Hole the pickle, hold the lettuce, hold all those rules that so upset us.
Ed Kuhlman likes his Catholicism made to order. He likes some of the trappings, but those pesky rules have got to go. Ed wasn’t ‘comfortable’ in the Catholic church in which he was raised, so he set out to find a church that was more in tune with him.
Kuhlman’s mother Karen came across a newspaper article about the Ecumenical Catholic Church USA, a national independent Catholic church, and gave it to Kuhlman.
After looking into the church, Kuhlman found what he was looking for.
Hooray for Ed. Moreover, Ed then found his special calling.
About five years ago, he started studying to become a priest in the church.
“It was kind of natural progression,” Kuhlman said. “I didn’t join the church planning on becoming a priest.”
Ed has tapped into something. The one universal religious truth that everyone can accept these days. “It is all about you”. For Ed, this is not about truth and trying to live God’s will as revealed by Jesus and handed on to the Apostles. No, this is about finding a church in line with Ed’s will. As Ed’s mother said:
“My husband and I are very proud of him,” Karen said. “It seems this is tailor made for him, and I think he is tailor made for it.”
So what is this Church that is tailor made for Ed? Some notable items:
- We believe that all Holy Orders (bishops, priests, and deacons) are open to both men and women. [Of course]
- We believe that celibacy for those in Holy Orders is a personal decision. [Very personal, I’d say]
- We believe in the sanctity of marriage as a life long commitment between a man and woman. [Can’t you just smell a caveat coming?] We also believe that within certain marriages there may be circumstances or conditions that make life within that relationship unbearable or dangerous and thus divorce becomes appropriate or even necessary.
- Realizing that Jesus is merciful and it is he alone who understands fully the reality of any human decision,the church welcomes to all the sacraments those who have been divorced and/or remarried. [A no brainer]
- We believe that contraception is a personal decision of the married couple. [They are going to do it anyway, right?]
Catholicism made to order, just the way you like it. Just remember, here at the BK Catholic Church, it is all about you.
Read the full article here.
May 29, 2007 at 9:09 pm
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May 29, 2007 at 9:11 pm
He seems to like his catholcism like most Christians like their Bible. Should we stone prostitutes and homosexuals. I doubt it. You all seem to pick and choose which of god’s wishes and representatives to follow when its convenient.
May 29, 2007 at 10:01 pm
Ramon,
If you remember correctly, Jesus did not stone the woman who committed adultery. He forgave her sins and then told her to go and sin no more. Jesus is who I follow. People are sinners, true. We make mistakes, we are judgemental sometimes, but Jesus is the ideal. Following Jesus is not always easy or convenient and wish it could be easier sometimes. But I do not confuse my likes, dislikes, or preferences for ‘truth’. I do not build a church or religion of my own because frankly I would not wish to be part of any such religion where I am the arbiter of right and wrong. Jesus gave us the Church and for that I am grateful. She lays out the path and I try to follow as best I can. I fall short of the ideal often, but I try to go on and sin no more.
God Bless
May 30, 2007 at 6:53 pm
Exactly. So you follow only the parts of the Bible that you like. Which happen to be those aspects of Jesus which meet with the morality test. Its been a while since I read the Bible but I am sure I could find a few things about Jesus that I think we today would find not just inconvenient but appalling. But of coruse those are subject to interpretation because apparently god almost never means exactly what he says in the book he supposedly inspired.
May 30, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Ramon,
Perhaps you misunderstood. I follow all the parts, not just the ones I like. Jesus gave us the church so we would know how to interpret the bible. I am not aware of anything in the bible that Jesus did that was appalling. Hope this helps.
May 30, 2007 at 7:49 pm
“Jesus gave you the Church so you would know how to interpret the Bible.” Real mandate for independent thought. Or do you just “believe” based on zero evidence trhat the church is right.