1.
I’ve
heard of Roman Catholics and Ukrainian Catholics, but the Community Catholic Church is new to me.
The Community Catholic Church of Canada finds its roots in the tradition of the Old Catholic Church, a network of autonomous churches brought together
in the Union of Utrecht (1889) after
their break from the Roman Church because of innovations introduced
by that church. Many also trace their origin from the many ethnic Eastern
(Oriental) Catholic Churches which separated from the Church of Rome
by
the schism of 1054.
The Christian church was called “catholic” because, first,
it was not intended to be confined to one place, time or nation, and, secondly,
because it was meant to comprise and embrace all correct teaching received
by it from the Apostles and to be preserved by the Church for all times.
Today, the word “orthodox” meaning correct teachings is often
placed before the word “catholic” to distinguish those
churches which have held that which has been believed everywhere,
always and by
all, from the Roman Catholic Church, which they feel has deviated
from the true teachings.
2. What are these orthodox teachings?
We worship
God in the Trinity, glorifying equally the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
We believe
that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Son
of God, begotten
before all ages, and that he is of one essence with the Father.
We believe that Christ incarnate is truly man, like us in all
respects except sin.
We worship the Holy Spirit as Lord and Life-giver, who proceeds
from the Father,
We honour and venerate the saints and ask their intercession
before God. Of the saints, Mary, the Holy Mother of God (Holy
Theotokas), holds a special
place.
We recognize seven sacraments (or mysteries):
Baptism and Confirmation (Chrismation) are the two sacraments
essential for full acceptance into the Church of Christ.
In
the sacrament of the
Holy Eucharist we partake in the true body and blood of
Christ in the forms of bread and wine for the remission of sins,
the
healing of body and soul,
and for eternal life.
Confession is the fourth essential
sacrament in the life of all Christians. In the sacrament of Confession,
Christ gives us
the forgiveness of sins after Baptism if we truly repent
of
them. Absolution for minor transgressions may be obtained
during the
penitential rite at
the Holy Eucharist and at other services.
Holy Ordination,
Holy Matrimony and Holy Unction complete the seven.
By the laying-on-of-hands,
a Bishop
transmits Divine Grace to the individual being ordained,
linking him through the continuing flow of grace that descended on
the Apostles at Pentecost,
to the uninterrupted succession of clergy of the one, holy,
apostolic, orthodox and catholic Church. By Holy Unction
the
priest asks
God to send down his healing power upon the body and soul
of an individual.
3. In
answer to my first question you mentioned the Union of Utrecht,
what was that?
In
the latter part of the seventeenth century the Church of Utrecht
in the Netherlands as engaged in a political
struggle
with the
Jesuit order.
It is alleged that this order was trying to gain
control of the church as their own “missionary territory” by
accusing it of the heresy “Jansenism”.
Jansenism was based on a book called The
Augustinius; or the Doctrine of St. Augustine
on the Health, Sickness and
Medicine of the Soul (1640) in
which the author, Bishop Cornelius Jansen, a Flemish
theologian, had taken to task the teaching of a Spanish Jesuit
Molina (1558). When Bishop van
Neercassel of the See of Utrecht died in 1686, his
position was left vacant by Rome for a lengthy period with
no bishop to administer confirmation
or to ordain new clergy.
The true break with Rome
came in 1713 when the Papal Bull “Unigenitus” by
Pope Clement XI was issued. The Cathedral Chapter of Utrecht
in 1723 elected Cornelius van Steenover, who
was then consecrated in 1724 by Dominic Marie Varlet,
the Bishop of Babylon, who was staying in the Netherlands.
This was the beginning of what was
called “The Roman Catholic Church of the Old
Episcopal Party”,
to be later known as “The Old Catholic Church
of the Netherlands”.
In 1870,
when the First Vatican Council ended abruptly, many German,
Swiss and Austrian groups opposed
to the declaration of Papal infallibility,
looked to the Old Catholic Church in Holland
for support, leadership
and
Episcopal orders and formed with the Church of
Utrecht the “Union
of Utrecht”. In later years other churches
became “Old Catholic” joining
or receiving Apostolic Succession from churches
in the Union, which they believed followed the
true
or orthodox
catholic faith.
4.
How was the Community Catholic Church of Canada formed?
The
Community Catholic Church of Canada traces its Apostolic
Succession from the Old Catholic
Church of the
Netherlands as well as
the Syrian Orthodox
Catholic Church of Antioch. The church
arose from groups meeting in Hamilton beginning
in 1934 which
were affiliated
with the
Liberal Catholic Church
and the North American Old Catholic
Church.
The Old Catholic Church became autonomous
in 1948 with
the
consecration
of Bishop George Davis and was incorporated
as an independent national church in
1960. Currently the Presiding Bishop is The Most
Rev. Patricia Davies.
5.
Are there other independant catholic churches in Canada?
Yes, there
are several Old Catholic groups in Canada. The better known are the
Polish National Catholic
Church, and the Liberal Catholic
Church of Ontario, now functioning under the umbrella of Christ
Catholic Church International.
6.
I’m
a divorced Roman Catholic, would I be able to receive the sacraments
in the Community Catholic Church of Canada?
The Chapter
of Bishops has seen no reason to withhold the sacraments to a sincere
believer who has been validly baptized.
Using the
principle of the Roman Catholic “internal forum solution”,
Old Catholic priests will remarry those who have had a civil
divorce, but will draw
the line if the person has been through the divorce courts
several times. This means that in good conscience and in good
faith,
after considering all the factors, the divorced person(s) is
(are) convinced
that the first marriage was not a sacrament and therefore he
or she would be free to contract the sacrament validly.
7.
I’m
a single mother who has approached several Roman Catholic
priests to have my child baptized and have been refused each time.
Will a Community Catholic priest do this for my child?
The Roman
Catholic Church’s Congregation for the Doctrine of
the Faith declared on October 20, 1980 that a priest cannot
refuse to baptize a child without delay. In the Community Catholic Church of Canada
you would not be met with such a refusal.
8.
I had my child baptized by a Community Catholic priest, but when I went
to the
Catholic
(Roman) School to enroll my
child
they wouldn’t
accept the baptismal certificate and sent me to the parish
priest, who wouldn’t accept it either. Why was
this?
While
it is acceptable for the Catholic elementary school staff not to
be familiar with their Church’s
Canon Law, the same is not acceptable for a priest.
He should know that all valid baptisms are
recognized by the Roman Church, even those of some
Protestant churches, and a baptism is ordinarily proved by a baptismal
certificate. Rome
regards Old Catholic Churches in the same manner
as it
views the Eastern Orthodox Churches; their sacraments
are valid. It is important to take note however that the Roman Catholic
schools are only mandated to accept Roman Catholic students,
members of the Community Catholic church are not necessarily eligible
for admission.
9. Are
your priests permitted to marry?
In
305 A.D. the Council of Elvira in Spain, while not forbidding marriage,
passed the first decree on celibacy for all bishops, priests and those
who served on the altar. Pope Siricius in 385, commanded celibacy for
bishops, priests and deacons.
Then in 1123, the First Lateran Council
forbade clergy to marry and decreed that those who had must dissolve
their unions. None of these edicts were decisions by an ecumenical
council of all the Christian Churches in Apostolic Succession. In fact
the ecumenical Council of Nicea in 325 decided not to ban priests from
marriage.
All clergy in the Community Catholic Church of Canada may
marry if they wish to do so, either before or after ordination or
consecration.
10.
Do you have religious orders?
As in the
Orthodox, Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches we too permit the formations
of
groups
or open societies
of religious.
Both orders
or societies are “mixed” rather
than “contemplative”,
that is engaged in prayer and other works.
11.
We are a married Catholic working couple in
our late twenties and are saving for a down
payment
on a house,
so we practice
birth
control.
Would we be denied the sacraments in your
Church for continuing this?
No, The
Community Catholic Church of Canada, being far less restrictive, believes
that family
planning by mutual
consent is a matter
of individual mind and conscience.
12.
What is your Church’s attitude towards dancing, gambling and
alcoholic beverages?
The Church
is non-puritianical in most respects believing that Almighty God
intended men
and women to enjoy
life in all its
aspects without
such excesses that would harm or bring
disrepute to themselves or to others.
13.
What is your Church’s stand on homosexuality?
God created
all people. They are all aspects of His creation and Christ
taught that
the quality of our
relationship
with one another
is the
important thing.
The Church was
not founded by Christ to judge an individual’s
worthiness but to remind mankind
that each one is responsible to Almighty
God for one’s own conduct with
the proper use of one’s
conscience and intellect. Read Matthew
7:1,2; John 7:24; the First Letter
of our teacher Paul to the Corinthians
4;3,4; and, his Letter
to the Romans 2:1.
The Community Catholic Church of Canada allows gays and lesbians to participate
fully in
and receive all the
sacraments of
the church including
Holy Ordination and Holy Matrimony.
14. How
does the Community Catholic Church of Canada view the Scriptures?
I take
it that by Scriptures you mean what we call The Holy Bible
with Apocrypha.
Today, the
various
translations published
reflect
a high
degree of scholarship and contain
fewer errors of translation
that they did
in the past.
Therefore, which edition
of
The Bible does
not matter as much as it did.
The Community Catholic Church of Canada encourages
the search for meaning through
Biblical exegesis and the reading
of the works
of the Fathers
of the Church.
It does
not support
the so-called “scientific
creationists” who attempt
to distort scientific findings
to mirror the Book of Genesis,
but supports the “theistic
evolutionists”,
who believe that God is the
ultimate creator and evolution
the process
through which his creation
is manifest.
15.
What is your Church’s
attitude towards war?
We concede
with the Church Father, St. Augustine, who
differentiated
just from
unjust wars
by condemning aggressive
wars for territorial expansion
and
by insisting
that war is morally defensible
only when it is waged for
the common good and to
achieve peace.
16.
Can the children of “Old Catholics” attend
Roman Catholic schools?
We cannot
give a “yes” or a “no” response
because it depends on the school laws in the particular province
in which you
reside. In Ontario,
if one of the parents is “Roman Catholic” and
the parents pay separate
school taxes - “yes”.
17. Do
your Churches use the Roman Catholic
Missal for
its Services?
Each parish community determines its style and liturgical practice. The
services or Liturgy are based on the
Tridentine Roman
Ritual,
the Service
Books
of the Eastern
Church, or the
Anglican Book
of Common
Prayer, usually
in the language of the
majority
of the people
attending. Latin
may be used
for those
from the
Roman Ritual
and Greek is
permitted for Eastern
Rite services.
18. Are
holy water and incense used
in your
services?
Holy
water may be used at certain
times
during
the
Holy Eucharist
and other
services, as
a symbol of
cleansing as
well as a reminder
of
how
we were cleansed
from sin at
baptism.
Incense has
been and
is used in
the religious
ceremonies
of both
non-Christian
and
Christian
religions. It was used
in ancient
Egypt,
in Israel, in China, and
in the
rituals of the
Babylonians,
Hindus
and Buddhists.
Since the
fourth century
it has
been employed in
orthodox
churches both
Eastern
and Western, as
symbolic
cleansing and symbolic
prayer
rising up to Heaven.
19.
How does your church view abortion?
This
is a difficult,
complex
question to answer.
As does
every Christian
Church
we teach against
the
deliberate
killing
of another human being
and the termination
of a pregnancy as
a means of
family
planning. In each case,
the term “abortion” has
to be defined precisely
and the
circumstances
have to
be assessed
medically
as well
as
theologically
when making
ethical
decisions.
The Church
was not
founded
by Christ to judge
an individual’s
worthiness
but to
remind
humankind
that
each one is responsible
to Almighty
God for
one’s
own conduct
with the
proper
use of
one’s
conscience
and intellect.
Read Matthew
7:1,2;
John 7:24;
the First
Letter
of our
teacher
Paul to
the Corinthians
4:3,4;
and
his Letter
to the
Romans
2:1.
20.
Can I obtain
an indulgence
by special devotions?
We reject
as having
no warrant from
either tradition
or the
Holy Bible,
the Roman
Catholic
teachings about
indulgences
or a treasury of
merit.
21. May
women be ordained priests
in your
Church?
The
first women priest in the
OCCC was
ordained on
March
29, 1999.
Like many
other Old
Catholic Churches
we could
find no
theological
or scriptural
reasons
for not ordaining
women who
had the
necessary
education
and training.
The
Mother Church,
the Old Catholic
Church of
the Netherlands
ordained
a woman to the
priesthood
the same
year. Dr. Joan Morris,
an
historian,
found that
several
Popes in
the medieval
times permitted
the ordination
and consecration
of
women. Dr.
Ilda Raming,
another historical
scholar,
found that
the ecclesiastical
law restricting
ordination
baptized
males was based
on forgeries,
mistaken
identities and suppression
of historical
facts by
male-centred curia in
Rome.
22.
If you
don’t
believe
in “papal
infallibility” how
can
you
call
yourselves “Catholic”?
In
the
early
days
of
Christianity
in
the
cities
of
Rome,
Alexandria,
Antioch,
Jerusalem
and
later
on
Constantinople,
were
founded “families” of
the
Christian
Church
by
various
apostles.
The
bishops
of
these
cities
were
in
time
called “patriarchs” (the
head
of
families).
Before
the
schism
of
1054
between
east
(Alexandria,
Antioch
and
Jerusalem)
and
west
(Rome)
by
divine
right
all
of
the
bishops
were
inherently
equal.
All
of
them
in
council
decided
on
all
matters
relating
to
teaching,
faith
and
morals
not
the
Pope
(Father)
of
Rome
who
was
but
considered
to
be “the
first
among
equals”.
That
the
Pope
of
Rome
is
the “supreme
pontiff
(bishop)” is
an
invention
of
Rome
to
usurp
power.
23.
What
are the
orthodox catholic
teachings regarding
the Immaculate
Conception and
the Bodily
Assumption of
the Blessed
Virgin Mary?
There
is no
tradition in
the Eastern
Churches for
the belief
that the
Holy Mother
was born
without original
sin, although
the Eastern
tradition tends
to the
belief that
she committed
no voluntary
sin during
her lifetime.
The bodily
assumption of
the Blessed
Mother is
a reverent
and pious
tradition which
many in
the orthodox
catholic churches
respect. However,
neither the
Immaculate Conception
nor the
Bodily Assumption
are recognized
as dogmas,
that is,
required to
be believed
for our
salvation.
The
Archbishops and
Bishops of
the Church
of Ireland
(Anglican) said
this in
a Pastoral
Letter, when
the dogma
of the
Assumption was
promulgated by
Rome on
December 10,
1950:
“By its various enlargements
of the ancient Catholic Creed to contain the twelve new articles of Pope Pius
IV’s creed, the two new articles of Pope Pius
IX in 1854 and 1870, and the new dogma of 1950, the Roman Church is shutting
itself further away from Catholic Christendom ... which those who are content
with the ancient Rule of Faith and the Primitive Church Order, can only reject
as heretical.”
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