Celtic Catholicism

Celtic Catholic Church of the Americas

YES! We are Catholic but not Roman Catholic. Our faith goes back to a time when the Church was undivided to a time when all were Catholic or universal. The Celtic Catholic faith grew separately from the Roman ( Latin) church. When members of the Roman Catholic Church encounter Celtic Catholic priests for the first time, they are often surprised to learn that other Rites (a few dozen) are, as we are, autocephalous and exist apart from Rome. Understandably, questions are raised about the validity of Orders and Sacraments administered by other Catholics. Most people view the Catholic Church as this great monolithic institution, and are completely unaware that different Rites exist within the Catholic Church. For instance, in the east, there are Byzantine Rite Catholics. Members of the Byzantine Church have a different liturgy and different disciplinary rules than do Roman Catholics, but they are still very much Catholic. Celtic Christianity is best described then as Catholic, Apostolic and Orthodox, for it preserves the Apostolic Succession, honors and accepts the teachings of the Ecumenical Councils and reached its fully developed form in the first millennium prior to the separation of Rome and Eastern Orthodoxy. One of the reasons we remain so ignorant of other Rites is that in the western part of the Church, the Latin Rite, also called the Roman Rite, long ago became dominant to the point of eliminating other Catholic Rites. Catholics in the West are mostly Roman Rite Catholics, and so people in the West tend to equate all Catholics with Roman Catholics. But this simply is not the case now, nor was it the case historically in the West. In the West, there also was once a plurality of Rites in the Church (though never as much as in the East), and one of the other Rites was the Celtic Rite. There seems to have actually been at times a number of different Rites practiced in Great Britain, Ireland, Brittany, and other Celtic places that later historians would classify together under the term "Celtic Rite." But what we do know from their own documents and liturgies that survive, is that this Celtic Church was simply another Rite of the western Catholic Church and not in any way, shape, or form a separate and competing version of Christianity. We share many liturgical and spiritual practices in common with the Church of Rome.

Therefore, these separated Churches and communities as such ... have by no means been deprived of significance and importance in the mystery of salvation. For the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as means of salvation which derive their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Catholic Church". IV. Unicity and Unity of the Church, 17

Pope Francis explained that since the Second Vatican Council," It has been possible to build new bridges of a more profound mutual understanding and practical co-operation, between the Old Catholics and Roman Catholics". “There is a thirst for God”, the Pope stated. “There is a profound desire to recover a sense of purpose in life. There is an urgent need for a convincing witness to the truth and values of the Gospel”. He suggested that the two communions can “support and encourage one another, especially at the level of parishes and local communities”.

Roman Cannon Law allows for non- roman priests to consecrate the sacraments.
Can. 844§2. Whenever necessity requires it or true spiritual advantage suggests it, and
provided that danger of error or of indifferentism is avoided, the Christian faithful for whom it is physically or morally impossible to approach a Catholic minister are permitted to receive the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and
anointing of the sick from non-Catholic ministers in whose Churches these
sacraments are valid.
This section of canon law states that if a person is physically or morally
unable to receive the sacrament from a Roman priest they can receive it
from another priest who is able to administer the sacraments validly.
In order to perform the sacraments, a priest / minister must have a valid apostolic succession ( such as we have within the Celtic Catholic Church and the Order of Celtic Franciscans).

Our Order of Celtic Franciscans (OCF) and the

Celtic Catholic Church of the Americas has Valid Apostolic Succession

Apostolic succession in the Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church and Anglican Church is the unbroken line of succession beginning with the apostles and perpetuated through bishops, considered essential for orders and sacraments to be valid. Our Leadership has Apostolic Succession that runs through the Roman Catholic, the Celtic/Anglican lines as well as directly from St. James in Coptic Orthodoxy . Our Apostolic succession through the Celtic line intersects with the great St.Patrick.

Apostolic Succession is the “historic unbroken connection with Christ and His Apostles,” by the “laying-on of hands”- transferring Christ’s Apostolic authority and ministry from Jesus Himself, through His succeeding Bishops of every proceeding generation, up until our current day. It was through this “Apostolic Succession” that the early Church maintained their “genuine and authentic” membership in the ONE holy catholic (universal not Roman but pre-Roman), Church.
Having an “approved” Bishop, within (not over), the Community, guaranteed they were a “genuine” Christian Community being historically (not only spiritually), connected to the universal body of Christ – Independence was not something to be cherished in the early Church of Christ, but rather Inter-dependence, sharing one another’s burdens! …it is to this humble holy dependence, we as an Intentional Catholic Christian Community desire to return to.
We recognize the “gift” of apostolic succession to the Church, and therefore desire to be celebrants of this ancient tradition (not doctrine), followed by our brothers and sisters of the past. We feel safe being in submission to those who have walked ahead of us!

Other Citations
Catholic Almanac - 1974
"The Roman Church recognizes the validity of Old Catholic Orders and other Sacraments." (Felician A. Roy, OFM, p. 368)
The Pastoral Companion – A Canon Law Handbook for Catholic Ministry – Third Edition by John M. Huels,J.C.D. page 335
“The principal condition is that these sacraments can be received only from validly ordained ministers. These are ministers who belong to “churches that have preserved the substance of the Eucharistic teaching, the sacraments of orders, and apostolic succession” This would include all Eastern Orthodox churches, the Polish National Church, Old Catholic, and Old Roman Catholic.

“Dominus Iesus”
At the Vatican on 16 June 2000, Pope John Paul II ratified and ordered the publication of "Dominus Iesus." This Declaration of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith was signed and published by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI) in August of the same year.

In this Declaration, the Roman Catholic Church recognizes the validity of Orders and Sacraments of Old Catholic denominations:
"The Churches which, while not existing in perfect communion with the Roman Catholic Church, remain united to her by means of the closest bonds, that is, by Apostolic Succession and a valid Eucharist, are true, particular Churches. Therefore, these separated Churches and communities as such have by no means been deprived of significance and importance in the mystery of salvation. For the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as means of salvation which derive their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Catholic Church."

Q. What does Catholic mean?
A. The word Catholic comes from Greek, and means universal, whole, complete. In the beginning of Christianity, for the first 1400 years or so (prior to the Protestant Reformation),all the Church was called Catholic. It meant that the Church preached the entire doctrine of Christ to all people all over the world for all time. We identify as Catholic through Apostolic Succession.

Q. What's the difference between Celtic and Roman Catholic?
A. The Celtic Church developed differently from the Roman Catholic Church and was more like the Eastern Orthodox churches in its dating of the church calendar and its view of women’s place within the church hierarchy. In addition, Celtic monks wore a tonsure that was distinctively different from that of their Roman brethren. Catholic is, therefore, the name given to the original geographical divisions of the Church, before the Protestant Reformation. In the east, the Catholic Churches are generally called Orthodox. The Celtic Church is that part of the original Catholic Church founded among the Celts. The Roman Catholic Church is the same, founded among the Roman people and the territories they controlled in the Empire.

Note: This extract adapted from the Fellowship of Celtic Churches International.