Ministry at the Margin

I spent time reading updates within the world of the Independent Sacramental Movement.  First, I was pleased to see my former bishop continuing good work in the movement by starting the Old Catholic Ordinariate for Specialized Ministries. I think Bishop Rob is correct in his assessment of Independent Catholicism in the United States.  So often we try to replicate our experience of parishes and dioceses in light of what they look like in Roman Catholicism.  Bishop Rob wants us to see beyond trying to build traditional parishes.  Instead, he is working towards establishing a jurisdiction that fosters ministries in non-traditional settings such as care centers, prisons, among the homeless, and hospitals.  This is precisely where the Independent Sacramental Movement shines.  I normally am wary of ongoing splits in the ISM movement and was very sad to lose Bishop Rob as my bishop, but I think the work he is doing can benefit the movement.  I just added his jurisdiction’s website to the directory.

Second, I was thinking about an insightful article, “God of the Margins: Inclusive Catholicism in a Time of Grief and Division” by Rev. Brett Banks.  Source: https://img1.wsimg.com/blobby/go/2e673d51-4c0b-4b20-8006-e443d3b6927e/downloads/c2a4ce79-1379-4872-a18b-f7c28f56e935/Extraordinary%20Catholics%20-%20May_June%202025.pdf?ver=1746028634605 I want to share a few profound passages.  “Inclusive Catholicism is not a theological stance. It is a pastoral necessity. It is the belief that God shows up in our sorrow and calls us God’s beloved even there. This radical welcome is not a modern invention. It echoes through the life of Renée Vilatte, a 19th-century priest who, after becoming disillusioned with institutional rigidity, helped pioneer a more pastoral and sacramental Catholicism in North America. His was a church shaped by conscience, community and the deep dignity of all believers. His embrace of the priesthood of all laid the groundwork for the Independent Catholic movement I now call home. It was a Catholicism rooted not in power, but in presence. Not in hierarchy, but in hospitality.”

I recently had a conversation with my father about the church.  My father loves the Roman Catholic faith, and I know is saddened by my departure from ordained ministry within her.  I fully respect his love for the church and avoid saying anything that would cause him pain.  He mentioned a bit of his disappointment in the diocese and spoke of the old church at Cahokia, IL.  I told him the simplified story of the formations of what became the Old Catholic Church.  The “first bishop” of the Old Catholic movement was not seeking to found a new church.  He loved the church, was happy as a missionary in the New World stationed at Cahokia but found himself appointed bishop in the Middle East and excommunicated for not denouncing Jansenism and confirming children who had no bishop.  The roots of Old Catholicism are discovered in serving those that the church simply ignored. 

There are a lot of people that need God’s love and the hope that only the Gospel provides.  Let us pray and work together to be signs and instruments of God’s work. 

Peace,

Ben