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.”