The word "Catholic" means "universal" or "according to the whole."  We are a part of the universal Church of Jesus Christ, sharing in the teachings and liturgical heritage of the Church, and celebrating a characteristically Catholic faith tradition that is not sectarian.  

Though genuinely Catholic, we are not under the authority of the Pope, nor subject to the laws of the Roman Church. We trace our roots to the Old Catholic movement, which was a response to an ever-increasing Roman claim of papal authority, jurisdiction, and infallibility.  In contrast to those who place supreme authority in the Pope, we uphold all persons in the primacy of conscience over

In contrast to those who place supreme authority in the Pope, we uphold all persons in the primacy of conscience over law.  Specifically, we affirm:

 In contrast to those who place supreme authority in the Pope, we uphold all persons in the primacy of conscience over law.  Specifically, we affirm:

• Invitation to the sacramental life.  We recognize the baptism and faith of all our Christian sisters and brothers. Therefore, all are welcome to share in the Eucharist, regardless of denominational affiliation.
  
  
• Invitation to co-equal ministry.  All persons, male and female, married and single, gay and straight, have the right to respond to a genuine vocation and fully participate in the ministerial priesthood.
  
  
• Invitation to intimate commitment.  While always traumatic, sometimes divorce is the best and most faithful response to permanently broken relationships. Yet many whose marriages have failed still have the vocation of marriage, the co-joining in intimate love with another created in Godís image and likeness. These new unions can best be nourished in the sacramental life of the Church.
  
  
• Invitation to follow conscience.  Whether the issue is the freedom to vote according to personal convictions, the use of contraception and artificial birth control, or some other matter, we affirm the freedom to follow oneís conscience as a part of a healthy life of faith.

By these commitments, we affirm the dignity, worth, and essential liberty of all human persons regardless of race, national origin, religious affiliation, gender, or sexual orientation.  We follow the ancient wisdom of the Church as expressed in the words of St. Augustine: "In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity."