Liberal Catholic Churches

[Corki]

I am talking aboout the independent Catholic Churches who call themselve Liberal Catholic.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Catholic_Church
Here in Sweden many Catholic Priest say things about the Liberal Catholic Churches that are not always so true.
Some say they ae not even Christian. Why would they not be Chistians?

From the link you posted:

The church is even open to the concept of reincarnation.

From the other link:

Religion sees in the Deity (God) a universal, all-embracing Being of abstract perfection. To “bind back” to Him implies man’s inner urge, his spiritual quest for his own perfection and resultant return to God. To achieve this he needs the experiences of many lives (incarnations) on earth.

These are not the teachings of Christians.

I mean, how Christian are the Lutherans who think same sex marriages are awesome?

That’s not quite as far astray as a belief that man is divine and needs reincarnation but it is also not a Christian teaching.

what do you mean?
I have met Liberal Catholics here in Sweden and they seem to be people who are open to other religions but many of them practise Roman Catholic Devotion and most of them dislike the modern Catholic Mass.

Some of the new agey things they seem to embrace are re-incarnation, past lives, the divinity of all creatures, etc. There are elements of new-age philosophies and paganism mixed in with Catholic devotional practices.

and many Independet Orthodox churches as well?

I’ve never come accross an “independant Orthodox Church” but I suppose it’s possible.

they are not in communion with Rome but they are accepting the fact that Benedict XVI could be the Pope as they ussualy are open to the fact that all religions lead to God

They are not in communion with Rome. They aren’t even in communion with the Old Catholic Church anymore. While individuals may respect the papacy, there is nothing on either the website you linked or the other Liberal Catholic Church site that indicates any teaching on the papacy or acceptance of the leadership of the Pope. In fact, there is very little that is Catholic about their teaching other than the liturgy. Even with liturgy, it seems to be a similar practice but not a similar theology behind it.

 

[manualman]

please explain

OK. Christianity is not just a vague, feel-good experience with a generalized idea that somewhere out there is a big, warm fuzzy God who likes us no matter what. Christianity is what Christ said. This faith is expressed in the creeds, the Scriptures, and the Traditions of the Church. People who reject the dogmas of christianity by definition reject christianity.

According to their own website, this group places no stock in creeds or dogmas. Theirs is a vague God who doesn’t offend anyone.

I get all this only from their website, mind you. It COULD just be a lousy website, but I doubt it. Just read what they write here: liberalcatholic.com/Church_of_St_Francis,_Rector_Site/Why_TLCC.html

You can’t square that with christianity. It’s “whatever you decide is true, is true” religion.

 

[Z_Ninja]

saintcatherinestl.org/index.html

Here is the website of the fake church. They clearly state in their FAQs that they are a real Catholic church and attempt to suggest that they are an alternative rite to the Roman rite.

from their “About Us” tab.
“St. Catherine’s is an independent Catholic faith community in that we are not under the jurisdiction of the Pope nor are we subject to the canon law or the guidelines of the Roman Catholic Church.”

So they too, admit to not being in full communion with Rome.

 

[Allegra]

I am talking aboout the independent Catholic Churches who call themselve Liberal Catholic.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liberal_Catholic_Church
Here in Sweden many Catholic Priest say things about the Liberal Catholic Churches that are not always so true.
Some say they ae not even Christian. Why would they not be Chistians?
I mean, how Christian are the Lutherans who think same sex marriages are awesome

I imagine that some of those who attend those churches are Christians, but I suspect the leadership is motivated by an entirely political agenda. They want to create a church for people to “play Catholic”. They can have Easter and Christmas, sing happy songs, celebrate elaborate weddings and funerals, even partake of a “Eucharist”. All the bells and whistles of Catholicism without having to go through the tiresome trials of following those teachings of the church that are inconvenient to their political beliefs. The examples around my community tend to spend more time spreading the “Gospel” of homosexual lifestyles and abortion than anything found in the New Testament. They operate in a very sneaky way. They make themselves look like a Catholic church in order to lead the faithful away from the truth. These communities have very little to do with God.

 

[Denise1957]

Pax et bonum!
Have you ever had any expeience with the Liberal Catholic Churches?

I attended a few LCC services (I hesitate to call them Masses) years ago, before I converted to Catholicism. But the only reason I attended them is because my husband’s family have been very much involved in the LCC. Thankfully, my husband has no interest in it at all. I should mention, too, that his step-father, uncle, and grandfather were LCC priests, as well as Theosophists and freemasons. Interestingly enough, there have been few in the younger generation of Theosophists who want to become involved with the LCC, so interest has definately declined, at least in the U.S. - which is a good thing.

I was once told by an LCC priest that the reason for their “Mass” was to create or use a sort of ‘white majic,’ which they thought was a positive influence, but of course the Catholic Church teaches that any kind of "majic’ is wrong, and for good reason. Also, another reason for the creation of the LCC was to provide a sort of relativistic form of worship to those who would otherwise be attracted to Catholicsm. At the LCC churches that my husband’s family were involved in, they blended New-Age Theosophical ideas with the liturgy.

While these folks tend to be nice enough and well-intentioned, you should definately avoid having anything to do with them. Seriously.

 

[Izdaari]

I don’t mind that they’re more liberal - I tend that way myself on some issues.

I don’t mind that they aren’t in communion with Rome - since I’m Protestant.

I do mind that they embrace Theosophy and New Age thinking, since that’s heretical from a Catholic or Protestant perspective.

 

[The_Sentry]

It is merely another schismatic group. The real Saint Catherine of Siena would likely take them out to the woodshed if she was here in the flesh to do so. It takes a special kind of gall to do evil and proclaim it as good.

that is true!

 

[jerry_joseph]

Pax et bonum!
Have you ever had any expeience with the Liberal Catholic Churches?

Nothing will happen to us if we are well aware about our faith.

 

[henrikhank]

Some of the new agey things they seem to embrace are re-incarnation, past lives, the divinity of all creatures, etc. There are elements of new-age philosophies and paganism mixed in with Catholic devotional practices.

some of them may believe in reincanation but I don’t think all of them do. Here in Sweden they talk more about the real Catholic Church than theosophy. I think many of them disslike the old Bishop who were Theosophists.

I’ve never come accross an “independant Orthodox Church” but I suppose it’s possible.

I think they are called the Evangelic Orthodox Church. I know they have a chuch here in Sweden but I haven’t visit them.

They are not in communion with Rome. They aren’t even in communion with the Old Catholic Church anymore. While individuals may respect the papacy, there is nothing on either the website you linked or the other Liberal Catholic Church site that indicates any teaching on the papacy or acceptance of the leadership of the Pope.

As I saidm they told me that they are open that all religions lead to God.

In fact, there is very little that is Catholic about their teaching other than the liturgy. Even with liturgy, it seems to be a similar practice but not a similar theology behind it.

Well they belive in the transubstansiation and other Catholic doctrines but at the same time they are open to the idea of “all religions lead to God” and they accepts same-sex mariages and open communion.
why do you think that their Litugy seems to be have a similar practice but not a similar theology behind it?

 

[henrikhank]

People who reject the dogmas of christianity by definition reject christianity.

The Orthodox Churches do not beleive in the Immaculate Conception so they are not Christians?

 

[manualman]

The Orthodox Churches do not beleive in the Immaculate Conception so they are not Christians?

Good attempt at a zinger! But it fails on vocabulary. The Immaculate Conception is a dogma of the catholic church. You can’t call yourself a good catholic if you simultaneously believe Mary committed sins like any other human. It’s a logical contradiction.

But not every christian is a catholic. Catholics believe that the catholic church possess the fullest version of the revelation God gave to man and that all Grace that God sends to humanity comes through the Church Christ established (catholic). But she’s also clarified that this is not automatic damnation for those christians separated from Rome. Christians are saved by Grace that comes through the sacraments and God appears to have made the Grace of baptism available to a rather wide asortment of people.

Only God is worthy to judge these people. But theologically, their beliefs do not rise to even the generic definition of christian, much less that of catholic.

 

[henrikhank]

Good attempt at a zinger! But it fails on vocabulary. The Immaculate Conception is a dogma of the catholic church. You can’t call yourself a good catholic if you simultaneously believe Mary committed sins like any other human. It’s a logical contradiction.

But not every christian is a catholic. Catholics believe that the catholic church possess the fullest version of the revelation God gave to man and that all Grace that God sends to humanity comes through the Church Christ established (catholic). But she’s also clarified that this is not automatic damnation for those christians separated from Rome. Christians are saved by Grace that comes through the sacraments and God appears to have made the Grace of baptism available to a rather wide asortment of people.

Only God is worthy to judge these people. But theologically, their beliefs do not rise to even the generic definition of christian, much less that of catholic.

so only those who believe that the only way to Heaven is through Jesus can call themselves Christians? and since LCC state that all religions may lead to God they are non-Chistians?

 

[Corki]

so only those who believe that the only way to Heaven is through Jesus can call themselves Christians? and since LCC state that all religions may lead to God they are non-Chistians?

Only a person who believes that the only way to Heaven for him/herself is through Christ can call him/herself a Christian. The Church teaches that even for non-Christians, the only path to Heaven is through Christ even if they don’t realize it.

The LCC, depending on the branch, may or may not have a faith in the Trinity or in Sacramental Baptism. They would not be real Christians in those instances.