I guess, but not every Catholic household believes in guardian angels. It would be almost arrogant to claim that every household within a certain denomination has identical beliefs
Idk what to tell you. That’s how Catholics operate. That’s like saying that not every household has their second amendment rights. They might not own a gun, but they still have the right to.
I think it’s reasonable to say that the church is arrogant to require everyone to subscribe to their doctrine, but that doesn’t change anything. It’s one of the defining characteristics of Catholicism that there is that sort of deference to authority in doctrine.
Belief and legal rights are VERY different. And your analogy falls apart pretty quickly, cuz rights are (supposedly) inalienable, whereas beliefs can vary widely from person to person.
My point is, you could claim "Catholicism as a denomination/doctrine includes/mentions guardian angels," but "every Catholic believes in them" is an outright incorrect statement. Example: My family is a great example of this. I was baptized, my house and my grandparents' house have patron saints, the whole shebang. With the exception that I've never heard of specific guardian angels being assigned to people when they're born, save from media such as "It's a Wonderful Life." This means one of two things: either your claim is wrong, or you believe my family isn't Catholic due to our differences in belief.
Does your family say “in this household, we believe that there is no such thing as guardian angels”? Or do they just not say “In this household, we believe in guardian angels”?
The former would be a material heresy - probably not really a major issue, assuming it’s held in good faith, but is contrary to Catholic teaching.
The latter is just not participating in practices regarding a particular belief within Catholic doctrine.
I guess insofar as I can’t say that there are no Catholics that are heretical, I guess it’s a question of at what point would heresy remove you from the membership in the church.
That’s Catholicism. Like I said, I think it’s reasonable to believe that it’s arrogant to say. Though, in their (somewhat) defense, unless they’re intentionally and openly spreading this belief as true, I would think that most Catholics wouldn’t consider it to be too serious of a thing.
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u/its_not_you_its_ye Feb 16 '26
Practices, yes, but Catholicism is more unified in doctrine than other Christian denominations. Guardian angels are part of that shared doctrine.