Certificate of Catholic Practice
Please email Fr Ben (benwoodley@rcdow.org.uk) if you need a Certificate of Catholic Practice. The form states that the child and their family are a practicing Catholic family. The definition of a ‘practicing Catholic’ is that the family attend Mass each week and Mass on Holy Days of Obligation, so that Fr Ben, by recognizing you, can certify the form.
The Certificate of Catholic Practice, guidelines from the Bishops:
General Principles
The test is based upon Mass attendance, as this is capable of being observed objectively, with a reasonable degree of accuracy. Therefore, for the purposes of the Certificate of Catholic Practice, a person is a practising Catholic if they observe the Church’s precept of attending Mass on Sundays and holidays of obligation (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 2041 – 2042).
Priests cannot be expected to be able to recall whether or not each parishioner has attended Mass on every single Sunday or holiday of obligation, nor can they always be expected to know whether or not, on a particular occasion, a person is lawfully excused from doing so. On the other hand, it is also clear that fortnightly or monthly attendance does not constitute the practice required by the canons.
For those reasons, priests are advised that, if, by their own observation or other evidence, they can ascertain that a person has an established pattern of attending Mass most Sundays, and the practice claimed by that person is not less than is required by the Church, that person should be regarded as a practising Catholic for the purposes of the Certificate of Catholic Practice.
Length of Practice
Priests cannot judge whether a person’s pattern of attendance at Mass corresponds to that required by the Church unless it has continued for a substantial period of time. This should always be presumed if the required pattern of attendance has continued for five years or more (or the whole time required by the Church, where this is shorter). On the other hand, priests should enquire very carefully into the circumstances where the pattern of practice has not continued over several years.
https://education.rcdow.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Priests-Certificate-of-Catholic-Practice-Guidance-Proposed-amendments-2017-2-CLEAN-COPY.pdf
Particular Issues
Claimed Practice not Substantiated.
Some priests find it particularly difficult when families insist that they practice, but this is not substantiated by the priest’s own observation. In such cases it must be made clear that the onus is on the family to satisfy the priest’s own mind that this is the case. The family may call upon evidence from other sources (e.g. priest of another parish which they visit regularly), but you should not issue the Certificate of Catholic Practice unless you are satisfied about the evidence presented to you.