Defected

Our man in Havana

Just sent off my notice of defection to the bishop in Kilkenny for transmission to Ferns. I have been thinking of doing it for a long time and finally plucked up the courage to send off the paperwork today.

Now, I wonder am I in for a visit form the local priest trying to stop me leaving?

Anyways it feels so much better now that I have posted the letter.

How long do these things normally take?

bleg

Took me a couple of weeks. Declined to meet any of the bishop's representatives and just said I wanted out.

mercer

my boyf defected and it took AGES. they sent out letters asking him to meet up and discuss why he wanted to defect. then, finally they sent him out a letter with a list of stuff he cant do now he has defected. meh, seemed kinda pointless to me but whatever... :pac:

MagicMarker

mercer wrote: »

my boyf defected and it took AGES. they sent out letters asking him to meet up and discuss why he wanted to defect. then, finally they sent him out a letter with a list of stuff he cant do now he has defected. meh, seemed kinda pointless to me but whatever... :pac:

Was ''You are no longer permitted to spout unsubstantiated bull**** from now on'' on that list?

TheStickyBandit

Fair play dude, I sent mine but I never got anything back, I'm going to do it again (I've been saying that a while). I shall be sending it by registered post this time though!

Our man in Havana

Rude of them not to reply.

strobe

Fair play for sending it out. Personally I didn't bother. I don't think they are worth the reference. This post is all the time I am willing to give them.

mercer

MagicMarker wrote: »

Was ''You are no longer permitted to spout unsubstantiated bull**** from now on'' on that list?

HAAAAAAA yeah top of the list... along with not getting last rites and he's not allowed get married in a church... meh, no big loss at all :P

Pushtrak

mercer wrote: »

HAAAAAAA yeah top of the list... along with not getting last rites and he's not allowed get married in a church... meh, no big loss at all :P

How about having a kid and it posing problems of getting said kid an education? Or is my information on that way off?

axer

When I defected I got back a small card saying that it had been noted on my baptism certificate and that if I wanted to discuss it then I could contact the bishop. Unfortunately I didnt get a copy of my baptism certificate with defected marked on it. I might request a copy of it under the data protection act and frame it.

mercer

Pushtrak wrote: »

How about having a kid and it posing problems of getting said kid an education? Or is my information on that way off?

there are plenty of kids in education who aren't from the catholic church.
you're kind of over reacting. anyway, we dont sit around worrying what may happen to our imaginary children we might have one day as a result of our actions.

Pushtrak

mercer wrote: »

there are plenty of kids in education who aren't from the catholic church.

Oh, that changes everything. That one line, and my world view is completely changed.

you're kind of over reacting.

Assuming what you said is true, an unwise and unsafe assumption in the lack of evidence.

anyway, we dont sit around worrying what may happen to our imaginary children we might have one day as a result of our actions.

Who is we? I'm not part of this we you speak of anyway.

TheStickyBandit

Haddockman wrote: »

Rude of them not to reply.

I'm sure that's not the worst thing they've done

eoin5

mercer wrote: »

HAAAAAAA yeah top of the list... along with not getting last rites and he's not allowed get married in a church... meh, no big loss at all :P

I thought the eternal pit of hell would be what they would want to warn you about if they believed thats where youre going but anyways...

Our man in Havana

News. I received a letter from the bishop. He is refusing to action my request until I contact the parish priest that baptised me.

Surely this is a break in protocol?

strobe

Haddockman wrote: »

News. I received a letter from the bishop. He is refusing to action my request until I contact the parish priest that baptised me.

Surely this is a break in protocol?

It's happened to other posters on here alright Had. I think ColmDawson had the same thing happen to him.

Our man in Havana

What is the best way forward as I have no desire to go anywhere near the parish priest?

Dades

Did he give a reason why you need to contact the exact priest that baptised you? (I'd imagine a good chunk of the priests that baptised people here are dead, frankly).

I would reply and tell him to stop trying to obstruct your departure in no uncertain terms.

Our man in Havana

I think he meant the parish priest where I was baptised.

I shall post up a scan of the letter later.

I wonder is it an issue where the diocese where I live now is not the same as the one where I was originally baptised.

Dades

The parish, rather than actual priest, would make more sense.

That's probably where the dusty book with your name in it resides.

hiorta

"""What is the best way forward as I have no desire to go anywhere near the parish priest""" haddockman

You needn't have any more allegiance to a creed or a pub, a footballing team or a newspaper than you yourself choose to give to any of these items.

You can simply walk away and by doing so, you are breaking no Law. Indeed, by not doing so when that is what you wish, you are breaking the Right to free-will, even if you are being ruthlessly intimidated.
If some parish priest is displeased, so be it.

ColmDawson

strobe wrote: »

It's happened to other posters on here alright Had. I think ColmDawson had the same thing happen to him.

Mine was fairly straightforward, actually.

After an offer to meet up to discuss my defection (which I declined), the Church sent me a new baptismal certificate, amended to show that I've defected. The thing is, it's not my original certificate. They didn't return the original.

nozzferrahhtoo

Check, and even email, the countmeout.ie site. As far as I know he has not the right to refuse you.

magicbastarder

Haddockman wrote: »

What is the best way forward as I have no desire to go anywhere near the parish priest?

i'd head along out of sheer curiosity as to what he would have to say.

Our man in Havana

Dades

Yup - it seems you need to just get a note put in the actual dusty book that recorded your baptism.

This thread highlights for me the meaninglessness of "officially" leaving the church, save for some personal satisfaction.

hiorta

Some guy in a dress sprinkled water on you when a few days old, then claims ownership?
You could not make this stuff up.

axer

hiorta wrote: »

Some guy in a dress sprinkled water on you when a few days old, then claims ownership?
You could not make this stuff up.

Welcome to the hotel Roman Catholic...You can check-out any time but you can never leave...