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St. Ann's Church is a non-profit parish that serves more than 800 Catholic families in Northwest Washington, D.C. We serve the local community through fundraising projects and service activities, provide education to youth in grades K-12, and serve the spiritual needs of our members through church services and opportunities that enable members to be the Body of Christ.
- Wobbly Three-Legged Stool
- A Son of Benedict Speaks
- It Is Rooted in History . . .
- And Adaptable
- It Is Objective . . .
- And Flexible
- It Is Universal . . .
- And Local
- It Is Intellectually Challenging . . .
- And Accessible to The Uneducated
Evangelical Protestants say the Bible decides, but this begs the question when the two warring parties agree that the Bible is the final authority. They eventually split because they can’t agree about what the Bible actually teaches. I had moved away from the Protestant understanding that Scripture is the only authority, and as an Anglican, believe...
About this time I had a conversation with the Abbot of Quarr Abbey (a Catholic Benedictine monastery on the Isle of Wight). He listened to my situation with compassion and interest. I explained that I did not want to deny women’s ordination. I wanted to affirm all things that were good, and I could see some good arguments in favor of women’s ordina...
What are the twelve traits of authority, and how do they work? We have to ask what a group of Christians who were deliberating a difficult matter would need to make their decision. First of all, it seems clear that their decision would have to be made from a historical perspective. It was not good enough to decide complex moral, social, or doctrina...
The historical link is essential, but on its own is not sufficient. Historical authority has to be balanced with the ability to be up to date. An authority that is only historical becomes ossified. It never changes. An authority that cannot be up to date is not only rooted in history, it is bound by history. A valid authority structure needs to be ...
A third quality of a valid authority system is that it needs to be objective. By this I mean it needs to be independent of any one person’s or group’s agenda, ideology, philosophy or self-interest. A valid authority transcends all political, economic, and cultural pressures. The objective quality of this authority system also allows it to make deci...
For the authority to be valid, however, it cannot rely on abstract principles and objective criteria alone. The valid authority is suitably subjective in applying objective principles. In other words, it understands that the complexities of real life and the pastoral exigencies of helping real people demand a flexible, practical, and down-to-earth ...
An authority that can speak to all situations can only do so if it comes from a universal source. This source of authority needs to be universal not only geographically, but also chronologically. In other words, it transcends national agendas and limitations, but it also transcends the cultural trends and intellectual fashions of any particular tim...
However, this universal authority needs to be applied in a particular and local way. An authority that is only universal remains vague, abstract, and disincarnate. For a universal authority system to be valid, it also must be expressed locally. Catholicism speaks with a universal voice, but it is also as local as St. Patrick’s Church and Fr. Magee ...
The fourth pair of characteristics that demonstrate the validity of the Catholic authority system include its intellectual satisfaction and its accessibility. If an authority system is to speak to the complexities of the human situation, then it must be able to hold its own with the philosophical and intellectual experts in every field of human end...
Nonetheless, while the authority system must be intellectually top notch, the religious system must also be accessible to peasants and the illiterate. A religious system that is only intellectual or appeals merely to the literate can speak only for the intellectuals and literate. Some denominations appeal to the simple and unlearned, but have troub...
Holy Trinity Parish was founded in 1787 and is the oldest Roman Catholic community and house of worship in continuous operation both in Georgetown and in the larger city of Washington, D.C. The original church building was completed in 1794. It is now called the Chapel of St. Ignatius, and is used for smaller ecclesiastical celebrations and as ...
The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a Catholic minor basilica and national shrine in Washington D.C..It is the largest Catholic church building in North America and is also the tallest habitable building in Washington, D.C. Its construction of Byzantine and Romanesque Revival architecture began on 23 September 1920.
Aug 11, 2020 · A few blocks to the northeast is the First Baptist Church. This church is home to one of the oldest Christian congregations in Washington, although they have only occupied the current site for a little over a century. A few blocks south of St. Matthew’s is St. John’s Episcopal Church. Located just across the street from the front of the ...
Washington, D.C. St. Patrick Church is the oldest parish in the Federal City of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1794 to minister to the needs of the stonemasons building the White House and the U.S. Capitol, the parish continues to serve the needs of downtown Washington through daily Mass & confession, adult education, and cultural activities.
Designated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops as a National Sanctuary of Prayer and Pilgrimage, the Basilica is the nation's preeminent Marian shrine, dedicated to the patroness of the United States; the Blessed Virgin Mary under her title of the Immaculate Conception. It is oftentimes affectionately referred to as America's ...
