The Old Catholic Church of the Americas is an independent Catholic group that welcomes all people! We are a voluntary union of Independent and Old Catholic Bishops conducting episcopal ministry in the Old Catholic Tradition throughout the United States and Latin America. The Old Catholic Church of the Americas is a catholic communion that is separate from the Roman Catholic Church and is not governed by the Pope. Our Synod of Bishops governs both the sacred and temporal affairs of the Church with principles borrowed from the Old Catholic Tradition. We are patterned after the Union of Utrecht churches, and each diocese, ministry, or religious order admitted to the Synod remains autonomous except in matters undertaken by the Synod while sitting in Council. We respect the dignity of all people, practicing radical inclusion.