No matter who you are, or where you are on life's journey, you are WELCOME here!
We are non-discriminatory & accept all people.
We are both collectively and individually members of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church founded by Our Lord Jesus Christ.
Like other Catholics, We celebrate the Seven Sacraments of the Church in the traditional Catholic manner, doing what the Church as a whole does, in Union with the entire Mystical Body of Christ.
The Apostolic Succession of our Bishops is of unquestioned validity - derived from Rome through the Episcopacy of the Roman & Old Catholic Church.
Like the Roman Church We believe that Apstolicity includes at least three things: (1) Intellectual continuity through doctrinal conformity (2) physical continuity through tactile apostolic succession, & (3) spiritual continuity through mission.
Additionally, We believe no modern denomnation has exclusive claims on being the 'True Church', nor can any group be categorically excluded from the Christian fold based upon narrow interpretations of any of the Church's four creedal delineators (unity, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity).
Likewise, we believe that although deeply rooted in historical tradition, both Christian and Hebrew, the essential nature of Christianity is future-oriented as a result of Easter Day and the Great Commission.
We acknowledge the primacy of the Bishop of Rome and respect his position as an important voice in Catholic Christianity as well as his authority when he speaks in union with all other Catholic Bishops and expresses the "sunsus fidelium" of the Catholic Church Universal.
We strictly adhere to the essentials of Catholic Doctrine and practice as they have been expressed in the traditional creeds of the Catholic Church with the exception of those statements which are in direct conflict with our founding principles.
DIFFERENCES
As Catholics and members of the Mystical Body of Christ, we find that we cannot in good conscience confess the following disciplines as essential to Catholic Faith, morals, and practice.
1. We acknowledge the primacy of the Petrine Office & give due respect to the Bishop of Rome, however, We do not consider the doctrine of "Papal Infalibility" to be essential to the Christian understanding of the Indefectibility of the Church or to be integral to Our Lord's promise of the Holy Spirit's unfailing guidance of the Church. On the contrary, we see that this discipline has opened the door to the abuse of rightful authority and is the root cause of the dissent, anger, and suffering of many, in addition, it constitutes a barrier to ecumenical relationships with other ecclesiastical bodies and the unity which is Our Lord's perpetual wish.
2. Recognizing that absolute power leads inevitably to abuse of authority, the clergy of these Catholic Communions are committed to a leadership of service rather than to one charaterized by domination and control.
3. To this end, we are dedicated to the establishment and maintenance of the collegial ecclesiastical structure, which while preserving the traditional orders of Church governance, will allow for greater equality, for a more democratic process for diversity in unity and unity in diversity, and which will allow the "sensus fidelium" to be heard. We are committed to an ecclesiastical policy which will genuinely allow the laity to take their rightful place in the government of the Church and which will give due respect to their gifts, to their intelligence, and to their human rights.
4. While acknowledging that celibacy is a great and noble gift, we also affirm that this discipline need not be imposed upon those who desire to engage in sacedotal ministry. We observe that the discipline of mandatory clerical celibacy is an obstacle to the service of Christ and that this discipline prevents many from following the call of Our Lord. Therefore, in keeping with the practice of the early Church, we affirm the priestly vocations of married persons and freely admit married individuals into all ranks of the clergy.
5. In keeping with our affirmation of the full and equal dignity of all human persons, we are committed in our canon law to admitting women to all ranks of the clergy.
We cannot in any way accept a sacramental theology which declares that a woman cannnot be a sacramental sign of Christ or an incarnational Christology which implicitly or explicitly declares maleness to be essential to the human nature of Jesus Christ. Such a theology not only questions the fullness of Our Lord's humanity, it calls into question the humanity of women, the fullness of their baptism into Christ, even their very salvation. The discipline of excluding women from the sacredotal ministry has caused many to lose their Christian faith entirely and is a practice which is no longer acceptable.
6. Also in keeping with our respect for the full human dignity of all persons, we are committed to a canon law which is more inclusive and which erects no artificial or ilegitimate barriers to the receptoin of the Sacraments on the basis not only of gender, but also of age, race, ethnic background, lifestyle, sexual or affectional orientation or ability. We seek to embrace and to reconcile rather than to condemn and to alienate further those whose circumstances have caused them to experience rejection by the Church and by society at large. Thus, in accordance with our canon law regarding ecumenical openness and of compassion for all our sisters and brothers in Christ, we do not withhold the reception of sacraments from any qualified person who desires to receive them. In particular, we place no artificial barriers in the way of reception of the Sacrament of Baptism when a parent sincerely desires that through this Sacrament a child be received into the Mystical Body of Christ. (We baptize all ages).
7. While we recognize the sacarementality and sanctity of marriage, and are dedicated to the fostering of family life, and descire in every way to encourage life-long marital commitments. we recognize that in our present society it is a sad circumstance that marriages do not always last until death and that there are, in fact, occasions whereupon it is more detrimental to the parties involved to maintain the marital bond than to allow for a parting of ways. Wishing to impose no additional hardship upon those who are divorced, we therefore consider that remarriage after divorce does not constitute a legitimate barrier to reception of any sacraments. Our doctrine states: (a) Marriage is a sacrament through which God gives grace to the married persons and through them to the Church. Though intended to be a life-long commitment, when a marriage ceases to be a vehicle of God's grace, it's sacramentality is diminished. The existance of historic vows is now always sufficient cause to perpetuate a marraige. (b) God calls us all to forgiveness and growth; spouses and former spouses must forgive each other, and the people of God must welcome all in their brokenness into God's Family and at the Altar and (c) Forgiveness brings growth and healing, allowing for the possibility that a previously divorced person can enter a new, vital and sacramental marriage.
8. Although we recognize the holiness of human sexuality and strongly affirm that children are a blessing to married life, we also recogize that sactity of life and the importance of remaining sensitive to the concerns of those who warn of the devestating effects of human overpopulation upon the entire ecology of the earth. In addition, we recognize the extreme hardship placed upon those whose resources are insufficient to provide adequately for additional family members. Therefore, mindful of those most in need of compassion and convinced that humankind must take responsibility for the over all quality of life on this earth, we cannot accept prohibitions on the use of birth control. We strongly support the use of birth control and encourage the exercise of family planning.
9. While we strongly affirm the sanctity of human life, we also affirm universal human rights as well as a person's individual responsibility before God concerning the quality of that life. We deplore the use of abortion as a means of birth control, and although we affirm a woman's right of control over her body, we recognize unwanted pregnancy as a growing pastoral problem which must be handled with the utmost sensitivity and compassion on a case-by-case basis. Our canon law and doctrine states: (a) that all life is sacred (b) God created us with moral freewill, therefore it is not the proper place of civil government to legislate for or against moral issues upon which there is not universal agreement (c) generally, abortion is sinful, except in serious consideration for the life or physical health of the mother and/or child, (d) conscientious personal decisions about complex moral issues often result in actions that cannot readily be judged by persons not intimately involved with the decision, and that (e) there are no specific sins, including abortion which cause irredeemable loss or prevent Jesus' atonement from leading us to salvation.
10. In no respect do we intend in any of our canon laws or policies to seperate ourselves from the Mystical Body of Christ. Nevertheless, with regard to these issues we believe that the Papacy has overstepped the bounds of its legitimate authority, and in straying from the principles of loving compassion in the interests of perserving and enhancing its own power, has driven many to dissent, to disobedience, to reaction against what appears to us to be a clear abuse of power and of rightful authority.
Therefore deciding to act rather than to react, and believing strongly in the rightness of our action for the sake of those who can no longer accept the inappropriate exercise of authority, we esbstablished the Ecumenical Catholic Communion of Churches are part of the Old Catholic Church in the United States - to meet the needs of those who find unendurable the burdens of inessential discipline laid upon them.
We earnestly hope and pray that a time will soon come when authentic Christian unity may be achieved.
In the meantime, we are building a Church which strongly affirms the equal human dignity of all persons and the fundamental human rights to freedom of choice and freedom of thought, one which recognizes the importance of adopting a more humanitarian pastoral approach, one which honors both traditinal and contemporary thought. We desire to focus upon the positive values shared by others and are more interested in being for someone rather than against something. It is thus with a sense of hopefulness that we look toward the future and embrace the challenge of this centure as we strive to uphold the essentials of our Catholic faith and heritage.
- Love, peace and blessings!
+ The Right Reverend Robert D. Hall, OFC
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Ecuemical Catholic Diocese of Texas / Communion of Ecumenical Catholic Churches
