I had previous written on the parish closings occurring in Streator, IL (Roman Catholic Diocese of Peoria) in Another Sad Tale and More on Church Closings.

Two recent articles have appeared in MyWebTimes on the Polish National Catholic Church as a potential alternative for Streator Catholics wishing to find a Church that is both fully Catholic and democratically governed. I wish the Catholics of Streator well in their discernment process.

Having personally faced the pain of Parish closings I understand their hurt and anguish. Much can be gained from the experience of many former Roman Catholics in the Buffalo area who have formed at least two new PNCC Parishes. God works, through His grace, to bring good out of the pain and anguish we feel. Having found a wonderful spiritual home, a Church that is both fully Catholic and democratic in governance, and great personal comfort in the PNCC, I know this to be true. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

The article Independent, but traditional — Polish National Catholics practice Catholicism their way keys on the many of the issues Catholics find appealing about the PNCC:

Mike Sheridan is not alone.

The Streator Catholic is curious about the Polish National Catholic Church but does not know much about it.

Since the city’s four parishes merged to form St. Michael the Archangel Church, the Polish National has been brought up as an alternative, but no one has approached it about starting one.

Found on page 2 of the missalette in Streator church pews, the Roman Catholic church does not object to Polish National members receiving communion, but then how is it they are not affiliated with the pope or the Vatican?

Although completely independent of Rome, the church is representative of the first 1,000 years of the Roman Catholic Church, according to the Rev. Anthony Kopka, bishop of the PNCC’s Western Diocese in Chicago.

“That’s the best way to describe it,”Kopka said. “We are a Catholic church, there is apostolic succession, but we have honored no dogmas since 1054.”

Disgruntled with the structure of power in the Roman Catholic church, the PNCC broke away in 1897 to give Polish immigrants their own Catholic church to worship. At the time, there was concern Irish and German immigrants controlled too much power in the church.

Originally Polish, all ethnicites are welcome today. The church boasts more than 25,000 members nationally with 30 parishes in its Western Diocese alone. There are eight parishes in Illinois, with six in the Chicago area and one in suburban St. Louis. The closest is Holy Trinity Church in Kewanee.

Since its independence, theological and governmental differences were drawn.

The PNCC rejected the idea of papal infallibility, which meant the pope is preserved from the possibility of error when he solemnly declares a dogmatic teaching on faith.

“We believe no one is infallable in their teaching,” Prime Bishop Anthony Mikovski told The Times.

The church created its own structure of power with an emphasis on the parishioner.

Unlike the Roman Catholic church, members control the fate of their own parish. A committee of at least nine members is voted on by parishioners once a year. This committee controls the finances of the church and determines whether their parish needs to be closed.

The parish also elects a senator to represent it at the general synod. This is conducted every four years to discuss church matters and law.

A priest is appointed to a parish from the bishop of its diocese. The committee can then vote to accept or reject the appointment. Committee members also can hire or fire priests.

The priest serves as the parish’s spiritual leader and financial adviser. He makes no final decisions on the finances of the church.

“It’s up to us if we stay open,” said Resurrection Polish National Catholic Church parishioner Chris Cremean. “A church closes only if it runs out of money.”

…

In 1993, the Vatican’s Council for Promoting Christian Unity stated that PNCC members in the United States and Canada can receive Roman Catholic Communion and other sacraments, and the PNCC issued parallel guidelines in 1998.

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Only time will tell if it is a viable option for alienated Streator Catholics.

Cremean said he likes the idea of having married priests that can relate to family life and enjoys the traditionalism practiced within the church.

“I feel like Ihave a parish I can call home for my family.”

The experience of parishioners from Toledo was highlighted in Polish National — Is it the answer for Streator Catholics?

Chris Cremean was once a “Roamin’ Catholic.”

His home parish in Toledo, Ohio closed in 2005 and he felt abandoned like many in Streator.

“I started to search for where my family would end up,” said the former St. Jude parishioner, noting there were at least 40 others like him. “We were looking for something traditionally Catholic and something that was ours — that our parish could say we owned.”

He had never heard of the Polish National Catholic Church in his hours of study on the issue, but it would provide him with his answer. An answer he suggests to the others he refers to as “Roamin’ Catholics.”

“It’s not for everyone, there are a few differences (from the Roman Catholic church),” Cremean said. “It’s an option that caters most to those who want a say in their own parish. Parishioners control their own parish.”

Groups like Save the Catholic Parishes in Streator wished they had more say in the merging of their four parishes into St. Michael the Archangel.

A handful of St. Jude parishioners found a Polish National church on a trip to Hamtramck, Mich. Impressed by its hospitality, the group discovered a small church with apostolic succession and no attachment to the diocese that closed them. In 1897, Pope Leo XIII recognized the Polish National as a Catholic church.

Within three years, St. Jude parishioners had their own parish in a Toledo suburb called Resurrection Polish National Catholic Church.

“We found our home,” Cremean said. “You don’t have to be Polish to start a parish.”

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Like in Streator, when the Catholic Diocese of Toledo closed 17 parishes, it was met with disagreement. Cremean’s home parish St. Jude filed two rounds of appeals to Rome to save their parish.

The Polish National Catholic Church has its own dioceses, but the dioceses cannot close a parish; that must be done by a board of parishioners.

The Rev. Anthony Kopka, bishop of the Western Diocese in Chicago, said no one in Streator has expressed an interest in starting a Polish National Catholic Church.

“I think a lot of people would be interested in finding out more about (the PNCC),” said St. Anthony parishioner Mike Sheridan. “I feel so many are still alienated. Some are still sad and some are very angry. People have thrown it out as an option, but I just don’t know.”

Kopka said anyone interested in starting a parish in Streator would have to contact him and then he would send out the Rev. Jaroslaw Rafalko from Holy Trinity Parish in Kewanee — about 75 miles west of Streator.

About 20 parishioners are all that is needed for a charter, said Cremean. Resurrection had 40 members to start and the priest from Hamtramck conducted Mass. Services were conducted at rented halls and churches until a combination of fundraisers and a loan from the PNCC provided a new building in 2008…