03/15/00 16:08:28

Name: Fr. Mike	My URL: Visit Me
My Email: Email Me	Church Background:: Catholic

Comments:
Dear Julie, Thank you for your prayers! All of us working for the greater glory of our Lord are in need of the prayers of the faithful. That is why we continue to pray for the Pope. We as "Old" Catholics do not reject the Pope or any doctrine of the historic Catholic Church. Old Catholics show due respect for the Bishop of Rome. Our Church finds it's beginnings in the struggles of the Church of Utrecht, Holland's struggles to maintain it's historic independence, against an increasingly hostile and domineering Papacy. The issue that finally made separation irreconcilable was the promulgation of the dogmas of Papal infallibility and the immaculate conception of Mary. Both of these dogmas were issued unilaterally by the Pope without regard to the traditional vehicle of a general council of the Church. You are correct, we do allow divorce and remarriage. We do not encourage it. Divorce is a painful experience for all concerned. Divorce is definitely not in God's divine will for our lives. However, we do not find that Divorce is the un-pardonable sin (check out the story of Jesus with the woman at the well). We believe that denying the sacraments to any person because of marital status is reprehensible (...for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God). Another issue that differentiates us from the Church of Rome is that our clergy are permitted to marry. Our positions are not a matter of "having our cake and eating it too", but striving to the best of our ability to maintain a pure Catholic faith consistent with the teachings of the Apostles, Church Fathers, and the first seven ecumenical councils. Your letter sounded a little bitter. I am indeed sorry if we have offended you in any way. If you have any constructive recommendations on how we could more effectively present our message, I would be happy to dial

03/15/00 15:58:40

Name: Julie	My URL: Visit Me
How did you find us:: Just surfed in	Church Background:: Roman Catholic

Comments:
You call yourself Catholic, but you reject the Pope, allow remarriage after divorce and accept contraception. It surely must be convenient to have a church that allows you to have you cake and eat it too. Are there no independent standards of conduct or only those that are "convenient"? I will add you to my prayer list, because not everything that man believes is good is acceptable to God.

Michael Callahan - 08/12/99 00:22:10 My URL:http://www.callahanclan.org My Email:[email protected] Your favorite NT verse?: Romans 8:28 Your favorite OT verse?: Genesis 45 What's your faith background?: Catholic/Christian

Comments: This web site is dedicated to being an information resource for our community and others seeking information about the "Old" Catholic faith.

Laurie Volk - 08/10/99 20:03:34 My Email:[email protected] Your favorite OT verse?: Psalm 139 What's your faith background?: RC

Comments: Pray you have found a more permanent place to be church. I am part of an intentional eucharistic community in Portland OR. We call ourselves The Journey Will Name Us Catholic Community. At this point we are lay lead, although we didn't begin that way. Each week our liturgy team (the team is made up of preachers, presiders, choir director, and anyone who wishes to attend) meets to critique the previous weeks work and read the next Sunday's scripture. After listening to the word, we discuss it and provi e support to the homilist for the coming Sunday. When we are at our best we come prepared, having done some exegesis. I appreciated your book store listings. Last night at our Team meeting, our pastor brought a message from one of our members, that maybe we should check out The Old Catholic Church and consdiering becoming affiliated. Thus in my surfing, I found your site, saw that you were meeting in homes, (a great tradition) and just wanted to wish you well. Laurie Volk