Polish National Catholic Church of The Holy Cross (Brooklyn)

The Polish National Catholic Church of The Holy Cross (PNCC) on 15th Street in Brooklyn, New York, was a Christian church based in the United States and founded by Polish-Americans. The Holy Cross Church is currently closed and the buildings sold to a developer and demolished in 2007. It ranked among the best Catholic churches with a Polish mass in Brooklyn. The front facade of the Polish National Catholic Church of the Holy Cross or P.N.C.C.H.C. was in the Romanesque revival style and was composed of three round Roman arches below a peaked roof.

The PNCC is not in communion with the Roman Catholic Church due to differing in several respects. The church, founded in 1904 no longer exists. It was founded in Central Falls, Rhode Island and designated for a Polish laity. The PNCC was an independent splinter church which cut all ties to the Roman Catholic Church after promulgating its own laws and regulations.

A sister church in Poland, the Polish-Catholic Church of Republic of Poland, is a member of the Old Catholic Union of Utrecht and is also not in communion with the Holy See; at the same time, the PNCC is neither in communion with the Union of Utrecht, but rather the Union of Scranton. The Polish National Catholic Church welcomed people of all ethnic, racial, and social backgrounds.

History

During the late 19th century many Polish immigrants to the U.S. became dismayed with the hierarchy of the Roman Catholic Church. The U.S. Church had no Polish bishops and few Polish priests, and would not allow the Polish language to be taught in parish schools. The mainly ethnic Irish and German bishops helped establish hundreds of parishes for Poles, but priests were usually unable to speak Polish, and the new immigrants had poor or limited English. There were also disputes over who owned church property, particularly in Buffalo, New York and Scranton, Pennsylvania, with the parishioners demanding greater control. Although the majority of Polish-Americans remained with the Roman Catholic Church, where bilingual Polish-American priests and bishops were eventually ordained, many Polish-Americans in the meantime came to believe that these conditions were a manifestation of "political and social exploitation of the Polish people".

Relations with the Catholic Church improved notably since the 1970s, particularly after the ascension of the Polish-born John Paul II to the papacy.

Beliefs

Confession

The PNCC regards a confession of faults to God, followed by the assignment of penance and absolution given by the priest, to be the way the congregation normally obtains forgiveness of sins. The sacrament may be administered in one of two ways: public or private. Private confession is required for all members under the age of sixteen, while public confession is a part of every Mass. In this form, the faithful confess their sins directly and privately to God. The entire congregation then recites the Prayer of Confession. Adults may avail themselves of private confession if they so wish.

Marriage and divorce

The church believes that "Marriage is the sacrament which makes a Christian man and woman husband and wife, gives them grace to be faithful to each other and to bring up their children in love and devotion to God." Unlike in the Roman Catholic Church, PNCC deacons are not permitted to officiate at weddings. The PNCC permits divorced people to participate fully in the Mass and to receive the Eucharist. The church does not recognise civil divorce and requires an annulment before parishioners can remarry. Every diocese has a matrimonial commission that studies each request for marriage by persons who have been divorced. The commission presents its findings and recommendation to the bishop, who makes the final decision.

Priesthood and marriage

Since 1921 the PNCC has permitted its clergy to be married, and in practice encourages them to be so. They believe that a married priest will have a better understanding of the marital issues facing his parishioners. If a person is unmarried at the time of ordination, he must remain so for a period of two years before entering marriage. The church does not permit women to be ordained either to the diaconate or ministerial priesthood.

Communion

With the approval of the Holy See, in 1996 a dialogue with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and the PNCC resulted in an arrangement called "limited inter-communion" between Catholic churches and the PNCC. The reference recognized the validity of the sacraments of the PNCC, allowing members the provisions of Canon 844 §2–3 of the Code of Canon Law, regarding three of the sacraments as practiced by the Eastern Churches whom were not in full communion with the Roman Catholic church.

See also

• List of the Bishops of the Polish National Catholic Church
• Central Diocese of the Polish National Catholic Church
• Union of Scranton
• St. Casimir's Church

References

• ^Note 1 : Encyclopedia of American Religions, J. Gordon Melton, editor. 6th Ed., 1999. pp 93–94.
• Mead, Frank S. (1995), "Polish National Catholic Church of America", Handbook of Denominations in the United States (10th Edition), Abingdon Press, ISBN 0-687-01478-6.

External links

• Official website
• Central Diocese
• Brooklyn Churches
• Nordic Catholic Church
• Union of Scranton
• Polish National Catholic Church in the Polish Republic
• Polish Catholic Church (Poland)

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