THE UNITED CATHOLIC CHURCH

                                              Ecumenical, Inclusive, Non-Judgmental, and Independent;       

Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ #1:  How is the United Catholic Church different from the Roman Catholic Church?

Answer: As a denomination, we differ from the Roman Catholic Church in important ways. Most of them are a rejection of man-made laws which grew up over the centuries, leading to an unacceptable legalism. Others involve our rejection of recent doctrines adopted by the Roman Catholic Church without biblical support or the concurrence of the church at large. Some of these major differences are:

1. We do not accept the infallibility of the Pope.

2. Following St. Jerome, we reject the canonicity of the deuterocanonical books.

3. We do not require belief in doctrines lacking biblical support. The various Marian doctrines therefore lose their status as dogma. (People are free to believe in them, but are not required to do so.) Likewise, we reject as dogma the non-biblical concepts of purgatory, indulgences, and prayers for the dead, which are unsupported in the canonical books.

4. While prayers to the saints are permitted in private devotions, they are not part of our public worship. Too often in the past they have led to superstition, and they represent a stumbling block to unity with our Protestant brethren.

5. We use the pre-1054 form of the Nicene Creed, considering the "filioque" added by the Pope at that time to be an unnecessary obstacle to unity with our Orthodox brethren. (See the document "What Does It Mean To Be Catholic?" for a discussion of the "filioque.")

6. We have returned to the following practices of the early church:

a. optional celibacy for clergy (We have married priests and bishops.).

b. ordination of women (We allow women at all levels of the clergy.).

c. celebration of the Eucharist in the home.

d. rejection of violence (Our social conscience is much like that of the Quakers.).

e. participation of the laity in the election of bishops.

7. We believe in the Real Presence in the Eucharist, but reject the 16th-century definition of "transubstantiation" as being unnecessarily detailed, mechanistic, and legalistic.

8. While we discourage divorce, we do not require an expensive and hypocritical annulment, but allow innocent parties to remarry.

9.  We affirm the dignity of all human beings and welcome all Christians to fully participate in the sacramental life of the church.

FAQ #2: If you’re not part of the Roman Catholic Church, then you’re Protestant, right?

Answer: Wrong. A Protestant is any Christian belonging to a sect or denomination descending from those that seceded from the Roman Catholic Church at the time of the Reformation. Originally it referred to those who adhered to the doctrine of Martin Luther and who protested in 1529 against the decree of the Diet of Spires commanding submission to the authority of Rome. The word comes from roots meaning to testify or witness in public. The term does not include those churches who broke with Rome either before or after the Reformation. It thus excludes the Orthodox from whom Rome split in 1054 and the Old Catholics who split in 1870. Most Anglicans reject the term, although it was used by the "Protestant Episcopal Church" in the United States, which broke off from the Church of England in 1789. Episcopalians today are split on the use of the term.

The United Catholic Church is descended from the Old Catholic Church formed by bishops who broke with the Roman Catholic Church in 1870 over the declaration of the infallibility of the Pope. We are no more Protestant than is the Greek Orthodox Church. We do, however, have a great deal in common with Protestants.

One major difference between the United Catholic Church and the Protestant churches is that we have carefully maintained our Apostolic Succession. The Apostolic Succession of our bishops, the validity of our Holy Orders, and the efficacy of our sacraments is recognized by the Roman Catholic Church are recognized as valid but illicit (valid, but not in communion with Rome) . That is not true of any Protestant Church, including the Anglican/Episcopalian traditions.  Although we in the United Catholic Church recognize the validity of orders and sacraments in the Anglican churches, the Vatican does not.

We are a "bridge" church, filling a gap between the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches and providing a basis for future unity between them.

FAQ #3: You sound a lot like the Anglicans. Why don’t you just join the Episcopal Church, or maybe the Lutherans?

Answer: We hare great respect for the Episcopal and Lutheran Churches, but we are a distinct church with some unique attributes (including our Apostolic Succession and its recognition by Rome). These attributes would be lost to Christendom if we were to disappear.

In addition, we would not be able to accomplish our mission as Episcopalians or Lutherans. As a Catholic church which is independent of Rome, we also are able to fill a ministry gap for the millions of non-practicing Roman Catholics who have rejected the oversight authority of Rome but who cannot bring themselves to become Protestants.  It is difficult for Protestants to understand the intense feeling of alienation many Catholics feel in Protestant churches. Part of it has to do with the way Catholics are taught as children — almost a ghetto mentality. They used to be taught that there is no salvation outside the Catholic Church. Vatican II changed that, but it hasn’t changed the mentality.

There are millions of people in this country who desperately need to have the gospel preached to them, need to feel the unconditional acceptance of God’s love, need to receive the sacraments from a non-judgmental church ... but who are unable to seek those things in the Protestant churches. Many alienated Catholics have tried various Protestant denominations but have left unsatisfied. A great many live in marriages blessed by God but unrecognized by the Roman Catholic Church. Others practice birth control. Others have problems with Marian doctrines, purgatory, or other beliefs of the Vatican, and don’t want to be hypocrites. Yet they still consider themselves Catholics. They have not left the Church. They feel it has abandoned them. For these millions of sincere but alienated Catholic Christians, the United Catholic Church and our sister churches in the independent Catholic movement are the only hope. For us to be absorbed by a Protestant church would leave these souls with nowhere to go.

FAQ #4: What do you believe?

Answer: We are both Christian and Catholic. As Christians, we believe what most Christians believe. We believe in one loving, personal God in three divine persons. We believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, that he died for us, rose from the dead, and will come again. We believe that we are saved by grace through faith and are made new by the Holy Spirit, and that if we trust in Jesus, our life will change (faith without works is impossible). We believe in one holy, catholic, and apostolic church made up of all Christian believers. We believe in working for the unity with diversity of the church, the Body of Christ, and in obeying the Great Commandments to love God and love our neighbor.

We are also Catholic, and hold to some beliefs not required of many Protestants. A "Catholic" is one who holds to the universal beliefs of the early undivided church. These beliefs are found in the Scriptures, in the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds, and in the writings of the Church fathers. We believe that through the Holy Spirit, the sacraments impart the grace which they signify. We believe that through the Apostolic Succession, Jesus empowers clergy for ministry. We believe that Jesus is present in the Holy Eucharist.

These three beliefs are the distinctives of a Catholic: We believe in the Apostolic Succession, the Sacraments, and the Real Presence. (Of course, so do many Protestants, including most Anglicans. This makes them "Catholic" whether they realize it or not.)

We in the United Catholic Church also believe that, following the example of Jesus, we should dispense the sacraments with great generosity, and should limit the impact of man-made rules in the lives of the faithful.

It is this belief that has caused us, with the prompting of the Holy Spirit, to depart from the authority of the Vatican and to build an inclusive, non-judgmental, democratic branch of that one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church to which we all belong.

In the final analysis, being a Catholic or a Christian is not about being a member of an institution. It is about being a member of the Body of Christ. It is not about what you believe. It is about whom you trust. It is not about following the rules. It is about following Jesus. May God grant us all the grace to do so, and to follow Jesus in all things.