Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the background of the American National Catholic Church?
We were founded in 2009 as a contemporary expression of Catholicism. We trace our independent linage thorough Roman Catholic Bishop Carlos Duarte-Costa of Brazil.
Bishop Duarte-Costa was a prophetic herald of the reforms of the Second Vatican Council. In as early as 1936, he called for the celebration of the liturgy in the vernacular while facing the people, a greater role of the laity in the liturgy including as Eucharistic ministers, and reception of the Eucharist in both species, bread and wine. His call for married clergy and general absolution has been realized in the ANCC.
We are absolutely committed to the implementation of the full vision of the Second Vatican Council believing that the Council’s work and wisdom were a high-water mark in the history of the Church. We are heirs of that legacy, committed to its ongoing implementation.
We continue a rich tradition of grace-filled sacraments and a lived commitment to social action. In parishes and prisons, in hospitals and hospices, the ANCC is daily witnessing to the redeeming love of a welcoming God – a God whose love is beyond our wildest imagining.
Do you consider yourself Roman Catholic? No, the American National Catholic Church is a valid expression of Catholicism outside of the Roman Church and the Vatican.
Are you the only community like this? Not at all. Sacred Heart is part of the American National Catholic Church. We have parishes throughout the United States including New Jersey, Connecticut, Maryland, Virginia, Missouri, and North Dakota. We also have several parishes in the formation stages.
Do you have open communion? Yes, all are welcome to our table.
What is your position on other issues that often exclude people from the Roman Catholic Church?
Women Clergy: We embrace the wonderful gifts of women. While in Spring 2011, the Roman Church removed an Australian Bishop for daring to even entertain questions regarding women’s ordination, we welcome the movement of God in the ordained ministry of women. In our Church, all are welcome.
Married Clergy: We welcome married clergy knowing that their lived experience provides an invaluable gift for ministry. The Roman Church has forever closed the option of married clergy with its claim of divine intention and tradition. In our Church, all are welcome.
Divorce and Remarriage: We empathize with the pain of a failed marriage and receive our divorced and remarried brothers and sisters as full members into our Church. The Roman Church maintains that marriage is indissoluble. In our Church, all are welcome.
Family Planning: We support your decision regarding family planning believing that you are in the best position to decide your most appropriate option. The Roman Church only permits natural family planning. In our Church, all are welcome.
Gays and Lesbians: We affirm the dignity and worth of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered persons recognizing in them unique gifts particular to our time. We are honored to officiate at sacramental gay marriages. The Roman Church teaches that homosexuality is “objectively disordered” and all same-sex acts as sinful. In fact, sexual orientation is not even taken into account when discerning the call to any ministry within The American National Catholic Church. In our Church, all are welcome.
The American National Catholic Church
welcomes everyone– period.
