based community service.
They won't ask during application process.
I didn't learn that they Bible isn't literally true and that we come from apes until college though. It was quite a shock. They do brainwash a bit,IMO.

Catholics don't believe that the Bible is literally true and Catholics believe in evolution. Kind of one of the biggest differences between some Protestants and Catholics actually. I think you went to an evangelical Christian school. They do seem all alike to atheists, but actually there are quite a few differences. There are plenty of websites/youtube videos on Sola scriptura Protestants vs. Catholics if anyone want to make sure they won't be doing art projects with cavemen riding dinosaurs at Catholic school.

No, I went to a MoCo parochial, and Visitation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son will be applying this fall to several Catholic high schools. We are not Catholic and my son has never been to church. He's hoping for a better education and better athletic opportunities. We support exposure to religious education. Can anyone shed some insight on how the interview process will work for a non-practicing student? What might interview questions look like and what is the best way to respond?

SJC parent here. There is no interview process per se, although your son will meet the admissions staff when he does his shadow day.

It's hard to get a fix on it, but I'd say SJC is close to majority non-Catholic. It is very different than Catholic K-8 parochial, which is almost 100% Catholic. As a student, he will take 4 years of religion, prayer before just about all classes, games, etc., and Mass once per month. If that much Catholicism is a problem, you won't be a fit. But there are Jewish, Muslim, and atheist (!) kids there, and I think they do their best to not have anyone feel left out. The staff only has about 3 brothers that teach - the rest are all lay people. The mission and campus ministry program is obviously very Catholic, but all that is optional.

Thank you for posting this. I had no idea! During Mass, how is Communion handled? Do they allow anyone to take the cup or do they restrict it to Catholics who've been to confession?

If your kid is not Catholic, they do not take Communion in a Catholic church.

They may go up for a blessing but no Eucharist.

Only Catholics who have received First Holy Communion may receive Communion.

As a non Catholic, your son should remain in the pew for Communion.

Non catholic kids don't "remain in he pew", they walk up to communion with the catholic kids and cross their arm so the priest knows to bless them instead of give them communion.

As I stated in my second sentence, he may go up for a blessing during communion. The other option of staying in the pew was added on at the end of my post.

In my parish (not school), the pastor does not want non-Catholics coming up for a blessing. He refers to it as a liturgical abuse or something like that. He's Opus Dei though, which makes everything a little tense for run-of-the-mill Catholics.

This isn't an official Opus Dei position though. The chaplain at my DD's school is Opus Dei and encourages the non-Catholic kids to receive a blessing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not Carholic, and I went to Catholic schools my whole life. In HS, they will have religion class and will be required to attend mass. If it's Gonzaga, they have some faith based retreats and students are very involved in faith based community service.
They won't ask during application process.
I didn't learn that they Bible isn't literally true and that we come from apes until college though. It was quite a shock. They do brainwash a bit,IMO.

Catholics don't believe that the Bible is literally true and Catholics believe in evolution. Kind of one of the biggest differences between some Protestants and Catholics actually. I think you went to an evangelical Christian school. They do seem all alike to atheists, but actually there are quite a few differences. There are plenty of websites/youtube videos on Sola scriptura Protestants vs. Catholics if anyone want to make sure they won't be doing art projects with cavemen riding dinosaurs at Catholic school.

No, I went to a MoCo parochial, and Visitation.

Creationism hadn't been taught at Visi any time in past 40 years. I have family members who attended and my mother remained friends with faculty there. Maybe you weren't paying attention in science class.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm not Carholic, and I went to Catholic schools my whole life. In HS, they will have religion class and will be required to attend mass. If it's Gonzaga, they have some faith based retreats and students are very involved in faith based community service.
They won't ask during application process.
I didn't learn that they Bible isn't literally true and that we come from apes until college though. It was quite a shock. They do brainwash a bit,IMO.

Catholics don't believe that the Bible is literally true and Catholics believe in evolution. Kind of one of the biggest differences between some Protestants and Catholics actually. I think you went to an evangelical Christian school. They do seem all alike to atheists, but actually there are quite a few differences. There are plenty of websites/youtube videos on Sola scriptura Protestants vs. Catholics if anyone want to make sure they won't be doing art projects with cavemen riding dinosaurs at Catholic school.

No, I went to a MoCo parochial, and Visitation.

I don't believe this. And if you did, you obviously weren't listening because this isn't what the Catholic Church teaches at all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son will be applying this fall to several Catholic high schools. We are not Catholic and my son has never been to church. He's hoping for a better education and better athletic opportunities. We support exposure to religious education. Can anyone shed some insight on how the interview process will work for a non-practicing student? What might interview questions look like and what is the best way to respond?

SJC parent here. There is no interview process per se, although your son will meet the admissions staff when he does his shadow day.

It's hard to get a fix on it, but I'd say SJC is close to majority non-Catholic. It is very different than Catholic K-8 parochial, which is almost 100% Catholic. As a student, he will take 4 years of religion, prayer before just about all classes, games, etc., and Mass once per month. If that much Catholicism is a problem, you won't be a fit. But there are Jewish, Muslim, and atheist (!) kids there, and I think they do their best to not have anyone feel left out. The staff only has about 3 brothers that teach - the rest are all lay people. The mission and campus ministry program is obviously very Catholic, but all that is optional.

Thank you for posting this. I had no idea! During Mass, how is Communion handled? Do they allow anyone to take the cup or do they restrict it to Catholics who've been to confession?

If your kid is not Catholic, they do not take Communion in a Catholic church.

They may go up for a blessing but no Eucharist.

Only Catholics who have received First Holy Communion may receive Communion.

As a non Catholic, your son should remain in the pew for Communion.

Non catholic kids don't "remain in he pew", they walk up to communion with the catholic kids and cross their arm so the priest knows to bless them instead of give them communion.

As I stated in my second sentence, he may go up for a blessing during communion. The other option of staying in the pew was added on at the end of my post.

In my parish (not school), the pastor does not want non-Catholics coming up for a blessing. He refers to it as a liturgical abuse or something like that. He's Opus Dei though, which makes everything a little tense for run-of-the-mill Catholics.

Good for your Priest.

Of course, it's a difficult concept for the Catholic Church to process. After all, Catholics are forbidden to attend the regular religious services of other churches (Not including weddings, funerals, etc.

Actually this is not true at all.

OP, clearly there are people on this thread who have no clue about the church or what it is like to be a student at a Catholic school. I can tell you that as a Catholic at a Catholic school my child has many friends who aren't Catholic. We too picked this school for sports and there are many kids on his team who attend the school (SJC) happily without being Catholic.

[Anonymous]

Yes. Prep is the same. Non Catholic kids are common. I must say that I am very happy with the Catholic education my non Catholic son is receiving. His knowledge of Latin and the Bible is impressive. The retreats where they emphasize ethics and personal behavior are excellent for teenage boys. When he discusses religion he is encouraged to explore his own beliefs.

[Anonymous]

I think your son will enjoy the experience.

I went to public schools K-12 and then Catholic College for sports.

I learned there that lots of my D. 1 teammates had great experiences at Catholic HSes.
A strong sense of community.
Strong values.
High academic standards.


I agree, with other posters. You are disrespecting the Church you are attending if you take communion without going through the classes and the First Holy Communion Process. The Catholic Faith calls the bread and wine the Body and Blood and it isn't supposed to be a symbol (as other faiths see it) but something more precious-the Presence, so it is intense. I have been to Temples and followed the crowd but if I don't agree, I don't participate in the ritual.

Gonzaga has a strong sense of service.
I hope my son chooses to go there and is accepted. It is more open (Jesuits welcome questions and doubt and philosophical growth) but I am sure the kids will make your kid feel welcome.

Just be aware that things could come up. (abortion, Gay marriage, etc.) Read the parent handbook before you sign!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not Carholic, and I went to Catholic schools my whole life. In HS, they will have religion class and will be required to attend mass. If it's Gonzaga, they have some faith based retreats and students are very involved in faith based community service.
They won't ask during application process.
I didn't learn that they Bible isn't literally true and that we come from apes until college though. It was quite a shock. They do brainwash a bit,IMO.

Really???? I went to Catholic schools and knew the Bible was partly metaphorical as early as second grade. I asked my region teacher about how there could be dinosaurs and also Adam and Eve and she told me.

I can't believe there are Gonzaga students out there that don't believe in evolution.