Count Me Out.

[Animavore]

Just came back from a meeting with Atheist Ireland.

Turns out you can defect from the Catholic Church. And they've provided a website which will help you do it.

www.countmeout.ie

This may be of intrest to Irish members. I'm gonna fill my form now.

Once defected you can no longer be married in a Catholic Church and if you die early your parents can't give you a Catholic burial. And no last rites either.

I wish I had of known about this years ago.

[klr]

Bookmarked.

I wonder would this be used to stop offspring getting into a Catholic-run primary school* though? That's the only bit that really concerns me (albeit not directly).

Of course the state has to provide for a child's education, and it would take just a couple of cases to bring that whole sorry mess centre stage,

*About 98% of them in other words.

[Animavore]

Dammit. I'm gonna have ask me parents the date I was baptised. I was hoping to do this then tell them. I'll have to spin a story as to why I want my baptismal cert I guess.

[klr]

The other point that I wanted to make: I never signed up (or otherwise agreed) as a consenting adult to being a member of the Catholic Church. That really sticks in my craw. It has no right to count me as a member by virtue of my silence - apart from the proverbial four weddings and a funeral, I haven't been inside a church for over 10 years.

Dammit. I'm gonna have ask me parents the date I was baptised. I was hoping to do this then tell them. I'll have to spin a story as to why I want my baptismal cert I guess.

Good point. I think I might have a copy of my own cert, should I decide to go through with this. It's just that being the contrary bastard that I am, I shouldn't even need to go through with it. It should be the default situation given the circumstances.

[Animavore]

The other point that I wanted to make: I never signed up (or otherwise agreed) as a consenting adult to being a member of the Catholic Church. That really sticks in my craw. It has no right to count me as a member by virtue of my silence - apart from the proverbial four weddings and a funeral, I haven't been inside a church for over 10 years.

Dammit. I'm gonna have ask me parents the date I was baptised. I was hoping to do this then tell them. I'll have to spin a story as to why I want my baptismal cert I guess.

Good point. I think I might have a copy of my own cert, should I decide to go through with this. It's just that being the contrary bastard that I am, I shouldn't even need to go through with it. It should be the default situation given the circumstances.

I just want a safeguard against having a Catholic burial if I go young.

During the suggestions part the mic was handed down the back and I heard this booming Northy voice say, "We don't need blasphemous speech> We need blasphemous action. I suggest we get some hosts and publicly desecrate them". I was really hoping to turn around and see Dev

[klr]

The other point that I wanted to make: I never signed up (or otherwise agreed) as a consenting adult to being a member of the Catholic Church. That really sticks in my craw. It has no right to count me as a member by virtue of my silence - apart from the proverbial four weddings and a funeral, I haven't been inside a church for over 10 years.

Dammit. I'm gonna have ask me parents the date I was baptised. I was hoping to do this then tell them. I'll have to spin a story as to why I want my baptismal cert I guess.

Good point. I think I might have a copy of my own cert, should I decide to go through with this. It's just that being the contrary bastard that I am, I shouldn't even need to go through with it. It should be the default situation given the circumstances.

I just want a safeguard against having a Catholic burial if I go young.

A very wise precaution IMHO. I have heard of cases where the clearly expressed wish of the deceased not to have this or that (or any) religious element to their burial was flagrantly ignored. The worst thing is that people by and large seem to think this is OK, which speaks volumes for the residual "Catholic mindset" in Ireland.

During the suggestions part the mic was handed down the back and I heard this booming Northy voice say, "We don't need blasphemous speech> We need blasphemous action. I suggest we get some hosts and publicly desecrate them". I was really hoping to turn around and see Dev

[Animavore]

A very wise precaution IMHO. I have heard of cases where the clearly expressed wish of the deceased not to have this or that (or any) religious element to their burial was flagrantly ignored. The worst thing is that people by and large seem to think this is OK, which speaks volumes for the residual "Catholic mindset" in Ireland.

This happened with my grand dad 3 years ago

I was the only one that objected which made me look bad so I shut up.

[klr]

A very wise precaution IMHO. I have heard of cases where the clearly expressed wish of the deceased not to have this or that (or any) religious element to their burial was flagrantly ignored. The worst thing is that people by and large seem to think this is OK, which speaks volumes for the residual "Catholic mindset" in Ireland.

This happened with my grand dad 3 years ago

I was the only one that objected which made me look bad so I shut up.

My own mother is one of those people who seem to see nothing wrong about ignoring the wishes of the dead. :twisted:

[Xamonas Chegwé]

I have made it clear to my xtian parents and brother and anyone else that cares to listen that I don't want a religious funeral. But frankly, I won't be here to care if it happens.

[The Curious Squid]

Makes me really glad that I come from a whole family of outspoken atheists my sister done the blasphemy challenge (I haven't) and my brother buys my atheist works for xmas while my mum will rant about how full of shit the church is don't think I'll be needing this.

[countmeout]

Hey everyone,

I'm one of the people involved in the site and just wanted to clarify something - in fact neither your date of baptism nor a copy of your baptismal cert are required to complete the process, both are optional. So Animavore you don't have to ask your parents for anything

Thanks for all the positive feedback!

Cormac
-----------------------
http://www.countmeout.ie/

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Hey everyone,

I'm one of the people involved in the site and just wanted to clarify something - in fact neither your date of baptism nor a copy of your baptismal cert are required to complete the process, both are optional. So Animavore you don't have to ask your parents for anything

Thanks for all the positive feedback!

Cormac
-----------------------
http://www.countmeout.ie/

Welcome, gentlebeing! Keep up the good work. (And stay for some chaos if you wish.)

[Chinaski]

Hey everyone,

I'm one of the people involved in the site and just wanted to clarify something - in fact neither your date of baptism nor a copy of your baptismal cert are required to complete the process, both are optional. So Animavore you don't have to ask your parents for anything

Thanks for all the positive feedback!

Cormac
-----------------------
http://www.countmeout.ie/

Is there an alternative for Switzerland or Italy? I'm not baptized, but it would be a cute gift to give to some people.

[irreligionist]

Hey everyone,

I'm one of the people involved in the site and just wanted to clarify something - in fact neither your date of baptism nor a copy of your baptismal cert are required to complete the process, both are optional. So Animavore you don't have to ask your parents for anything

Thanks for all the positive feedback!

Cormac
-----------------------
http://www.countmeout.ie/

What if one lives in Australia

[countmeout]

Hey,

Well, the defection form is based on a standard church form, so it technically valid in any anglophone country as long as you know the address of your diocese. As for non-anglophone - Do you happen to live in a French-speaking part of Switzerland? I'll likely translate the site into French at some point this year, though I can't make any guarantees when. I'll post here when I do and, in that case, you can probably use the form at least in Switzerland.

I belive there is already an Italian site that provides printable forms for defection. I'll try to find the link tomorrow and post it here.

Cormac
----------------
http://www.countmeout.ie