Saying he wanted to clear up public confusion, Bishop Kevin C. Rhoades of the Fort Wayne-South Bend Diocese said Friday that Holy Redeemer Catholic Community is not affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church.
“The community, although it calls itself ‘Catholic,’ is not in communion with the Catholic Church. … Its minister is not a Roman Catholic priest,” a written statement issued by the bishop said.
Vince LaBarbera, diocese spokesman, said the statement was to clear up questions about newspaper advertisements that list the congregation under the heading “Catholic.”
“We’ve had a number of calls from people saying ‘Is that a legitimate Catholic church?’ ” he said. “People might be staying at a hotel downtown for the weekend and not know.”
According to its website at www.holyredeemerrcc.org, Holy Redeemer identifies itself as “an independent Catholic parish with no ties to any Roman Catholic jurisdiction” and “a member parish of the Reformed Catholic Communion.”
The congregation meets at 4120 S. Webster St., which also houses Grace St. John’s United Church of Christ. Holy Redeemer’s pastor is the Rev. Michel Holland.
A message left at the church on Friday was not immediately returned.
In a 2008 Journal Gazette interview, Holland said the denomination offers Holy Communion to all and ordains women, married men and homosexuals to ministry.
Holy Redeemer’s website says the congregation considers Catholicism “not a denomination but an experience” and is “fully committed to inclusive vision proposed by Vatican II.”
The bishop’s statement Friday notes that under canon, or church, law, “no initiative is to claim the name ‘Catholic’ without the consent of competent ecclesiastical authority.”
LaBarbera said the bishop “had no intention of getting (Catholic Community) to change their ad, and we have no right to do so.”