Reformed Catholic Church (Old Catholic)

Infobox Christian denomination
name = Reformed Catholic Church


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main_classification = Catholic
orientation = Old Catholic
polity = Episcopal
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founded_date = 2000
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footnotes = The Reformed Catholic Church is an Old Catholic denomination with historical ties to the independent catholic movement and with roots in the Old Catholic Church and the Utrecht Union. This is not a unique situation for the Reformed Catholic Church as many Independent Catholic communities and bishops claim some type of historical tie to the Utrecht Union/Old Catholic Church. The RCC is not affiliated nor in communion with the historical church, and it is not a member of the Utrecht Union.

History

The Reformed Catholic Church is a catholic denomination with historical ties to the Independent Catholic Movement. The Independent Catholic Movement has its roots in the Old Catholic Church of UtrechtFact|date=July 2008.

This is not a unique situation for the RCC as the majority of Independent Catholic Churches and Bishops claim some sort of historical tie to the Church of Utrecht, as can be noted on their websites. The RCC is not affiliated nor in communion with the Roman church and it is not a member of the Union of Utrecht.

The church belongs to the Worker-Priest Movement as its clergy hold secular employment and do not get paid for their clerical duties. This can be found in their Code of Canons.

The Reformed Catholic Church was founded in 2000 by the Most Rev. Robert Allmen, OP, a former Roman Catholic priest. Bishop Allmen resigned from the church in 2004. Bishop Phillip Zimmerman, SJ is the second and current Presiding Bishop of the church. The church is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio.

Teachings and beliefs

The Reformed Catholics' belief system is basically the same as their counterparts, the Roman Catholics, even though here are a few distinct identities that set them apart.

The Reformed Catholics:

*Do not believe in the infallibility of the Pope as they believe that only Jesus Christ can be infallible.
*Do not believe that the Pope is the Supreme Pontiff of the Church, but they consider him as being the Bishop of Rome, a bishop among equals.
*Do not believe that anybody has the right to withhold any of the sacraments from any person for any reason, Marriage, Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Eucharist, Holy Unction, Holy Orders or Absolution.
*Believes in allowing Holy Orders for women and men, gays and lesbians; believes in celibacy as a matter of divine calling but not a requirement to be clergy. Many clergy are couples, and some even have children.
*Believes in the Nicene Creed, the Catholic prayers, transsubstantiation, the Holy Trinity, and that which marks a "Catholic identity."

Church structure

The Church's highest leading clerics are the bishops organized into the College of Bishops, which in turn is led by the presiding bishop Phillip Zimmerman.

Below bishops are monsignors which are priests selected by the presiding bishop to serve as the confessor for that person. A monsignor is normally not a title of authority, but in the RCC community they are normally considered as such. The monsignors in the RCC wear a pectoral cross signifying this authority.

The Church does not have cardinals as such, the presiding bishop currently possesses the dignity of Archbishop, and has also named Bishop +Bill Quinlan, Bishop David Frazee, and Bishop Patrick Batuyong to the dignity of Archbishop to assist in the governance of the church and its ever increasing sizeFact|date=July 2008.

Religious orders

The RCC has a diverse group of religious orders:

Benedictines in the RCC:There are two Benedictine orders: Order of Benedictine Reformed in Atlanta, Georgia.

Franciscans in the RCC:The "umbrella" organization of the church's Franciscans is called the Reformed Catholic Franciscans; there are also specific other Franciscan orders as well, Divine Mercy Franciscans.

Jesuits in the RCC:The Society of Jesus also has an order in the Reformed Catholic Church; it is overseen by Bishop Zimmerman; it is called the Reformed Jesuits.

Dominicans in the RCC:The Order of Preachers also has an order in the Church; it is called the "'Order of Preachers of St. John the Beloved".

Carmelites in the RCC:in 2008, a new order of Carmelites was added to the growing list of Religious communities of the church.Fact|date=July 2008

Demographics

As of March 1, 2008 the website of the Reformed Catholic Church lists 11 bishops, 46 parish or religious communities in 25 US States [ [http://www.reformedcatholicchurch.org/united_states.htm Lists of clergy and communities, by state, from the Church's website] ] and multiple communities in other countries; 16 in Africa, 3 in Asia, 7 in Europe, 2 in Mexico/Caribbean, and 2 in Australia. [ [http://www.reformedcatholicchurch.org/international.htm Lists of clergy and communities, by country, from the Church's website] ] .

Currently, most of these communities are small missions and chapels dedicated to developing intimate connections between members. The RCC parishes celebrate the unique joys found in that of a small church as a reaction and an antidote to the mega-church movement. However, the number of communities and the number of church members seems to be growing rapidly.

Position in relation to other churches

The Reformed Catholic Church celebrates the liturgy according to Roman Catholic rites, and follows the Novus Ordo of Paul VI. They also proclaim a valid line of apostolic succession, which they state is valid as it can be traced back to St. Peter.

Its "Statement of Principles" [Document on Church website [http://www.reformedcatholicchurch.org/Tenents%20Of%20Beliefs.rtf] ] sets forth some differences from Roman Catholic doctrine and practice. The Reformed Catholic Church ordains women as priests and, since 2007, as bishops. The Church also allows priests to marry before or after ordination.

Furthermore, the Reformed Catholic Church accepts same-sex Holy Unions as sacramental, and accepts gays and lesbians as candidates for ordination. Several of the clergy are in life-long same-sex relationships, and in some cases both of the partners are clergy in the Church. The Church has no objection to birth control on moral grounds, and regards abortion as acceptable in limited circumstances.

In the Reformed Catholic Church's view, and in the viewpoint of most Independent Catholics not in communion with Rome, Fact|date=February 2007 a confirmation of their identity as "catholic" can be found in the Vatican document "Dominus Iesus", written by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI) and ratified by Pope John Paul II. Declaration "Dominus Iesus (On the Unicity and Salvific Universality of Jesus Christ and the Church)", Article IV "Unicity and Unity of the Church" section 17:

"The Churches which, while not existing in perfect communion with the (Roman) Catholic Church, remain united to her by means of the closest bonds, that is, by apostolic succession and a valid Eucharist, are true particular Churches. Therefore, the Church of Christ is present and operative also in these Churches, even though they lack full communion with the Catholic Church, since they do not accept the Catholic doctrine of the Primacy"] While many churches in independent catholicism hold this view Fact|date=July 2007 of the document "Dominus Iesus", official Roman Catholic sources apply the relevant passage only to the historic churches of Eastern Christianity. Fact|date=July 2007

In 2007, The Reformed Catholic Church's presiding bishop, Archbishop Zimmerman, issued a rebuttal Fact|date=February 2007 of the denunciation of the Church by Roman Catholic authorities in Africa who allegedly have spoken of the Reformed Catholic Church as schismatic and its clergy as invalid. Fact|date=February 2007 Despite this and differences of doctrine and practice between the two churches on such issues as the role of women, the Reformed Catholic Church continues to speak of of Vatican personnel as “Roman Brothers" and does not engage in negative commentary towards the Roman Church or other Christian Churches.

Recent developments

There are eleven bishops, of which four were ordained on October 6, 2006, during the church's autumn synod: Patrick Batuyong of Atlanta, David Frazee of Columbus, Ohio, Joshua Alekzandor of Muskegon, Michigan, and Peter Posthumus of Grand Rapids, Michigan. They were ordained by Archbishop Phillip Zimmerman, Bishop Craig Bergland and Bishop William Quinlan. In addition, two other bishops were ordained during the 2007 Spring Synod; Raelynn Scott of Dallas, Texas; and Eduardo Gonzalez in [Colorado] . The 2008 Spring Synod will be held in April, 2008 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Since the church has been growing rapidly, the new bishops will help govern the affairs of the Church and continue church growth efforts and the church has been structured into eight dioceses; seven in the United States and one for the rest of the world.

The "Pax Radio" was introduced last year, as well as the "Pax Press". The Pax Press is a daily worldwide news agency for the RCC clergy. Fact|date=October 2007

The religious orders of the Church are numerous; two Benedictine orders, one Carmelite order, three Franciscan orders, and an order of both the Dominicans and Jesuits.

Name of church

There are several other church organizations which use the term "Reformed Catholic Church," not all of which are connected with or in communion with the aforementioned Church.

In particular, the Reformed Catholic Church should not be mistaken for the Miami, Florida-based "Reformed Catholic Church International", Bremerton, Washington-based [http://www.reformed-catholic.net "Reformed Catholic Church of America"] ] , the "Reformed Roman Catholic Church", another independent Catholic denomination present in Africa, or the Reformed Catholic Church of Venezuela. [cite web |url= http://zenit.org/article-23108?l=english |title= "Reformed Catholic Church" Not Catholic: Venezuelan Prelates Clarify Status of Group|accessdate= 2008-07-05 |date= 2008-07-04 |publisher= Innovative Media, Inc. |language=English] Some news stories in 2006 about the latter confused the RRCC with the Reformed Catholic Church. [2006-05-15 [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4763221.stm BBC story on a former Roman Catholic priest joining the Reformed Roman Catholic Church] ; the story incorrectly gives the name of his denomination as "Reformed Catholic".]

ymbols

The RCC flag is white background, with a yellow cross extending from the center of the flag to the edges of the flag, leaving all four quadrants equal in size. The Upper Left quadrant background is light blue with a white dove over three white rings representing the Holy Trinity. There is also an identical crest.

Office of the Church Historian

As noted a few times in the above article, the "Office of the Church Historian" was created in May 2006, and has been working on research from 2000 to 2007. The office has made a date for the publication of the "RCC Histories, First Edition", as of spring 2008.

References

External links

* [http://www.reformedcatholicchurch.org/ Official site]