What should I say to someone who identifies as Catholic and attends youth group but never goes to church and says the Catholic Church is corrupt?
By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-10
When speaking to someone in this situation, you must address both the spiritual inconsistency in their behavior and the underlying reasons they feel disillusioned. Christianity is not a social label or a casual club; it is an active life of repentance, worship, and communion with God.
Here is a straightforward and truthful way to address them:
---
1. Challenge the Contradiction: Faith Requires the Church and the Sacraments
You cannot separate Christ from His Church. If someone claims to believe in Christ, they cannot discard the assembly of the faithful and the Holy Mysteries (Sacraments).
- The Church is not optional: The Apostle Paul makes it clear that we must not neglect "the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some" (Hebrews 10:25).
- The Eucharist is essential: Christ explicitly stated: "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you" (John 6:53). If a person never attends the liturgical service, they cut themselves off from the Body and Blood of Christ.
- Ask them directly: "If you believe in Christ, why do you reject the very worship and Sacraments He commanded us to participate in?"
---
2. Address the "Corruption" Excuse
It is true that the Roman Catholic Church introduced numerous theological innovations and deviations from the ancient Apostolic faith over the centuries—such as papal supremacy, papal infallibility, purgatory, and indulgences—which historically led to widespread abuses and moral failings.
However, seeing human failure or theological corruption in Rome is not a valid excuse to abandon worship altogether:
- Human sin does not cancel God’s commandment: People fail, priests sin, and human institutions falter, but Christ remains the same. Abandoning church because of human corruption is letting other people’s sins keep you from your own salvation.
- Point them to the True Apostolic Faith: If they recognize that Roman Catholicism has drifted into error or corruption, the answer is not to abandon the Church, but to seek the original, uncorrupted Apostolic Church that never altered the faith—the Orthodox Church. Challenge them: "If you know Rome has departed from the truth, why haven’t you looked into the ancient Church that preserved the faith without innovation?"
---
3. Expose the "Youth Group" Mentality
Attending a youth group while refusing to attend the liturgical service reveals that they are seeking social fellowship rather than God.
- Youth group is not the Church: Many youth groups—especially those influenced by Protestant fellowship culture—are centered on games, entertainment, emotional discussions, and socializing. They demand no repentance, no fasting, no confession of sins, and no liturgical reverence.
- God is not a hobby: Using a religious group purely for a social circle while refusing to bow down before God in the Holy Liturgy reduces faith to a club.
- Tell them plainly: "You are going to youth group for the people, not for God. If you truly sought God, you would be on your knees in worship, seeking His mercy and His Sacraments, not just showing up for social hour."
---
Summary of What to Tell Them
You can summarize your message to them in love and truth:
"You cannot have Christ on your own terms. If you say the Catholic Church is corrupt, you are right to question its errors, but running away from church attendance entirely will only starve your soul. Going to youth group gives you social friends, but it cannot give you the forgiveness of sins, the true teachings of the Apostles, or the Holy Eucharist. If you actually care about truth, stop making excuses about other people's corruption, step out of your comfort zone, and seek the true, ancient Church that Christ and the Apostles established."