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The American Catholic Church affirms traditional Catholic beliefs of faith and love, spirituality,
community, and prayer. It celebrates the Seven Sacraments, and adheres to the essentials of
Catholic doctrine and practice as expressed and implied in the statements of Vatican Council II,
and in the light of the best contemporary Catholic thought.
The American Catholic Church proclaims the unconditional love and compassion of God, which
embraces every human person regardless of their state or condition in life. We acknowledge the
primacy of the Gospel of Jesus the Christ, and the power of the Holy Spirit to speak in our day
through the "sensus fidelium" ("sense of the faithful") of the Catholic Church, leading to a world of
justice and peace.
The American Catholic Church seeks to reach out to those who may have felt alienated by their
prior church experiences. We believe that who a person is, and how a person has chosen to live,
does not separate them from the love and compassion of God; thus, The American Catholic
Church rejects artificial barriers to the reception of the Sacraments based on marital status,
sexuality or lifestyle. In particular, we place no artificial barriers in the way of the reception of the
Sacrament of Baptism, when a parent sincerely desires that their child be received into the Mystical
Body of Christ.
Believing that the Holy Spirit continues to guide the Church through the "Sense of the Faithful", the
American Catholic Church sees itself as a process as well as an institution. We hope to listen to,
rather than speak for, the people of God; as prompted by the Spirit, hey seek ways to remake the
Church into a credible community of faith for the modern world.
The American Catholic Church is particularly sensitive to the voices of those who, having felt been
called to Catholic ministry, have found their way blocked by sexism and blanket requirements of
celibacy: We are therefore committed to the admission of woman and married persons to all ranks
of the clergy.
The difficult decisions in one's life are always harder to make alone: at such times, the
compassionate support of a community of faith can be crucial. Yet such support can be difficult to
find in the face of "legalistic" moral pronouncements regarding such issues as divorce and
remarriage, birth control, sexual orientation, and complex medical issues.
Morality ought to be our response to the life of the spirit within each human person, and a loving
way of life for the whole community. The American Catholic Church believes that an informed
conscience, molded on Gospel values of truth, justice, compassion and love, should be the ultimate
motivating force in a person's life. We teach these values with the individual person in mind and with
respect for individual human freedom and dignity. We trust that, if people are living in the spirit of
truth, they will be able to decide what is just and right conduct, both in their own lives and within
society.
Last Modified February 23, 1997
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