EASTER MESSAGE

       

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in the Faith and to all people of good will 

Over the course of the last several weeks much of the grip of winter has slowly faded and the new life associated with the arrival of spring begins to slowly show forth -- leaving behind the coldness and darkness of winter. Flowers are beginning to peek out of the earth; many trees are showing the tiny buds of their leaves and the air is fresh with the scent of new life. It is with this promise of new life we again celebrate the approaching joy of Easter.

The earliest of the disciples -- Mary Magdalene, Peter, John, along with the two on the road to Emmaus and his mother, The Blessed Virgin Mary -- were overcome by the knowledge of Jesus rising from the dead on Easter morn. Suddenly all of their grief, tears, anxiety, uncertainty and heaviness of heart from the events of Good Friday were replaced with incomparable joy, exhilaration and an everlasting freedom that could only be won by the empty tomb of Easter.  As Christians we also join in with joy in our hearts as we celebrate the resurrection of our Lord.

Yet with the joy of Easter soon to quickly be with us there is a veil of sadness that covers our Christian Brothers and Sisters in the Middle East and Africa where many are to become martyrs due to their faith. There is a loss of life, their homes, with many mothers and their children being sold as slaves in an area where there was once a glimmer of hope for peaceful coexistence among people of all faiths. As Old Roman Catholics, we must pray daily that this global madness will quickly come to an end.  Additionally we must join in conjunction with other relief agencies to help by furnishing our time, talent and treasures as each of our individual circumstances will permit. In so doing let us not forget those around us who are in need within our own local areas.

Throughout the year, within our local communities and abroad, we pray there will be a continual loving effort to bridge the chasm of misunderstanding that may exist between other Catholic entities. Only the bright lite of truth can remove the fog of any misunderstanding.

My prayer for each of you and all you hold dear is that whatever grief, tears, anxiety, uncertainty or heaviness of heart that may be in your life at this time, it will be replaced by never ending joy as we celebrate once again the resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. It is the eternal promise of that empty tomb that gives mankind forever the hope of life everlasting.

And as cited in the Gospel of Matthew (28:6), the angel gave the message to Mary Magdalene at the tomb on Easter -- "Jesus is truly risen as he promised." That message is meant for each of us, too! And it makes all the difference in your life and mine. At this Easter, it is my hope that each of you may know that wondrous difference and embrace the Risen One with a faith that is firm, a hope that is real and a love that is eternal.

 May God bless and forever keep you.

In Christ,
+ Bobby C. Hall
Most Rev. Bobby C. Hall, DD
Auxiliary Bishop

The Old Roman Catholic Church in Centerton, AR

There have been a rash of statements from the pulpits of the local Roman Catholic Churches that this parish is not sanctioned by the local bishop. The Bishop of Little Rock has no authority over this parish as our Archbishop is in California and we answer only to him. Perhaps a formal statement of position is in order at this point!

The Old Roman Catholic Church in Centerton, AR

St George Old Roman Catholic Church is a parish of The Old Roman Catholic Church in America – Utrecht Succession, Archdiocese of California, which acknowledges its historic continuity with the Undivided Apostolic Church and possessing all of its Holy Orders intact, traces its direct Apostolic Succession from the historic, autonomous Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Utrecht in Holland. While the church is not in formal communion with Rome it is recognized by the Holy See as a “true particular church” possessing apostolic orders and a valid Eucharistic, as found in the document Dominus Jesus issued in August 6, 2000 by Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, later to be Pope Benedict XVI, when he served as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. As such, this parish is a valid expression of the Catholic Faith and is not subject to local Catholic Diocese jurisdiction.





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   The Old Roman Catholic Church does not depend on the recognition of any other Church; in years gone by the Roman Catholic Church has repeatedly affirmed its recognition of the Old Roman Catholic Church in a variety of publications.

   The Roman Catholic Dictionary by Addis and Arnold says of this our Church, “They have retained valid orders…We have been unable to discover any trace of heresy in these books,” [referencing those liturigical books officially ordered for use in the Old Roman Catholic Church].  

  A Catholic Dictionary, by Donald Attwater, bearing the imprimatur of the late Patrick Cardinal Hayes of New York, states of the Old Roman Catholic Church: “Their orders and sacraments are valid.”

   Referring to the Old Roman Catholic Church specifically in America, Father Conrad Algermissen’s Christian Denominations, published in 1948, and bearing the imprimatur of the late John Cardinal Glennon of St. Louis (p. 363) reads: “The North American Old Roman Catholic Church [has] received valid episcopal consecration.” 

     In fact, as far back as 1928, The Far East (January 1928, p.16), a publication of the Roman Catholic Columban Fathers of St. Columban’s, Nebraska, answered an inquiry concerning the validity of the orders conferred in the Old Roman Catholic Church.  The article mentions our late Archbishop Carfora favorably (from whom many present Old Roman Catholic bishops derive their orders) stating, “these orders are valid.”