|
Dear AQuestioningEpiscopalian,
I'm unaware of any Catholic concessions for Episcopalians but there were accommodations in disciplines made with the establishment of the Anglican Ordinariates.
Ordinariates, which don't have their own bishop, were established because many Anglicans have expressed a desire to become Catholic. Some of these accommodations had to do with the process for ordination of married Anglican priests who wished to become Catholic priests, while others had to do with what is, in essence, having their own liturgical rite, a rite based on the Sarum Rite. Married bishops interested in joining the Church could be ordained as Catholic priests. I think the document you are looking for was published in November of 2009:
Providing for Personal Ordinariates for Anglicans Entering Into Full Communion With The Catholic Church:
Apostolic Constitution, Anglicanorum Coetibus by Pope Benedict XVI,
issued on November 4, 2009.
[Vatican][EWTN]
My colleague Eric answered a related question here:
You said:
However, I would say the only reason I don't run over to the local Catholic parish, is the way the Catholic Church views other Christian denominations.
- Do you refer to other Christian denominations as other religions?
Yes, We refer to other Christian denominations as our separated brethren.
"Separated" because we don't yet have a unified body of beliefs we agree on.
"Brethren" because through valid Baptism, they still are part of the Body of Christ with us.
Through honest dialogue and faith-sharing we hope and pray to come to agreements of faith in the future e.g.
Although validly baptized Protestants are part of the Body of Christ, it would be deceptive to imply we have a unity, we do not have, due to the differences in our body of beliefs.
You said:
Having read at length your responses to ecumenical questions, I still wonder if the Roman Catholic Church considers Christian souls baptized outside Catholic communion as part of the communion of saints. I read other postings that implied one is able to gain grace and faith outside of the Catholic Church.
- Is there salvation then without being Catholic, as long as you are Christian; or would an Orthodox's belief in the Holy Spirit coming from the Father, be a sin that would obstruct their reach of Heaven?
- Is the faith of each Catholic as deeply scoured for possible schismatic theological beliefs, or any incongruency of belief, as the Articles of Religion are of other denominations of Christians?
Through our baptism, all Christians that have been validly baptized, receive sanctifying or deifying grace. Actual grace, by contrast, is a supernatural push or encouragement. It's transient.
It doesn't live in the soul, but acts on the soul from the outside. Atheists and Agnostics receive actual grace without knowing it. Check out this article from our colleagues at Catholic Answers:
In addition, Catholics receive sacramental grace, a grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ that is proper to each of the seven sacraments.
Our separated brethren have a similar imperfection (knowledge wise) to Catholics who have never been properly catechized within the Church. Nevertheless, the Catholic has the added advantage of partaking in two powerful sacraments:
- the Eucharist and
- Confession, or the sacrament of Reconciliation
I call these sacraments the dynamite we can receive on a regular basis due to their power.
Being validly baptized, our separated brethren do make up the Body of Christ, yet are not in full communion with the Church, knowledge wise, and to the fullest extent, sacramentally.
In another reply I said, paraphrasing:
Each of us has a personal culpability or responsibility for what we know, and all mankind, men and women, are culpable for developing their faith in a fuller measure than is it now.
- studying the Old Testament and its teachings
- being open to reading the New Testament of Messiah ben David and Messiah ben Joseph; this is who Jesus is! and
- being open to seeing the many, many foreshadows in the Old Testament that were fulfilled in the New Testament, and most importantly
- breaking out of a solely Jewish culture and being open to faith-sharing conversations with Christians, especially Catholic Christians who have so much in common with their divinely, chosen heritage.
If my Jewish brothers, are proud of their culture, and of being the chosen people, share it with us Christians!
- For those of other faiths or of no faith, this means being open to the natural law that is written on their hearts.
The natural law are those impulses that tell us inside,
"This is right." or "This is wrong.", without being told by someone else.
Issues related to priest or clergy scandal or even papal scandal should not affect anyone seeking the True Faith. We have some of the greatest sinners and hypocrites (Judas Catholics) in the Catholic Church! Nevertheless, this is something that has never effected the official teachings of the Church.
On the issue of salvation, for short:
- those who no fault of there own don't know the Gospel or have not been presented with the Gospel through no fault of their own, "can", not will, but can be saved.
- those who know the Church is the True Church yet refuse to enter it, cannot be saved.
- all men and women are bound to form their consciences and grow in the knowledge of Christ, the history of their current denomination, and be open to learning about the Catholic faith: the only Church Our Lord established on St. Peter and his successors.
You said:
I ask, because I know the beliefs of some members of the Catholic community, including some priests, are not completely uniform in the minutiae of Catholicism.
- Is this a fair assessment on my part?
It certainly is! Our Lord tells us that to those much has been given, much will be expected. Nevertheless, people and priests do make mistakes. The problem comes in when they have no interest in repenting or being open to correction.
It's important that those who are confronted with a priest that appears not be in complete uniformity with the Church, to be aware of what theologians call, levels of certitude.
Practicing, faithful Catholic must believe the dogmas and doctrines of the faith, or at least assent to them, if they are struggling with them. We also have to believe in Sacred Tradition — that Oral Tradition that has been passed down by mouth through the centuries. These teachings are echoed by the Magisterium of the Church for us. There are other areas that the Church has never officially ruled on. These issues would fall into the area of theological opinion, which is not binding on the faithful.
When confronted with a priest that appears to not be in complete uniformity with the Church, one has to ensure that the issue in question, does not fall into the category of theological opinion, as opposed to a dogma or doctrine, which the faithful must believe with a divine and Catholic faith.
If you wish to go deeper, consider buying a cheap copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church to learn everything we believe as Catholics.
Hope this helps,
Mike
|
