Doctrinal issues led agenda items at the spring session of the Polish National Catholic (PNCC) —“ Roman Catholic Dialogue, May 19 and 20, in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The meeting was held at the PNCC’s National Church Center and hosted by Bishop Robert Nemkovich, the PNCC Prime Bishop. Bishop Edward U. Kmiec of Buffalo and Bishop Anthony Mikovsky of the PNCC Central Diocese co-chaired the meeting.
Two new Roman Catholic members joined the group: Bishop Mitchell Rozanski, Auxiliary Bishop of Baltimore, and Bishop Matthew Ustrzycki, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus of Hamilton, Ontario. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops became an official participant in the dialogue at the meeting.
Dialogue members considered the situation of PNCC military chaplains and the options for sacramental sharing in combat zones. Members also heard an update on a proposal to permit PNCC faithful to act as sponsors at Roman Catholic baptisms, and to require the dispensation of form for liceity only in the case of mixed marriages in the PNCC
From the March 2008 BCEIA and SEIA Report: Our dialogue with the PNCC has not met since the last meeting of the Administrative Committee; the next session is scheduled to take place in Scranton, Pennsylvania, May 19 and 20. I mentioned in my last report that Bishop Skylstad had written to Cardinal Kasper regarding two incremental steps forward (allowing PNCC faithful to serve as godparents at Catholic baptisms in addition to a Catholic godparent, and requiring the dispensation from canonical form for liceity only when a mixed marriage takes place in a PNCC ceremony). We later learned that these matters should be raised directly with Cardinal William Levada, Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. We are now consulting with the Committees on Doctrine and Canonical Affairs regarding these steps.
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Msgr. Thomas Green of The Catholic University of America School of Canon Law reviewed presentations from the 1996 dialogue regarding the canonical status of former Roman Catholic clergy and faithful who have joined the PNCC and the 2006 statement by the Pontifical Council for Legislative Texts regarding the formal act of leaving the [Roman] Catholic Church.
Members also re-examined two previous agreements between Roman Catholics and Old Catholics of the Union of Utrecht regarding the transfer of clergy from one church to the other: the agreement signed in 1996 between Cardinal Edward Cassidy, then President of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and Archbishop Antonius Jan Glazemaker of Utrecht (later withdrawn) and the 1999 agreement between the German Bishops’ Conference and the Old Catholic Diocese in Germany. The PNCC members also shared the text of the Declaration of Scranton, a document intended to clarify the doctrinal position of the PNCC on several issues.
Members also considered the April visit of Pope Benedict XVI to the United States and local examples of misunderstandings between members of the two churches. The next meeting is slated for November 6-7, in Baltimore.
The Polish National Catholic Church and the Roman Catholic Church have been meeting for a semiannual dialogue since 1984. Current PNCC members include Bishop Anthony Mikovsky (Co-Chairman), Bishop John E. Mack, Very Rev. Marcell W. Pytlarz, Very Rev. John Z. Kraus, Very Rev. Paul Sobiechowski, and Father Robert M. Nemkovich Jr. Roman Catholic members include Bishop Edward U. Kmiec (Co-Chairman), Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Orlando, Florida, Auxiliary Bishop Mitchell T. Rozanski of Baltimore, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Matthew Ustrzycki of Hamilton, Ontaro, Msgr. John Strynkowski, Msgr. Thomas J. Green, Father Phillip Altavilla, and Paulist Father Ronald G. Roberson (staff).
Give heed to the bishop, that God also may give heed to you. My soul be for theirs that are submissive to the bishop, to the presbyters, and to the deacons, and may my portion be along with them in God! Labour together with one another; strive in company together; run together; suffer together; sleep together; and awake together, as the stewards, and associates, and servants of God. Please Him under whom you fight, and from whom you receive your wages. Let none of you be found a deserter. Let your baptism endure as your arms; your faith as your helmet; your love as your spear; your patience as a complete panoply. Let your works be the charge assigned to you, that you may receive a worthy recompense. Be long-suffering, therefore, with one another, in meekness, as God is towards you. May I have joy of you for ever! — Chapter 6. The duties of the Christian flock.
Attention Young Men and Teenagers
Do you have any idea how God goes about calling men and boys to serve as priests in the Church? Do you believe the Lord is calling you? Are you not sure if you are being called to the priesthood in the Polish National Catholic Church? Do you know of any others of the same age who are thinking the same way as you are?
Our church needs more priests to minister to her people and to help our church thrive and grow.
The P.N.C.C. is trying to bring together young men whom God may be calling. We know that God would not call our church into being without continually calling men to serve as priests. Prime Bishop Robert M. Nemkovich and the Board of Savonarola Theological Seminary are reaching out to males from the ages of 15 through 25 who are members of this church. Please read the following:
On June 20-22, 2008, our Church will bring together males from the ages of 15 through 25 who are members of the Polish National Catholic Church for a “Weekend of Spiritual Discernment.” What does that term mean? We are trying to assemble are create peer groups (boys and men of similar ages) for both those who believe they are being called to the priesthood and those who think they may be called but are not sure. We will then help them test their calling, that is, spiritually discern, whether or not they are truly being called to the Priesthood of Christ in the Polish National Catholic Church.
The Weekend for Spiritual Discernment will start with registration and room assignment from 3:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on Friday, June 20, at the seminary of the Polish National Catholic Church: Savonarola Theological Seminary, 1031 Cedar Avenue, Scranton, PA. Supper will be served at the seminaly at 6:00 p.m., then the opening session and an introduction to the seminary program for the priesthood will begin at 7:00 p.m., followed by a service in the seminary chapel and fellowship.
On Saturday, June 21, Holy Mass will be offered at the seminary chapel at 8:00 a.m., followed by breakfast. Sessions on spiritual discernment for vocations to the priesthood, Jerome Savonarola and Bishop Francis Hodur, the life and ministries of priests in the P.N.C.C., the highlights of the origin and development of St. Stanislaus Cathedral Parish and the P.N.C.C. will be offered throughout the day and evening. These will be interactive sessions with an emphasis on discussions and plenty of time for questions and answers. Discernment (or figuring out what God wants us to do) occurs primarily through prayer and the asking of questions. Lunch and supper will be provided and the evening will conclude with fellowship and prayer.
The weekend will conclude with Holy Mass at St. Stanislaus Cathedral on Sunday, June 22, followed by breakfast and the closing session. Names, addresses, e-mails and phone numbers will be exchanged with the hope of establishing a collegial community of teenagers and young men who someday may be interested in enrolling in the seminary for education and training to become priests. The Prime Bishop, bishops and clergy who participate in the Weekend of Spiritual Discernment will become part of a network of support and encouragement for the young men and boys who may aspire to become priests.
The Weekend of Spiritual Discernment is being sponsored by the Seminary Board and organized by Bishop Anthony Kopka. Members of the board who will be presenting the sessions are: Seminary Rector, Prime Bishop Robert Nemkovich; Seminary Vice Rector, Father Czeslaw Kuliczkowski; Seminary Professor, Bishop Anthony Mikovsky; and Bishop Kopka. Father Ramzi Musallam, a more recent seminary alumnus, will also present a session.
The Office of the Prime Bishop will provide financial assistance for males between the ages of 15 and 25 (inclusive) who are members of the P.N.C.C. to participate in the Weekend for Spiritual Discernment. The P.N.C.C. will cover the costs of meal and lodging at the seminary, however, participants must bring their own bedding or sleeping bags. The P.N.C.C. will also provide grants up to $200 for one-way air travel and for one-way mileage (40.5¢) over 50 miles. Parishes, dioceses and church organizations are asked to help finance the balance of expenses for travel for those they support and encourage to consider sacred vocations.
Dress is sort of “business casual,” in other words, participants are expected to wear long pants, collared shirts and dress or casual shoes, not sneakers or open footwear. Again, please pack bedding or sleeping bags (pillows are available); also bring personal toiletry, towels and soap. The Polish National Union of America will provide materials needed for the sessions.
To register for the weekend of Spiritual Discernment and to inquire about the financial grants for travel, please contact no later than June 13:
Bishop Anthony Kopka
275 York St.
Stratford, CT 06615
(203) 377-9901 or (203) 913-0543
Study, therefore, to be established in the doctrines of the Lord and the apostles, that so all things, whatsoever you do, may prosper both in the flesh and spirit; in faith and love; in the Son, and in the Father, and in the Spirit; in the beginning and in the end; with your most admirable bishop, and the well-compacted spiritual crown of your presbytery, and the deacons who are according to God. Be subject to the bishop, and to one another, as Jesus Christ to the Father, according to the flesh, and the apostles to Christ, and to the Father, and to the Spirit; that so there may be a union both fleshly and spiritual.
Knowing as I do that you are full of God, I have but briefly exhorted you. Be mindful of me in your prayers, that I may attain to God; and of the Church which is in Syria, whence I am not worthy to derive my name: for I stand in need of your united prayer in God, and your love, that the Church which is in Syria may be deemed worthy of being refreshed by your Church. — Chapter 13 and 14.
Be not deceived with strange doctrines, nor with old fables, which are unprofitable. For if we still live according to the Jewish law, we acknowledge that we have not received grace. For the divinest prophets lived according to Christ Jesus. On this account also they were persecuted, being inspired by His grace to fully convince the unbelieving that there is one God, who has manifested Himself by Jesus Christ His Son, who is His eternal Word, not proceeding forth from silence, and who in all things pleased Him that sent Him.
If, therefore, those who were brought up in the ancient order of things have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord’s Day, on which also our life has sprung up again by Him and by His death—” whom some deny, by which mystery we have obtained faith, and therefore endure, that we may be found the disciples of Jesus Christ, our only Master… — Chapter 8 and 9a
Since therefore I have, in the persons before mentioned, beheld the whole multitude of you in faith and love, I exhort you to study to do all things with a divine harmony, while your bishop presides in the place of God, and your presbyters in the place of the assembly of the apostles, along with your deacons, who are most dear to me, and are entrusted with the ministry of Jesus Christ, who was with the Father before the beginning of time, and in the end was revealed. Do all then, imitating the same divine conduct, pay respect to one another, and let no one look upon his neighbour after the flesh, but continually love each other in Jesus Christ. Let nothing exist among you that may divide you; but be united with your bishop, and those that preside over you, as a type and evidence of your immortality.
As therefore the Lord did nothing without the Father, being united to Him, neither by Himself nor by the apostles, so neither do anything without the bishop and presbyters. Neither endeavour that anything appear reasonable and proper to yourselves apart; but being come together into the same place, let there be one prayer, one supplication, one mind, one hope, in love and in joy undefiled. There is one Jesus Christ, than whom nothing is more excellent. Therefore run together as into one temple of God, as to one altar, as to one Jesus Christ, who came forth from one Father, and is with and has gone to one. — Chapter Six and Seven.
Now it becomes you also not to treat your bishop too familiarly on account of his youth, but to yield him all reverence, having respect to the power of God the Father, as I have known even holy presbyters do, not judging rashly, from the manifest youthful appearance [of their bishop], but as being themselves prudent in God, submitting to him, or rather not to him, but to the Father of Jesus Christ, the bishop of us all. It is therefore fitting that you should, after no hypocritical fashion, obey [your bishop], in honour of Him who has willed us [so to do], since he that does not so deceives not [by such conduct] the bishop that is visible, but seeks to mock Him that is invisible. And all such conduct has reference not to man, but to God, who knows all secrets.
It is fitting, then, not only to be called Christians, but to be so in reality: as some indeed give one the title of bishop, but do all things without him. Now such persons seem to me to be not possessed of a good conscience, seeing they are not stedfastly gathered together according to the commandment.
Seeing, then, all things have an end, these two things are simultaneously set before us—” death and life; and every one shall go unto his own place. For as there are two kinds of coins, the one of God, the other of the world, and each of these has its special character stamped upon it, [so is it also here.] The unbelieving are of this world; but the believing have, in love, the character of God the Father by Jesus Christ, by whom, if we are not in readiness to die into His passion, His life is not in us. — Chapter Three through Five.
Ignatius, who is also called Theophorus, to the [Church] blessed in the grace of God the Father, in Jesus Christ our Saviour, in whom I salute the Church which is at Magnesia, near the Mæander, and wish it abundance of happiness in God the Father, and in Jesus Christ.
Having been informed of your godly love, so well-ordered, I rejoiced greatly, and determined to commune with you in the faith of Jesus Christ. For as one who has been thought worthy of the most honorable of all names, in those bonds which I bear about, I commend the Churches, in which I pray for a union both of the flesh and spirit of Jesus Christ, the constant source of our life, and of faith and love, to which nothing is to be preferred, but especially of Jesus and the Father, in whom, if we endure all the assaults of the prince of this world, and escape them, we shall enjoy God.
Since, then, I have had the privilege of seeing you, through Damas your most worthy bishop, and through your worthy presbyters Bassus and Apollonius, and through my fellow-servant the deacon Sotio, whose friendship may I ever enjoy, inasmuch as he is subject to the bishop as to the grace of God, and to the presbytery as to the law of Jesus Christ, [I now write to you]. — Greeting through Chapter 2
Having learned these things, and been fully assured that the seeming bread is not bread, though sensible to taste, but the Body of Christ; and that the seeming wine is not wine, though the taste will have it so, but the Blood of Christ; and that of this David sung of old, saying, And bread strengthens man’s heart, to make his face to shine with oil, strengthen your heart, by partaking thereof as spiritual, and make the face of your soul to shine. And so having it unveiled with a pure conscience, may you reflect as a mirror the glory of the Lord, and proceed from glory to glory, in Christ Jesus our Lord:—” To whom be honour, and might, and glory, for ever and ever. Amen. — Catechetical Lecture 22.
Therefore Solomon also, hinting at this grace, says in Ecclesiastes, Come hither, eat your bread with joy (that is, the spiritual bread; Come hither, he calls with the call to salvation and blessing), and drink your wine with a merry heart (that is, the spiritual wine); and let oil be poured out upon your head (you see he alludes even to the mystic Chrism); and let your garments be always white, for the Lord is well pleased with your works; for before you came to Baptism, your works were vanity of vanities. But now, having put off your old garments, and put on those which are spiritually white, you must be continually robed in white: of course we mean not this, that you are always to wear white raiment; but you must be clad in the garments that are truly white and shining and spiritual, that you may say with the blessed Esaias, My soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with a garment of salvation, and put a robe of gladness around me. — Catechetical Lecture 22.