On Thursday I met my friend Tony for dinner. Tony is getting married in May. And I'm invited. My very first invite to a wedding in the US. Unlike in India where weddings are large affairs with hundreds and many times even thousands of guests, US weddings tend to be intimate affairs with only close family and friends and almost always guests in 2 digits.
And we were discussing the plans and preparations for the wedding. He was having his wedding ceremony in a castle. And the nuptials were being solemnized by a priest. A Catholic priest. Being a Catholic myself, I was intrigued. One of the areas of the Catholic church that I don't like and disagree with is its non-acceptance of the modern realities of divorce, LGBT, ...
Tony being a divorcee, I was puzzled as to how the Catholic Church had agreed to marry him. And that was a revelation moment. There was a part of the Catholic Church which was modern in its outlook. And was accepting of all people. And did not really care about the past. Or preferences for a spouse. This seemed to be exactly what a church should be. Not discriminate, but be all welcoming.
Ironically this Modern Thought Church is ""The Old Catholic Church".
This paragraph from the church's website says it all:
"
The ecclesiology of TOCCUSA is modeled after that of the Utrecht Union of Old Catholic Churches. What this means is that TOCCUSA is both episcopal and synodal in structure. The local church gathers around its bishop whose authority flows from election by the diocesan synod which is composed of clergy and laity. Clergy and laity have equal voice and vote on all matters of local and national church life. As Catholics, we celebrate the seven sacraments. Recognizing that the sacraments are a means to God’s mysterious, inclusive, and abundant grace and that God withholds that grace from no one, we bar no one from any sacrament: all baptized Christians are welcome at Eucharist, same-gender couples are welcome to celebrate the sacrament of matrimony, LGBT persons and women are welcome and encouraged to the holy orders of deacon, priest, and bishop.
"
You can learn more about the church at its website
http://www.toccusa.org/
or on Wikipedia
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Catholic_Church
And we were discussing the plans and preparations for the wedding. He was having his wedding ceremony in a castle. And the nuptials were being solemnized by a priest. A Catholic priest. Being a Catholic myself, I was intrigued. One of the areas of the Catholic church that I don't like and disagree with is its non-acceptance of the modern realities of divorce, LGBT, ...
Tony being a divorcee, I was puzzled as to how the Catholic Church had agreed to marry him. And that was a revelation moment. There was a part of the Catholic Church which was modern in its outlook. And was accepting of all people. And did not really care about the past. Or preferences for a spouse. This seemed to be exactly what a church should be. Not discriminate, but be all welcoming.
Ironically this Modern Thought Church is ""The Old Catholic Church".
This paragraph from the church's website says it all:
"
The ecclesiology of TOCCUSA is modeled after that of the Utrecht Union of Old Catholic Churches. What this means is that TOCCUSA is both episcopal and synodal in structure. The local church gathers around its bishop whose authority flows from election by the diocesan synod which is composed of clergy and laity. Clergy and laity have equal voice and vote on all matters of local and national church life. As Catholics, we celebrate the seven sacraments. Recognizing that the sacraments are a means to God’s mysterious, inclusive, and abundant grace and that God withholds that grace from no one, we bar no one from any sacrament: all baptized Christians are welcome at Eucharist, same-gender couples are welcome to celebrate the sacrament of matrimony, LGBT persons and women are welcome and encouraged to the holy orders of deacon, priest, and bishop.
"
You can learn more about the church at its website
http://www.toccusa.org/
or on Wikipedia
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Catholic_Church
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