Ummmmm...methinks they need to have a conversation with their parish priest. They can consider themselves "Catholic" all they want, but that in and of itself does not make it so.
I was not Catholic for the first 43 years of my life...I wasn't religious at all. 12 years ago, I converted, and spiritually, I still feel like I'm taking baby steps.
In those 12 years, I have learned that there's a whole lot more than just saying "I'm Catholic". For your friends' sake, they need to reconcile themselves to God, and be serious about it.
They have had many, many conversations with their priests all along. The priests have counselled them. They have not denied them sacraments. That is all I am saying.