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Is the Catholic Charismatic Church in communion with
Rome?
I have been contacted recently by a priest who runs a
seminary and he has been talking to me about what his seminary
has to offer. I noticed that they state their beliefs on
their web site under the Catholic Charismatic Church.
There is not any mention on the site about The Holy See
or the Holy Father. This raises some concerns for me. I
have been researching on the internet, but I can't find
anything that really tells me if they are part of the faithful
Church or not.
Thanks,
Kevin
{ Is
the Catholic Charismatic Church in communion with Rome? }
John
replied:
Yes it is, but it's a bit odd that it's being referred
to as the Catholic Charismatic Church.
The Church has always had people who exercised the "Charismatic" gifts
(i.e. tongues, prophecy, healing, miracles, and so
forth). In fact, these gifts ought to be quite ordinary
and probably would be, if we'd bother to teach people
about them.
That said, the Church, itself, is Charismatic by
definition. It was born on Pentecost with the gift
of the Holy Spirit.
The same Holy Spirit which gives me the gift of
tongues and prophecy, gives another the gift of healing,
but more importantly empowers the Church to administer
the Sacraments, guides the Church in matters of disciplines,
and prevents the Church from Teaching error in the
areas of faith and morals.
All that said, there are some people who prefer and
practice a more "Charismatic Spirituality"
(for lack of a better term). These groups are not
a church unto themselves. They are a particular Renewal
Movement within the Church, along the lines of Opus
Dei, Corsio, or other various Marian groups. I wouldn't
reduce the Charismatic Renewal to a devotion and
I have problems reducing it to a Spirituality, because
we are talking about the Holy Spirit and not some
Saint. For lack of a better term, Spirituality is
close enough.
So by all means, Catholic Charismatic's are in union
with Rome. They are not a Church, as many Eastern
Rites would rightly call themselves. In addition,
there are also non-Catholic Charismatics in a variety
of Protestant shapes, sizes, and flavors. Obviously,
these would not be in communion with Rome.
John
Kevin
replied:
Thanks a lot John!
At my parish we have a prayer group,(I'm not a member),
but I believe they would be considered charismatic.
I really appreciate your clarifying the Charismatic
issues for me.
If you have sometime, I'd appreciate it if you review
the content on the seminary web site and tell me
what you think, just so I am absolutely certain. {web
site address suppressed}
I really don't feel that they are the same as the
group you are talking about. Like I said before,
there is no mention of the Holy Father or Magisterium
and I noticed today that they offer degrees to all
denominations. Towards the bottom of the first page
it has an address in New York with a diocese of St
Anthony. I don't think there is a Catholic diocese
in New York by that name.
If you get a chance and you don't mind, I would
really appreciate it if you could check out their
site and tell me what you think.
By the way, I am so glad I found ya'll!
The site is great!!
Thanks again and God Bless!!
Kevin
Eric
replied:
I'm afraid I don't agree with my colleague. I agree
with everything he says about the Charismatic Renewal,
but the Charismatic Renewal that is part of the Catholic
Church in communion with Rome would never style itself
as a "church" or call itself the "Catholic
Charismatic Church".
This sounds like an independent church misappropriating
the name "Catholic". For example, if you
look at the seminary's web page, they identify themselves
with the "Diocese of St. Anthony" in New
York with a bishop, Robert Russell. No such bishop
or diocese shows up in www.catholic-hierarchy.org as
a bishop/diocese in communion with Rome.
Therefore I'd be highly suspicious.
Eric
Kevin
replied:
Thanks Eric.
I just had a strange feeling about the whole thing
and I hate to bother my parish priests with it,
so
thank God I found ya'll. I tried to research it myself
on the internet, but I really couldn't find
a straight
answer.
Thanks so much for checking it out for me.
You guys are great!!
God Bless........ and thank-you!
Kevin Theriault
Eric
replied:
Hi Kevin,
I found this too:
In the FAQ's they say:
Q. Is the Catholic Charismatic Church a part of
the Roman Catholic Church, or any other Church?
A. No! The Catholic Charismatic Church
is not a part of any other branch of the Church.
The Catholic Charismatic Church is independent
of any other church and has a Patriarch of its
own.
In reference to the Roman Church ; We regret to
say that Rome is not in communion with us but they
do recognize our orders as valid and we also recognize
theirs as valid.
Eric
Kevin
replied:
Guess that settles that!
Thanks again! I will steer clear of their
online courses!!
Kevin
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