How does the church deal with Christians who are not Catholic?

Answer 1

Roman Catholicism does not allow non-Catholics (besides the Eastern Orthodox) to partake in the Eucharist, that is, to receive Holy Communion at Mass, and theologically, teaches that only Roman Catholic Christians are truly accepted by God and will go to heaven.

Roman Catholic AnswerNot exactly. The Church deals compassionately with Christians who are outside of the Church (people who have been validly baptized and believe in the Nicene Creed in its traditional interpretration). The Church teaches that God loves everyone equally. And that everyone has the hope of heaven. Catholics have the sacraments and the fullness of the ways of grace that God has established to lead a good life. People outside of the Church, to the extent that they are trying to follow God are somehow considered part of the Church (see bolded words in the last paragraph below). This is the point of the ecumenical movement, and, obviously, the point of the RCIA program.

from Modern Catholic Dictionary by John A. Hardon, S.J. Doubleday & Co., Inc. Garden City, NY 1980

Church. The faithful of the whole world. This broad definition can be understood in various senses all derived from the Scriptures, notably as the community of believers, the kingdom of God, and the Mystical Body of Christ.

As the community of believers, the Church is the assembly (ekklesia) of all who believe in Jesus Christ; or the fellowship (koinoia) of all who are bound together by their common love for the Savior. As the kingdom (basileia), it is the fulfillment of the ancient prophecies about the reign of the Messiah. And as the Mystical Body it is the communion of all those made holy by the grace of Christ. He is their invisible head and they are his visible members. These include the faithful on earth, those in purgatory who are not yet fully purified, and the saints in heaven.

Since the Council of Trent, the Catholic Church has been defined as the union of human beings who are united by the profession of the same Christian faith, and by participation of and in the same sacraments under the direction of their lawful pastors, especially of the one representative of Christ on earth, the Bishop of Rome. Each element in this definition is meant to exclude all others from actual and vital membership in the Catholic Church, namely apostates and heretics who do not profess the same Christian faith, non-Christians who do not receive the same sacraments, and schismatics who are not submissive to the Church's lawful pastors under the Bishop of Rome.

At the Second Vatican Council this concept of the Church was recognized as the objective reality that identifies the fullness of the Roman Catholic Church. But it was qualified subjectively so as to somehow include all who are baptized and profess their faith in Jesus Christ. They are the People of God, whom he has chosen to be his own and on whom he bestows the special graces of his providence. (Etym. Greek kyriakon, church; from kyriakos, belong to the Lord.)