Question

[PadreSantiago]

Whats the difference between orthadox catholics and like moderate catholics. And is there a way to tell easily between the two?

[Theoketos]

The orthodox (with a small "o") position is that which is in line with faith as revealed by the Holy Spirit in the Bible and taught by the Tradition (with a big "T") from the beginning of the Church when Christ's heart was pierced until Pope Benedict XVI accepted the keys of the kingdom. Orthodoxy literally refers to the right or correct belief in God. Orthodoxy (right belief) will lead to Orthopraxis, which means right practice. And yes there are right and wrong ways to praise God. The Fullness of the Right way subsists in the Catholic Church. (Lumen Gentium)

With in the bounds of orthodoxy there is actually quite a bit of "wiggle" room and legitimate disagreement. During the Vatican Council II, Cardinal Ratzinger was considered a real rebel liberal. Now he is seen as conservative. Pope John Paul II the second was called both a radical right-winger and loopy-lefty. In the end he probably he was very “liberal” and very orthodox. (I put liberal in quotes because I am sure that he did not accept relativism as true, but instead did not settle for the statusquo)

However opposed to this are heretical doctrines. These are doctrines, which are stubbornly held against a revealed truth that is taught as such by the Church. A good example of this would be the popular heresy of Arius.

The added category of moderate Catholics might be misleading.

If it means those that accept certain presuppositions based on principles contrary to right reason, for example that man determines transcendent right and wrong through the imposition of his will, the moderate Catholicism would be heterodox (unorthodox).

However if you take moderate to mean the mean between two extreme positions of heterodoxy, for example the mean between the factions of the Church that want no hierarchy but only democratic process and the factions that see only the curia as the Church, then orthodoxy becomes the moderate position.

That being said, holiness and virtue is usually found in the middle. And the usual political categories do not fit very well onto the Church. The Church never sides with either side of the political spectrum. Moreover she is not a third way between these two, but instead is a lens to view these two systems.