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I have to file the "paperwork" first, or so I am told.

Have you ever seen what the paperwork entails?

"Roman Catholics, the largest U.S. church with a reported 69 million members, start counting baptized infants as members and often don’t remove people until they die. Most membership surveys don’t actually count who’s in the pews on Sunday. To be disenrolled, Catholics must write a bishop to ask that their baptisms be revoked..."
....it is possible, for example, to be born Catholic, married Methodist, die Lutheran and still be listed as a member of the 1 billion-member Roman Catholic Church.... "...The Catholic understanding of membership is that a person becomes a member upon baptism and remains a member for life," Gautier said. "Whether you show up at church or not is not what determines whether you're a member."
-- from the thread When It Comes to Church Membership Numbers, the Devil's in the Details
....as of last year [2006] there is now a procedure in place for removing oneself from membership in the Roman Catholic Church. While this procedure essentially results in the defector being regarded as "apostate" rather than an "ex-Catholic," it is the most forceful way to formally declare one's voluntary separation from Rome.
Information about the declaration can be found here, [ http://www.ewtn.com/library/CURIA/ciltformaldefect.HTM ] but I had some difficulty finding out the exact procedure required for executing it. After calling the diocese of the church where I was baptized, I was ultimately directed to the diocese of Knoxville where I now reside. I was put in touch with a deacon there who was able to outline the steps needed to complete my personal exodus. As he has described it, there are 3 steps required....
-- from the thread Actus Formalis Defectionis ab Ecclesia Catholica
....Earlier this year [2010] the Catholic Church modified Canon Law removing all references to the act of formal defection. In response to this CountMeOut.ie has been contacted in recent weeks by several people who were concerned about delays concerning their defection request. Most received notice from the Dublin Catholic Archdiocese stating that they are unable to process their application until the Archdiocese decides how to implement canon law changes....
....The Dublin Archdiocese have confirmed that at the end of August changes were introduced to Canon Law and as a result it will no longer be possible for individuals to formally defect from the Catholic Church. However it added that the Archdiocese will maintain a register of names for those who have expressed the desire to defect.
-- from the thread Irish service offering defection from Catholic Church is suspended ["no longer possible to defect"]