Old Roman Catholic Church in Europe - Sacramental Validity

Sacramental Validity

There are various incidences where Old Roman Catholic orders derived from Arnold Harris Mathew have been affirmed by theologians, canonists and even representatives of the Holy See.

According to supporters, the consecration of Hiram Hulse indicates that the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA regarded the Mathew line as being not only valid but even desirable. On 12 January 1915, in New York City, Hiram Hulse was consecrated as a bishop in Cuba for the Protestant Episcopal Church assisted by Bishop de Landes Berghes in the Mathew line. This indicates that there were no apparent perceived problems in relation to valid holy orders in the early 20th century. The orders of De Landes Berghes, consecrated after Mathew left the Union of Utrecht, were apparently viewed by his contemporaries as valid despite any adverse comments from Utrecht.

Archbishop Frederick Linale of the Old Roman Catholic Church Great Britain, third in succession from Archbishop Carfora (via Richard Arthur Marchenna and George Gerard Shelley) sought and obtained a declaration from Rome confirming the validity of his orders, firstly in 1962. Then on 1/9/1982, Archbishop Romolo Carboni, the Apostolic Nuncio to Italy, wrote to the Cardinal Prefect of the Council for the Public Affairs of the Church, asking him to look into the Apostolic Succession of Mgr Linale. This task was given to Mgr Annibale Ilari, who had access to the Vatican Archives. In his written report to the Cardinal Prefect, dated 8/2/83, Mgr Ilari ended with the conclusion:

"I have attached a brief scheme of succession which ties Mgr Linale to the Supreme Pontiffs Benedict XIII, Benedict XIV and Pius IX, with the aim of assuring him that his lineage truly links him to the See of Peter."

The Old Catholic Church of British Columbia, whose orders also derive from Mathew through Ernest W. Jackson like the ORCC Latin Rite, was for a brief time a probationary member of the International Bishops' Conference (IBC) of the Union of Utrecht; the union accepted the validity of their orders. An investigation by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Quebec, in a public apology made for having maligned Fr. Claude Lacroix, asserted the validity of the Old Catholic Church BC's holy orders, "Father Lacroix is actually a validly ordained priest" and "Similarly, certificates of baptism given out by the Old Catholic Church of B.C. may be accepted for the inscription of children to First Communion and Confirmation program".

In 2002, Cardinal Gagnon was invited to investigate documentation relating to the episcopal orders received by Bishop Andre Letellier, with a view to commenting on the validity of his consecration. Letellier was consecrated on 23 May 1968 by the late Archbishop Andre Leon Zotique Barbeau of the Catholic Charismatic Church of Canada. Archbishop Barbeau had in turn been consecrated by Archbishop Charles (Ignatius Carolus) Brearley, an English Old Catholic bishop based in Sheffield, United Kingdom.

Cardinal Gagnon's statement in part reads "...nothing allows me to doubt the validity of episcopal ordination of Mgr André Letellier by Archbishop André Barbeau and that of Archbishop Barbeau by Archbishop Ignatius Charles Brearley, Primate of the Church of the "Old Catholics" having its seat in England. The ordinations of the "Old Catholics" are generally considered to be the same as those of Orthodox bishops."

Despite critics, there is incontrovertible evidence that the Apostolic Succession of Mathew originating from the See of Utrecht, has been consistently considered valid by Vatican officials and Roman Catholic canon lawyers and theologians, irrespective of the excommunication of Mathew by Pius X . But in all such cases it has been assumed that orthodox praxis and intention has been concurrent with each ordination/consecration and the cases of particular affirmation have only been of individuals known to be conservative in Catholic doctrine. In all above cases too, only the Pontificale Romanum has been used for the Rite of Consecration, other liturgies are not therefore affirmed. It certainly cannot be assumed that the arguments and affirmations detailed here are in any way applicable "across the board" to other groups outside the Old Roman Catholic tradition, most especially those whose teachings are not consistent with orthodox and conservative Catholic doctrine. Similarly, though the canonical principles above may be applied to other scenarios, the conclusions rely inherently on orthodox Catholic praxis and would not apply to those demonstrably apostate or heretical by comparison to traditional Catholic doctrine.

It is generally suggested that Roman Catholics may fulfill their Holy Day of Obligation by attending Mass celebrated by an Old Roman Catholic priest if unable to attend a Roman Catholic Mass. The Roman Catholic Church teaches, "The Churches which, while not existing in perfect communion with the Catholic Church, remain united to her by means of the closest bonds, that is, by apostolic succession and a valid Eucharist, are true particular Churches" in the 2000 declaration, Dominus Iesus, of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. This speaks primarily to the Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches, but also to "separated churches in the West", which is understood to be a reference to Old Catholics.