My my my. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America seems to be fast headed to official schizm, doesn't it? And over such an unlikely theological issue, too. Then again, such things seem to be a problem with various denominations dragging themselves by main force into the 20th century, just in time for the 21st.
But geez! Florida, of all places?
Mind, the Catholic church may be stumbling its way to yet another schizm, itself. The role of women is only one of its problems as it clings tenaciously to 19th century doctrine and 18th century practice.
I have a bet with a friend on this. Of course, it's been uncollectable for over 15 years now, but no matter. Anyway, we figure that the major schizm will most likely be regional; the disagreement is on whether the US, Africa, or Asia will break away first. See, the thing is, the Catholic church is largely irrelevant to the US and most people in this country who call themselves Catholic seem to cordially ignore the Church. (Except for high holidays, of course.) The teachings may go against some people's interests and needs, but they just don't get all that worked up about it. On the other hand, the Church in Africa and Asia is not only irrelevant, but actively harmful in many cases. Their teachings are so directly against both culture and needs that simply ignoring them is a more difficult option; their mere presence could be considered bad for the country, to the extent that anyone actually listens to them. (I cannot believe that southern African bishops actually said that condoms help spread AIDS. What planet did they just sail in from? How can they say that in one of the most infected regions on the globe?)
Actually, examining that Miami Herald article, it looks as if there is an unacknowledged major schizm already. I'm not entirely sure if this is the organization referenced; the site is unbelievably text-dense and I can't find a single mention about Papal Infallibility. In any event, any sect which contains 600,000 people in this country alone would have to be considered major. For that matter, there appear to be several organizations calling themselves "the Old Catholic" something-or-other, and they don't necessarily appear to be related to each other. (I'd connect to the Old Catholic Church of the United States site at oldcatholic.com, but it's got MIDI a-go-go ... or actually, a-organ. Not bad, in fact, but YOW. But I digress from my digression.) In any event, most of the organizations calling themselves "Old Catholic" seem to think they sit between the High Anglican and Roman Catholic churches. (There's actually space between them to sit? Heavens, who knew?) However, I'm pretty sure that both religions would look at the ordination of women and say, "What the HELL is that?"
Replies: 1 Comment
They reject papal infallibility implicitly, by denying the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, which was infallibly pronounced by Pope Pius IX.
Posted by Dom @ 11/27/2001 11:02 AM CST
Peter Hickman, though, claims his apostolic succession from the American Old Catholic Church.
Copyright © 2001, Iain Jackson, after-words.org
[Archives: 2001 and after]
Archives before February 5, 2001
Search entries:
12/19/2001: vive la france
12/19/2001: princess, redux
12/19/2001: yemen and rumsfeld
12/18/2001: you're NOT in the army now
12/18/2001: interesting donation
12/18/2001: shame on winn dixie, indeed
12/18/2001: saudi princess
12/17/2001: new resolve
12/17/2001: a victim of the attack ... yeah, right
12/17/2001: polluters ho!