RECOVERING CATHOLIC + FORMER CATHOLIC + BAPTIZED + UNBAPTIZED + CHRISTIAN + INQUIRING

What does Independent Catholic mean?

It has been a little-known fact to most people, including our Roman Catholic sisters and brothers, that there are LOTS of Catholic Churches. Go ahead, google it. After the first Vatican Council in the 1800’s when Papal infallibility was defined as doctrine, a number of bishops could not agree to that and separated from Rome keeping its rich tradition and earlier doctrines, and formed themselves into independent “jurisdictions” more commonly known as dioceses. They considered the radical changes of Vatican l as creating a “new” church breaking with the historic church accepted and proven through the centuries. Thus they called themselves “old” Catholics. The Archbishop of Utrecht became the new figurehead but holds no authority over other jurisdictions.

After the great reform of the Second Vatican Council, there were those who fought to keep the Tridentine Liturgy. This means saying the mass in Latin and the priest facing away from the people. They rejected having the mass said in their own language and fought to keep the trappings of the old church. Those who followed the reforms of this great Council turned to the people and said mass in the vernacular, that is to say, in whatever language a community of faith speaks.

In more recent years, there are those of us who found the Church backsliding away from Vatican ll reforms, becoming even more restrictive and in many cases unwelcoming. But even under reform, the Roman Church refused divorced and remarried people from communion and made it more difficult for people to have their children baptized or get married in the Church. Faithful and loyal groups of gays and lesbians were told they were no longer welcome to meet in the parish and were refused mass as they had been accustomed. Rules kept getting in the way of welcoming and reconciling people through word and sacrament. The political agenda, once liberating, became narrowed and in league with more fundamentalist perspectives. Many of us simply drifted away, still identifying with Catholic tradition but feeling unwanted. Some of us simply could not agree with what the Church stood for in the world anymore. Many of us felt forced to leave in order to maintain our integrity, our values and our honor.

Anyone who isn’t welcomed elsewhere due to divorce, women’s issues, sexual identity, even those of different religious histories, can find a home with us. In the ancient tradition of the desert, we offer food and drink to anyone who seeks the shelter of our “tent”.

WELCOME to something old and yet something new – the movement of Catholics who honor the spiritual needs of people regardless of their life paths. Divine Savior Independent Catholic Church welcomes anyone who desires to eat and drink at the Lord’s supper. We call ourselves INDEPENDENT CATHOLICS – Catholic in everything but the rules. We follow in the tradition of the OLD CATHOLICS OF THE UNION OF UTRECHT which has a very rich history connected to the early Church Fathers.

We have no conditions other than mutual respect.

Currently, we belong to the REFORMED CATHOLIC CHURCH with Bishop Leonard as the administrator of the Diocese of St.Joseph and St.George of the Western U.S. Bishop Chris Carpenter is the presiding Bishop.