The Catholic church, already losing members like mad, decides to kick out a whole bunch more members

[patphil]

135. Ask them who Yeshua is.

Also ask them about Yeshua's parents.
Joseph was an Essene priest, not a poor carpenter. Mary was an Essene priestess.
The family name was ben Panther; not to be confused with the false stories concerning a Roman soldier by the name of ben Pantera. That was one of the ways the history of Yeshua ben Panther was corrupted.
For the record, "ben" means son of, and Panther means lion.
His family were the Lions of Judah. That's why Yeshua is referred to as the Lion of Judah.
Mary Magdalene was not a prostitute, she was also an Essene priestess, and the wife of Yeshua. Again, she was denigrated by the Romans when they took over the Disposnyi.
Yeshua's inner circle was comprised of 3 people: Mary Magdalene, the apostle Thomas, and the apostle Judas.
Interesting thing about Judas. There were two people by that name in the New Testament. Judas Iscariot, and Yeshua's brother Judas.
So, the question becomes: which one was the apostle, and which one was the betrayer.
I'll let you guess. Hint: Yeshua wouldn't pick a violent man.
Thomas was also denigrated as a doubter.
And then there was Peter, who was called the rock. Not because he was the foundation of Yeshua's church, but because he was, as they would say today, thick as a brick.

The Romans perverted all of Yeshua's teachings to suit their needs. The centuries just continued the work of rebuilding the Roman Catholic Church as something quite different from what Yeshua created.
Your friends sound like really good people, but that doesn't mean they know the true history of their religion. It's deliberately held back from almost everyone in the church. Only those with a need to know have any idea of the truth.