Let’s do something quick this morning, since it is Memorial Day (some readers might be online, pre- or post-cookouts) and I am also getting ready for two weeks of travel.
So let’s do something simple on one of the most complex, controversial and bizarre topics I have ever handled as a journalist. I am referring to the global web of “Old Catholic” churches — which can be everything from conservative Latin rite flocks to far-left modernist movements that really should just join the Episcopal Church and that would be that.
Decades ago, in Denver, I tried to follow the ordination clains of a controversial — but well known — priest and hospital chaplain and, before I knew it, I had about three folders full of conflicting info about sacraments and orders and my head was spinning. The highlight was a chat with a local mailman who had a detailed flow-chart proving that he was an archbishop with orders as valid as those of Pope John Paul II.
This brings me (Once more, into the breach!) to a news report from Flatland, a non-profit news website in Kansas City. The “about” page states: “We’re Kansas City PBS’ nonprofit journalism source, a destination for local and regional storytelling.” The headline proclaims: “Gay Priest Shepherds Nontraditional ‘Catholic’ Church.” Here’s the overture:
The red brick church at 700 West Pennway on Kansas City’s West Side has undergone several religious conversions in its long history.
This late 19th-century building was home to West Side Christian Church from 1893 until 1986, when property managers Jeff Krum and Adam Jones bought it.
Then, until 2000, it became secular as the home for the City in Motion dance company. Next, the Buddhist Rime Center made its home there from 2001 until 2020.
And now, for almost two years, it’s housed the relatively new Christ the King Independent Catholic Church.
The “Catholic” part of the name takes a bit of explaining.
At this point, readers really need to know something — at least a few paragraphs — about the world of “independent” and “Old Catholic” rites. After all, the term “independent Catholic” makes about as much sense as “jumbo shrimp,” “military intelligence” and “genuine laminated rosewood.”
The question, for large-C Catholics, is whether this church has valid Sacraments. This, in turn, depends on the validity of the Christ the King movement — which offers pages of information showing that it believes it has valid apostolic succession linked to the Church of Rome, Anglicanism, etc., etc.
But, for readers, everything hinges on the large “C” and the quote marks around “Catholic” in that headline from this sort-of-PBS news source.
If one looks up “Catholic” and “catholic” at Merriam-Webster, one finds.
capitalized : ROMAN CATHOLIC …
often capitalized : of, relating to, or forming the church universal …
often capitalized : of, relating to, or forming the ancient undivided Christian church or a church claiming historical continuity from it …
especially : broad in sympathies, tastes, or interests
We are in large-C territory here, of course, with a congregation “claiming historical continuity” from the ancient, undivided church.
The question is whether this is a “Catholic” church or one functioning as an “independent” — basically Protestant — body of believers.
The latter is a valid way to do church, of course, along the lines of thousands of other forms of Protestantism. Here is how this kind-of-PBS website explains things, in this congregation “connected with a branch of Catholicism with rules a bit different from Roman Catholicism.”
It would help, for example, to know who ordained Father Taylor W. Tracy — who is described as “a musician for more than a dozen years in Catholic, Lutheran and Episcopal parishes.” That is not, of course, the “hook” that makes this congregation sort-of-PBS newsworthy.
For starters, Tracy is married. To a man. And he’s willing to officiate at same-sex marriages.
Beyond that, traditional Catholic rules about who can receive the bread and wine in Holy Communion really don’t apply here because this Catholic church isn’t part of the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City-St. Joseph. Thus, the “Independent” word in its name.
Instead, the church is attached to the California-based Society of Christ the King, which is not under the pope’s jurisdiction though it adheres to the Roman liturgy.
Tracy describes the church’s Eucharist practice this way: “If I see someone who truly believes in the Real Presence in the Eucharist, but they were baptized Lutheran, I’m not going to prevent them from receiving the elements. For us, the aspect that is most important for the reception of the Eucharist is the sacrament of baptism.” If you’ve been baptized Christian, you may participate.
Later, there is a paragraph hinting at other doctrinal issues.
“Although I enjoyed the liturgy and traditions of the Catholic faith,” he says, “I found there was a disconnect between implementing a pastoral inclusive approach with (traditional Catholic) theology. And I found that not only was there a disconnect, but there was an immense amount of trauma that was actively being inflicted on people on various levels — not just because of sexuality but also because of marital status or health care decisions.”
This leads to my main question: What IS this feature?
There is a valid news story here, one linked to people leaving Roman Catholicism and, it would appear, mainline Protestant flocks. But like I said, readers really need to know a few more facts about the roots of this congregation, the Old Catholic spinoff that offers it credibility and the ordination of its priest.
But do facts matter in this sort-of-PBS report? Does it matter if this is actually a very complex and controversial topic, one involving books of complex history and counter-arguments from the Roman Catholic world?
Is this news or is it public relations?
Would this kind-of-PBS newsroom publish a similar story, for example, about an “independent” Jewish synagogue with links to the Messianic Judaism networks backed by evangelicals? It’s safe to say that the claims of that brand of synagogue would not be allowed to stand on their own, with zero factual information drawn from Jewish groups. Correct?
FIRST IMAGE: Inside the sanctuary of Christ the King Independent Catholic Church, in a photo posted at the Eventective website for party venues.