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Calling Catholicism a sect? Really?

Well it is, seeing as distinctive Catholic teachings are not manifest in the only wholly inspired substantive authoritative record of what the NT church believed (which is Scripture, in particular Acts through Revelation, which best shows how the NT church understood the gospels).

And it is a sect with many sects with variegated beliefs (most of whom Rome manifestly considers to be members in life and in death), as evidenced on FR, from those who reject V2 and all modern popes to those who just eject Francis as pope, to those who just criticize him, to those who call the former "Protestants," which in essence they are, while outside FR you have the Ted Kennedy RCs.

However, the change of being a member of a sect that inspired The Handmaid's Tale is specious, and it due to the fact that,

She is a member of a Christian group name People of Praise, where members are assigned a 'handmaiden', a personal adviser with whom they are encouraged to confess personal sins, financial information and other sensitive disclosures...The group's ultra-conservative religious tenets helped spur author Margaret Atwood to publish The Handmaid's Tale, a story about a religious takeover of the U.S. government which is now a hit TV show, according to a 1986 interview with the writer.

Members of the group swear a lifelong oath of loyalty, called a covenant, to one another. They are also assigned and held accountable to a personal adviser, known until recently as a 'head' for men and a 'handmaid' for women.

Members are encouraged to confess personal sins, financial information and other sensitive disclosures to these advisors and advisors are allowed to report these admissions to group leadership if necessary, according to an account of one former member.

The organization itself says that the term 'handmaid' was a reference to Jesus's mother Mary's description of herself as a 'handmaid of the Lord.' They said they recently stopped using the term due to cultural shifts and now use the name 'women leaders.'

The group deems that husbands are the heads of their wives and should take authority over the family. However the heads and handmaids are there to give direction on important decisions, including whom to date or marry, where to live, whether to take a job or buy a home, and how to raise children'.

Unmarried members of the group are placed living with married member couples. Members often look to buy or rent homes near other members.

They believe in prophecy, speaking in tongues and divine healings. Founded in 1971, it now has an estimated 2,000 members.

Her deep Catholic faith was cited by Democrats as a large disadvantage during her 2017 confirmation hearing for a seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit.

'If you're asking whether I take my faith seriously and I'm a faithful Catholic, I am,' Barrett responded during that hearing, 'although I would stress that my personal church affiliation or my religious belief would not bear in the discharge of my duties as a judge.'

Republicans now believe that she performed well in her defense during this hearing, leaving her potentially capable of doing the same if facing the Senate Judiciary Committee.

She is a former member of the Notre Dame's 'Faculty for Life' and in 2015 signed a letter to the Catholic Church affirming the 'teachings of the Church as truth.' - https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8751771/Trumps-frontrunners-Supreme-Court-nomination-devout-Catholic-Cuban-American-judge.html --------------

People of Praise is a charismatic Christian parachurch organization that provides community, spiritual direction, and opportunities for service to its members. It is not a church or denomination, and membership is open to any baptized Christian who affirms the Nicene Creed and agrees to the community's covenant. The majority of its members are Catholics, but Protestants can also join. It has 21 branches in the United States, Canada, and the Caribbean, with approximately 3,000 members including children. It founded a group of nondenominational Christian schools, Trinity Schools.

People of Praise was formed in 1971 by Kevin Ranaghan and Paul DeCelles. Both men were involved in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, in which Pentecostal religious experiences such as baptism in the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues and prophecy were practiced by Catholics. In its early history, it influenced the institutional development of the Catholic Charismatic movement in the United States and played important roles in national charismatic conferences.

People of Praise practices a controversial form of spiritual direction that involves supervision of a member by a more spiritually mature person called a "head". People of Praise maintains that members retain their freedom of conscience under such direction. The community excludes women from the highest leadership positions and teaches that men are the spiritual leaders of their families. At the same time, it encourages women to pursue higher education and employment. Former People of Praise member and Catholic critic Adrian Reimers has accused People of Praise of being too ecumenical and of compromising Catholic teaching by embracing Protestant ecclesiology. Peter Leslie Smith, a Roman Catholic auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon, has been a member since 1983.[2][3]

According to Sean Connolly, communications director for People of Praise, the community does not operate in an authoritarian fashion, "Freedom of conscience is a key to our diversity. People of Praise members are always free to follow their consciences, as formed by the light of reason, experience and the teachings of their churches."[19] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_of_Praise

Note that as in Eastern Orthodox church, many traditional RCs reject the charismatic movement, while evangelicals as myself warn of the danger of its ecumenism.