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	'Underground' Catholics Surface for Conference By David A. Michaels NorthJersey.com October 29, 2006 http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkzJmZn YmVsN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk3MDEyMTg2JnlyaXJ5N2Y3MTdmN3ZxZWVFRXl5Mg== Its name means universal, and yet critics charge the Catholic Church is losing followers in the United States because it isn't inclusive enough. Outraged by the sexual-abuse scandals and chafed by the church's unwillingness to amend some traditional positions, many Catholics have given up on their church. But some still feel tied to the rituals and practices they grew up with, and have responded by forming their own churches that operate outside the bounds of Rome. "We are church with a small 'c,' " said Mary Anne Nugent, a retired librarian from Suffern N.Y. whose group, Spirit Rising, celebrating its Mass in different locations around Bergen County. "We are past wanting to reform the church, but we love the faith. So the motivation is just to gather together and pray in a way that fits our mind-set." Spirit Rising grew out of a women's book club focused on spirituality, Nugent said, and does not publicize its meetings. But other organizations, some started by former priests, have become sizable organizations frequented by people who feel alienated by Catholic doctrine, such as gays, lesbians and divorced people. Some of these underground churches, as some experts call them, aired their ideas Saturday at a conference in Whippany called "Imagining New Ways of Being Catholic." It was sponsored by Voice of the Faithful, a reform-minded group that has attracted the ire of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark. James Goodness, a spokesman for the Newark archdiocese, said the church has made overtures to "disaffected groups" but cannot go as far as groups like Voice of the Faithful would like. "We have to stay true to the teaching of the church as we do that," Goodness said. There is no reliable data about how many underground churches exist. Many were formed after the sexual-abuse scandals, but others were started by worshipers unhappy with the church's growing conservatism and those who rebelled against church hierarchy. "I can't imagine not being a Catholic," said Steven Lord, an executive speaking coach from Flanders who attends St. Elizabeth Seton, a traditional church in Morris County. "But the hierarchy of the church sometimes makes it difficult to authentically follow Jesus." The groups at Saturday's event included The Inclusive Community, a small group in Nutley that includes Protestants and Catholics, and Spiritus Christi of Rochester, N.Y., a church that calls itself Catholic and is led by an excommunicated priest. "We are a big Catholic church in the middle of the city," the Rev. James Callan told the audience at Birchfield Manor. As for the Roman Catholic Church, he added, "they are closing churches constantly." In 1998, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester removed Callan from the city's Corpus Christi Church after he invited non-Catholics to Communion, blessed same-sex unions, and allowed women a leading role on the altar. He and the Rev. Mary Ramerman, a female priest ordained by an independent bishop in 2001, responded with Spiritus Christi, a church that has 1,500 members and rents space in a Presbyterian Church. Its followers include a group it calls its "lesbian loft." "We are growing and vibrant and young," Callan said. But there have been setbacks. Spiritus Christi is not as diverse at his former congregation, Callan said. Many Hispanic parishioners did not agree with his embrace of gays and lesbians, he said. Paul Jacobus, a 41-year-old father of two from Morris County, said he did not agree with every idea advanced on Saturday, but was pleased he attended. "I don't see a biblical basis for those beliefs," said Jacobus, who said he attended to support victims of sexual abuse by priests. "But I sit and I listen, because I still want to keep a dialogue open. If I am making a mistake, I want to change." E-mail: michaels@northjersey.com
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