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Dear Kevin,
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 would bother to teach people
about them.
That said, the Church by
definition, is charismatic. 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 but 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
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