Old Roman Catholic Church in North America -- New Perspectives, Issue 1

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Proloquium
The publication you now hold in your hands or are sampling on-line marks a new beginning for the Old Roman Catholic Church in North America. As Bishop Facione writes in his column, Deus Caritas, the Church has announced its news and proclaimed its faith in a succession of journals dating back to the 1920s. While the writing was often outstanding, as is evidenced by the late Father Lavon M. Haithman's "Whom Do Ye Say That I Am?" in From the archives, publication was, at best sporadic. In the 1950s and 60s, during what Bishop Facione calls the Church's "dark night of the soul", fifteen years elapsed between publications of an official "house organ". After the final issue of the Augustinian appeared in 1969, other less comprehensive publications were attempted, but once again, they appeared with inconsistent frequency. But as they say, that was then and this is now. In June 1999, at their annual conference in Louisville, Kentucky, the bishops resoundingly affirmed Bishop Facione's commitment to inaugurate a publication that would both provide a medium for the dissemination of news of the Old Roman Catholic Church in North America and a forum for the discussion of a wide variety of views that meet -- or collide -- at the intersection of faith and a culture that is increasingly hostile to Judeo-Christianity, and indeed, much of Western tradition. The result of the bishops' commitment is New Perspectives: the Church in the Post-Modern World, and it is with great joy as an Old Roman Catholic Christian, a profound belief in this journal's mission, and gratitude to the bishops for entrusting its editorship to me that I welcome you to it. Please join us in sharing perspectives on this great journey we call faith. -- Valerie Kane