Non-Catholic Practitioner

Being a practicing non-Catholic may seem like an oxymoron. How can you practice a faith you don’t profess? How can you live a religious tradition without accepting its dogmas or believing in God? But perhaps this apparent contradiction actually reveals a new form of spirituality—one that prioritizes ethics over faith, and action over devotion.

To be a “practicing non-Catholic” is to embrace the core values ​​of Catholicism — those that stem from the New Testament — as guiding principles for life: compassion, social justice, human dignity, acceptance of others, forgiveness and, above all, love for one’s neighbor. It is not necessary to believe in the supernatural to recognize the transformative power of these values. It is enough to believe in humanity, in coexistence and in the urgency of a more just world.

In recent years, Pope Francis has become a central figure in this reunion between Christian ethics and secular conscience. By refocusing the Church’s discourse on the poor, refugees, the climate crisis, the peripheries and the forgotten, Francis has given voice to a faith that is practiced with concrete gestures — even by those who no longer believe in the institution or even in God. His example has given courage to many non-believers to live according to Christian principles, not as a religion, but as a way of being in the world.

Francis showed that it is possible to be profoundly Christian in one’s actions, even outside the Church. By breaking down barriers between believers and non-believers, he created a common space where humanism, solidarity and social justice are true worship. Many who had distanced themselves from him found in him a reason for hope and a model of ethical conduct. Not because they believe in Heaven, but because they want to transform the Earth.

It is with this hope that we now observe the beginning of the pontificate of Pope Leo XIV. May he be able to continue the legacy of Francis: a Church with open doors, closer to the marginalized than to dogma, more concerned with the poor than with sexual morality, more active in the world than on the altars. May he keep alive this spirit that also inspires non-Catholic practitioners — those who live the message of Christ without faith, but with deep moral conviction.

Ultimately, perhaps the spirituality of our time lies in this fruitful paradox: following Christ without worshiping him, living the Gospel without believing in miracles, acting for the common good without expecting eternal reward. Because, as Jesus himself taught, “by their fruits you will know them.” And there are many Christian fruits growing on trees that do not call themselves Catholic.