Source: http://psicl.org/Legal.htm
Timestamp: 2017-03-27 16:20:52
Document Index: 372425918

Matched Legal Cases: ['§1', '§2', '§2', '§2', '§3', '§4', '§5', '§2']

Legal Stance of the PSICL
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Conclave August 2016
Celebrating both the sacerdotal and priesthood of all believers together
We are a Priestly Society of the Liberal Rite within One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church with valid apostolic succession or lineage of our bishops that goes back to Christ Jesus himself. Here in the United States of America it was asked if our group was legal and the answer is YES, for under the US CONSTITUTION it states " Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." and under the Free Exercise Clause stated by the Supreme Court Congress cannot pass a law for the government of the Territory which shall prohibit the free exercise of religion. The first amendment to the Constitution expressly forbids such legislation."[1] Of federal territorial laws, the Court said: "Laws are made for the government of actions, and while they cannot interfere with mere religious beliefs and opinions, they may with practices. What is the exact source of the religious legitimacy under the law as a church entity in the cases of Universal Life Church v The United States of America (1974)?In a 1974 case, the ULC sued the government of the United States after the church’s tax-exempt designation was challenged. In addition to ruling on the main questions posed by the lawsuit, the judge also weighed in on the topics of the status of independent church entities and mail-order ordination. The ULC is in no way a Christian ministry, but it greatly furthered the interests of non-traditional religious organizations by litigating and ultimately winning this case.The decision in the case included several key findings. The court noted that an Honorary Doctor of Divinity degree represents a religious title only and does not connote a specific level of academic achievement. Therefore, the opinion continued, the title can rightly be conferred by churches and religious entities like the plaintiff, the Universal Life Church. This remains true as long as the issuance of such titles is made pursuant to some form of education on the denomination or organization’s overriding principles. According to the opinion, the statute at issue did not speak to honorary titles bestowed for the purpose of recognizing merit or for some other purpose.The court proceeded to tackle the question of whether ordination, the act of establishing church charters or the granting of honorary Doctor of Divinity titles constitute significant acts not in furtherance of religious purposes. The court’s opinion contained several pertinent findings.The court found that ordination of individuals and the granting of church charters are clearly acts typically carried out by religious entities. Further, the opinion stated that the ULC’s distribution of ministerial credentials and honorary Doctor of Divinity documentation was not determination of its status. The court found that those actions “may be analogized to mass conversions at a typical revival or religious crusade.” This statement effectively showed that the court believed the actions performed by the ULC were equivalent to those performed by conventional churches, and thus it should be viewed as legally no differently than them. Perhaps the most important part of the decision is the portion that provides assurance to those who get ordained remotely that their credentials enjoy full legitimacy under the law.The court stated that neither it nor any other arm of government would “consider the merits or fallacies of a religion” or engage in a comparison between newer religions and older ones. This meant that no government body or agent has the right to say what constitutes a religion and what does not. The court also declined to “praise or condemn a religion, however excellent or fanatical or preposterous it may seem.” The opinion went on to state that for the court to engage in such activities would to “impinge upon the guarantees of the First Amendment.”Therefore, anyone who decides to become ordained through any church or religious organization including the Society of the Inner Circle and Light can have full confidence in the legitimacy of their ordination under the law.
Our convening bishop ordinary jurisdictions of the Bishop members of this society are, of course, catholic, liturgical, and sacramental. These same ordinary jurisdictions are "Catholic" in the same sense as the word is used by Saint Irenaeus of Lyons: is
This Priestly Society holds to this standard which states this " that which has been believed everywhere, always and by all. That is truly and properly 'Catholic,' as is shown by the very force and meaning of the word, which comprehends everything almost universally. We shall hold to this rule if we follow universality antiquity, and consent. We shall follow universality if we acknowledge that one Faith to be true which the whole Church throughout the world confesses; antiquity if we in no wise depart from those interpretations which it is clear that our ancestors and fathers proclaimed; consent, if in antiquity itself we keep following the definitions and opinions of all, or certainly nearly all, bishops and doctors alike. "" [The "Vincentian Canon", 434 Anno Domini, St. Vincent of Lerins, Chapter IV of the Commonitorium.]
And we within this society exercises this exacted statement within our society which states this "In cases where the thing disregarded is not the faith, and is no falling away from any general and catholic decree, different rites and customs being observed among different people, a man who knows how to judge rightly would decide that neither do those who observe them act wrongly, nor do those who have not received them break the law. ( Photius of Constantinople (Epist. iii, sec. 6, circa 800 A.D.), While we do have the free of thought within our tradition as well as freedom of conscience as well, we being within the historical apostolic succession for all our bishops also agree with this statement about local bishops in there own geographical areas which states this "See that you all follow the bishop, even as Jesus Christ does the Father, and the presbytery as you would the apostles; and reverence the deacons, as being the institution of God. Let no man do anything connected with the Church without the bishop. Let that be deemed a proper Eucharist, which is administered either by the bishop, or by one to whom he has entrusted it. Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude of the people also be; even as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church."— (Letter to the Smyrnaeans, Ch 8 by Ignatius of Antioch)
What does the Vatican aka Roman Catholic Church say about our orders and rites? When members of the Roman Catholic Church encounter Old Catholic Churches and even Independent Catholic like us for the first time, they are often surprised to learn that Catholic denominations exist apart from Rome. Understandably, questions are raised about the validity of Orders and Sacraments administered by Old Catholics/Independent Catholics or Liberal Catholics of which our groups one.We hope the following information will be helpful. If you have additional questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.While we have direct lines of apostolic succession from the Roman Catholic Church in the Duarte Costa succession as well as other historical apostolic succession, like most autocephalous Independent Orthodox/Catholics Churches also trace lines of succession through the Old Catholic Church of Utrecht and ultimately the Roman Catholic Church. We use the traditional pre-Vatican 2 synod formals of ordinations and consecrations as found in all historical Apostolic Catholic Churches. When these criteria are met, a bishop is within the historic apostolic succession: (Augustine of Hippo from On Baptism and On The Correction of the Donatists)
Form: The consecration must be done using the Rites of the Church and in the context of the Eucharistic liturgy to be valid. This is to emphasize the connection of the ordaining bishop within the Church as a Eucharistic Community. Matter: There must be an actual laying on of hands by a Bishop during the liturgy. A Prayer is not sufficient in and of itself. Minister: The one who performs the consecration must be a validly consecrated Bishop within the Historic Apostolic Succession. Intention: The intent of the laying on of hands and the prayer within the liturgy must be to ordain the person as a Bishop of the Church. "... where an appropriate Sacramental minister performs the sacramental ritual using the correct matter and form, with no appearance of jest or simulation, he is presumed with moral certainty to have acted validly." (Apostolicae Curae papal bull, Pope Leo XIII (1896)
- IV. Uticity and Unity of the Church, 17
Other CitationsCatholic Almanac - 1974
“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 non - Catholic churches, the Polish National Church, Old Catholic, and Old Roman Catholic.Separated Brethren
Rights and Responsibilities: A Catholic's Guide to the New Code of Canon LawWhen a Catholic (member of the Roman Catholic Church) sacred minister is unavailable and there is urgent spiritual necessity, Catholics may receive the Eucharist, penance, or anointing from sacred ministers of non-Catholic denominations whose Holy Orders are considered valid by the Catholic Church. This includes all Eastern Orthodox priests, as well as priests of the Old Catholic or Polish National Church." (Thomas P. Doyle, O.P., p. 44)
On the Canons of the Church of RomeAccording to provisions of Roman Catholic Church Canon laws 844 of the code of Canon Law are applicable to ministers of the Society of the Inner Circle and Light. To wit: "Canon 844 §1. Catholic ministers administer the sacraments licitly to Catholic members of the Christian faithful alone, who likewise receive them licitly from Catholic ministers alone, without prejudice to the prescripts of §§2, 3, and 4 of this canon, and canon 861, §2."§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."§3. Catholic ministers administer the sacraments of penance, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick licitly to members of Eastern Churches which do not have full communion with the Catholic Church if they seek such on their own accord and are properly disposed. This is also valid for members of other Churches which in the judgment of the Apostolic See are in the same condition in regard to the sacraments as these Eastern Churches."§4. If the danger of death is present or if, in the judgment of the diocesan bishop or conference of bishops, some other grave necessity urges it, Catholic ministers administer these same sacraments licitly also to other Christians not having full communion with the Catholic Church, who cannot approach a minister of their own community and who seek such on their own accord, provided that they manifest Catholic faith in respect to these sacraments and are properly disposed."§5. For the cases mentioned in §§2, 3, and 4, the diocesan bishop or conference of bishops is not to issue general norms except after consultation at least with the local competent authority of the interested non-Catholic Church or community."Of course we do not accept that the Eastern Churches - or we are ourselves - are schismatic, but believe rather that Rome broke away from Orthodoxy at the Great Schism, however, with respect to the RC Church we are in much the same position as members of the Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches.Additionally the ordinal we use is proven to be essentially ecumenical and progressive and while our intention in ordaining is to do as the church as always done from time immemorial, "quod ubique, quod semper, quod ad omnibus". Please notes that this Society has no affiliation with the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern or Oriental Orthodox Churches, Old Catholic Church of Utrecht nor the Anglican Communion or Episcopal Church of the United States of the America or Protestant Christian groups either it be Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptist, Methodist, Pentecostal/Charismatic, or Evangelical. This site owned by The Priestly Society of The Inner Christ the Light Copyright © 2004-2016