1. Nomenclature
The name of this ecclesial body is The Old Catholic Ordinariate for Specialized Ministries - U.S.A.
2. Mission Statement
The Ordinariate exists to proclaim the inexhaustible love of God at all times, in all places, and in every word and work, with an emphasis on those who may fall on the margins of the labors of the Church.
3. Vision
The Ordinariate will accomplish its expressed mission through:
• the formation, ordination, and incardination of clergy who share our charism,• active engagement with those on the margins of society,• provision of ministry to existing churches in need of pastoral care when invited,• establishment of mission activities where a need is discerned to exist,• seeking opportunities to incarnationally minister to those otherwise untended by the Church.
4. Composition
The Ordinariate is an association of clergy, seminarians, postulants, and laypersons who support the mission of the Ordinariate, who minister in various environments to proclaim the core conviction of the society, “God is love.”
5. Episcopal Authority
In keeping with the Ignatian principle (expressed in his letter to the Church at Smyrna) that nothing be done without a bishop, the activities of the Ordinariate shall, at all times, be governed by a bishop who professes the apostolic faith and possesses apostolic succession through the laying on of hands.
6. Bounds of Service
Without prejudice to the needs the exist throughout the world, it is deemed most prudent at the time of the Ordinariate's formation to accept members nominally resident in the United States of America who are principally English-speaking or who are functionally bilingual.
A. The term nominally resident is used to ensure the ability of the Ordinariate to sponsor members and ministries that may have some international component, such as a chaplaincy or a missionary work, of an individual who remains rooted geographically in the United States.
7. Lingua Franca
Without prejudice to the global nature of the Church and her linguistic diversity, it is deemed most prudent at the time of the formation of the Ordinariate to declare the lingua franca of the Ordinariate to be American English. All documents and liturgical texts shall be promulgated in American English, and translated as necessary.