Are Plain Catholics Anabaptists?

[Bootstrap]

Live ur life as you choose. Just do not confuse readers here. There is no such formal thing as a Plain Catholic. There are Catholics, and I suppose some Catholics choose a plain lifestyle. But you just really should not put the words together implying they have meaning.

Respectfully, JayP this assumption is incorrect. Charisms do exist formally in the Church and are not assigned Ordinaries nor are they always communities and organisations.

Parishioners who are Lay Benedictines, Lay Carmelites, Lay Dominicans, etc. attend local parishes that are in local dioceses yet follow those charisms privately. Plain Catholics likewise are a formal charism similar to those above but we are less well known simply because we live in rural areas and indeed, we do exist. You can learn more about lay charisms such as those mentioned above with a lazy internet search. By the way, Pope John Paul II was a Lay Carmelite. Not many people knew that either.

I just did a lazy internet search - with a little GPT. It's easy to find information on the following:

1. Lay Benedictines (Benedictine Oblates):
- Lay Benedictines are typically called "Oblates." They are associated with a particular Benedictine monastery and commit to living the Rule of St. Benedict in their daily lives.
- For more information, you can visit the International Benedictine Oblates website or contact a local Benedictine monastery.

2. Lay Carmelites (Secular Carmelites):
- Lay Carmelites are members of the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites (OCDS) or the Third Order of Carmel (TOC). They follow the spirituality of St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross.
- Information can be found on the Secular Order of Discalced Carmelites (OCDS) website or the Lay Carmelites (TOC) website.

3. Lay Dominicans (Lay Fraternities of St. Dominic):
- Lay Dominicans are members of the Lay Fraternities of St. Dominic, also known as the Third Order of St. Dominic. They follow the charism of preaching and teaching of the Dominican Order.
- For more details, visit the Lay Fraternities of St. Dominic website or contact a local Dominican priory.

It also says this:

These orders and congregations are formally recognized by the Church, usually through a process that involves approval by the Holy See or a local bishop. This recognition is important as it ensures that the group's charism and activities are in line with the teachings and discipline of the Catholic Church.

It's extremely easy to find information on any of the lay movements mentioned above by searching official Catholic sites. Where can I find similar information about Plain Catholics?

[Soloist]

It's extremely easy to find information on any of the lay movements mentioned above by searching official Catholic sites. Where can I find similar information about Plain Catholics?

It’s obvious. Anyone can be a plain Catholic. Just simply identify as it. There is no plain Catholic authority, structure, dress standard, nothing. No one can say you are not plain Catholic if you decide you are. No leadership needs to endorse it or know of it as it can exist off and on at your pleasure. Given the lack of official Catholic recognization, it’s clear this group exists on an individual level.
Otherwise, proof could be provided of something such as guidance for this group or anything to unite them. It’s not like this mysterious document/documents would have to be made public, proof could easily be provided to the other Catholics on here or the moderators.
So one plain Catholic decides that being plain means you don’t post on Mennonet, another decides you avoid politics, another decides avoiding heretical groups makes one plain. The point is, any one of those people could be plain Catholics and it’s impossible to prove otherwise. I see another Moses Aaron situation coming.

[temporal1]

It’s obvious. Anyone can be a plain Catholic. Just simply identify as it. There is no plain Catholic authority, structure, dress standard, nothing. No one can say you are not plain Catholic if you decide you are. No leadership needs to endorse it or know of it as it can exist off and on at your pleasure. Given the lack of official Catholic recognization, it’s clear this group exists on an individual level.
Otherwise, proof could be provided of something such as guidance for this group or anything to unite them. It’s not like this mysterious document/documents would have to be made public, proof could easily be provided to the other Catholics on here or the moderators.
So one plain Catholic decides that being plain means you don’t post on Mennonet, another decides you avoid politics, another decides avoiding heretical groups makes one plain. The point is, any one of those people could be plain Catholics and it’s impossible to prove otherwise. I see another Moses Aaron situation coming.

i think this is pretty much it, based on Max’s responses/non-responses. i don’t object to it. with or without Catholic authority, he/they can do as they please. Anabaptists won’t behead them, current Catholics are unlikely to behead anyone.

Are Plain Catholics Anabaptists? No.

[JayP]

I'm willing to agree, and I was simply curious, this discussion if effectively over.
And there's no bad guy here.

We've clarified (ok, I'm sufficiently clarified), that Catholics who identify with "Plain" are simply using a word to describe their lifestyle choice.
It's meaning may be (to some) similar in practice to what "plain" means in Anabaptist circles, and to others it is not.
But clearly Plain Catholics are not Anabaptists.

Catholic Anabaptist is an oxymoron.

I accept there are "Plain" Catholics. In the same way there are "fat" Catholics and "skinny" Catholics.
They may be fat, or skinny, or Plain, but it has no doctrinal or religious meaning.

And your wording is quite correct. I understand private charisms. Key word...private.
Just like a Medugorge...not binding on me. Not doctrinal, not required for salvation, nor required to be a Catholic.

And really....I think I'm past lazy internet searches to understand Catholicism.
My wife studied for an St.D, half of my family is literally "literate" in spoken and written Latin. I mean we can actually have a conversation.
When I was in a conservative Mennonite setting, our minister used to joke that as a Catholic convert, I was probably the only technically true Anabaptist in the room.

[ohio jones]

i’m not sure why this topic has continued beyond a simple “No,” yet it has.

It has actually remained more on-topic than most 17-page threads. The question of whether Plain Catholics exist (and if so, who or what they are) is a prerequisite to the OP question, so I'd say it is relevant to the subject.

[MaxPC]

I noticed the label New Catholic Land Movement. That will also differentiate CLM US from the Original CLM UK.

In one aspect, we are gratified that so few know of us as we prefer to be the “Quiet” Charism.

In the past 100 years there have been multiple attempts to pull us into the partisan conversations of both the Church and secular society. We determined long ago that in the long view of history, partisanship is a distraction from our immediate responsibilities. Thus we neither rail about liturgy, Latin nor NO vs Tridentine. We try to keep our focus upon doing those tasks with which God has directed our way so that when our earthly lives are finished we can answer in the affirmative that we did our best to live our vocation. There are no rewards in this life; no titles of status that will count towards heaven. Only fidelity to our vocation will be judged.

We do have a sense of humor too; we simply take lightly the overly serious and overwrought conversations that seem to be an effort to either denigrate or to justify a point of view. In God’s perspective we are only accountable for ourselves and whether we met our responsibilities to those others God placed in our circle. All else is dross.

[Soloist]

I do enjoy a good royal we.

[JayP]

I prefer the Papal "we". How cool is it to be able to use the plural when you speak.

I actually wrote a long piece...then decided to be nice to Max and just delete it.
I confess what I previously knew about the Back to the Land movement I largely chucked because too many in that movement are sympathetic to Medjugorge. Which I am not. To each his own.

[Pelerin]

It is no different than my saying I am a Dieting Catholic.

Last time we had dieting Catholics things got a lot plainer but also a lot less Catholic.

[ohio jones]

It is no different than my saying I am a Dieting Catholic.

Last time we had dieting Catholics things got a lot plainer but also a lot less Catholic.

Now let's not open that can of worms.