The Old Catholic tradition dates from the 17th Century

Jansenists in Europe through France and The Netherlands, specifically

Utrecht. When members of the Roman Catholic Church encounter
Old Catholic Churches for the first time, they are often surprised to
learn that Catholic denominations exist apart from Rome.
Understandably, questions are raised about the validity of Orders and
Sacraments administered by Old Catholics. Assenting to a petition
made by the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad III and Bishop Heribert of
Utrecht, Pope Eugene III, in 1145 A.D. granted the Cathedral Chapter of
Utrecht the right to elect successors to the See in times of vacancy.
The Fourth Lateran Council confirmed this privilege in 1215, known at
"the Leonine Privilege" after Pope Leo. The autonomous character of
the Catholic Church in the Netherlands was further demonstrated
when a second grant by Pope Leo X, Debitum Pastoralis, conceded to
Philip of Burgundy, 57th Bishop of Utrecht, that neither he nor his
successors, nor any of their clergy or laity, should ever, in the first
instance, have his cause evoked to any external tribunal, not even
under pretense of any apostolic letters whatever; and that all such
proceedings should be, ipso facto, null and void. This papal concession,
in 1520 reconfirmed in 1717, was of the greatest importance in defense
of the rights of the Church.
The emergence of the Utrecht Succession from which the Old
Catholic bishops descend commenced with the consecration of Abp.
Petrus Johannes Meindaerts of Utrecht on October 17, 1739, following
the Jansenist break with Rome that reached its culmination in The
Netherlands in 1724. The name “Old” Catholic came from the view
that Old Catholics were remaining with the "old" original teachings of
the undivided catholic and apostolic church – as a way of denying the
“new dogmas”, which were viewed as a break with the continuity of
tradition and orthodoxy and could not be regarded as truly catholic in
any sense.
German, Austrian and Swiss Old Catholics, broke away from
union with Rome following the First Vatican Council in 1870 because
they objected to the dogma of papal infallibility. The formation of the
Old Catholic communion of Germans, Austrians and Swiss began in
1870 at a public meeting held in Nuremberg under the leadership of A.
Dolinger. Four years later episcopal succession was established with
ordination of an Old Catholic German bishop by a prelate of the
Church of Utrecht. In line with the later "Declaration of Utrecht" of
1889, they accepted the first seven oecumenical councils and doctrine
formulated before 1054, but rejected subjection to the pope and a
number of Roman Catholic doctrines and practices. This position is
later summarized in the Declaration of Utrecht of 1889:

THE DECLARATION OF UTRECHT. A TRANSLATION OF THE

PROFESSION OF FAITH, OR DECLARATION, FORMULATED BY
THE OLD CATHOLIC BISHOPS ASSEMBLED AT UTRECHT.
SEPTEMBER 24TH, 1889

We adhere faithfully to the Rule of Faith laid down by St. Vincent of Lerins
in these terms: "Id teneamus, ubique quod semper, quod ab onmibus
creditum est; hoc est etenim vere pro-prieque catholicum." For this
reason we persevere in professing the faith of the primitive Church, as
formulated in the ecumenical symbols and specified precisely by the
unanimously accepted decisions of the Ecumenical Councils held in
the undivided Church of the first thousand years.
We therefore reject the decrees of the so-called Council of the Vatican,
which were promulgated on July 18th, 1870 concerning the
infallibility and the universal Episcopate of the Bishop of Rome,
decrees which contradict the faith of the ancient canonical constitution
by attributing to the Pope the plenitude of ecclesiastical powers over
all Dioceses and over all the faithful. By denial of his primatial
jurisdiction, we do not wish to deny the historic primacy which
several Ecumenical Councils and the Fathers of the ancient Church
have attributed to the Bishop of Rome by recognizing him as the
Primus inter pares.
We also reject the dogma of the Immaculate Conception promulgated by
Pius IX in 1854 in defiance of the Holy Scriptures and the
contradiction to the tradition of the first centuries.
As for other Encyclicals published by the Bishops of Rome in recent times;
for example, the Bulls Unigenitus and Auctorem fidei, and the
Syllabus of 1864, we reject them on all such points as are in the
contradiction of the doctrine of the primitive Church, and we do not
recognize them as binding on the conscience of the faithful. We also
renew the ancient protest of the Catholic Church of Holland against
 the errors of the Roman Curia, and against its attacks upon the rights
of national Churches.
We refuse to accept the decrees of the Council of Trent in matters of
discipline, and as for the dogmatic decisions of that Council, accept
them only so far as they are in harmony with the teaching of the
primitive Church.
Considering that the Holy Eucharist has always been the true central point of
Catholic worship, we consider it our duty to declare that we maintain
with perfect fidelity the ancient Catholic doctrine concerning the
Sacrament of the Altar, by believing that we receive the Body and
Blood of our Savior Jesus Christ under the species of bread and wine.
The Eucharistic celebration in the church is neither a continual
repetition nor a renewal of the expiatory sacrifice which Jesus offered
once for all upon the Cross, and it is the act by which we represent
upon earth and appropriate to ourselves the one offering which Jesus
Christ makes in Heaven, according to the Epistle to the Hebrews
ix.11, 12 for the salvation of redeemed humanity, by appearing for us
in the presence of God (Heb. ix. 24). The character of the Holy
Eucharist being thus understood, it is, at the same time, a sacrificial
feast, by means of which the faithful, in receiving the Body and Blood
of our Savior, enter into communion with one another (I Cor. x. 17).
We hope that Catholic theologians, in maintaining the faith of the undivided
Church, will succeed in establishing an agreement upon all such
questions as caused controversy ever since the Churches became
divided. We exhort the priests under our jurisdiction to teach, both by
preaching and by instruction of the young, especially the essential
Christian truths professed by all Christian confessions, to avoid, in
discussing controversial doctrines, any violation of truth or charity,
and in word and deed to set an example to the members of our
churches in accordance with the spirit of Jesus Christ our Savior.
By maintaining and professing faithfully the doctrine of Jesus Christ, by
refusing to admit those errors which by the fault of men have crept
into the Catholic Church, by laying aside the abuses in ecclesiastical
matters, together with the worldly tendencies of hierarchy, we believe
that we shall be able to combat efficaciously the great evils of our day,
which are unbelief and indifference in matters of religion.

In more recent times, the principal question has been related to the
validity of the orders of Old Catholic clergy, rather than focusing on
doctrinal issues. Commencing in the 1970's, it became clear that the
Holy See, as a matter of oecumenism, recognized the validity of Old
Catholic orders, commencing with a Concordat between Pope Paul VI
and Archbishop Glazmaker of Utrecht, in which each recognized the
Catholic validity of each other's churches and the validity of one
another's Holy Sacraments. This was followed in the publication in
August 2000 of the Declaration of the Congregation for the Doctrine of
the Faith Dominum Iesus, dated June 16, 2000, ratified by Pope John
Paul II and signed by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger which impliedly
recognized the validity of the Old Catholic orders in the following
terms:

"The Churches which, while not existing in perfect communion

with the Catholic Church, remain united to her by means of the closest
bonds, that is, by apostolic succession and a valid Eucharist, are true
particular Churches."
* * * *
"Therefore, these separated Churches and communities as such ... have
by no means been deprived of significance and importance in the
mystery of salvation. For the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from
using them as means of salvation which derive their efficacy from the
very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Catholic Church." IV.
Unicity and Unity of the Church 17.

One noted Roman Catholic commentator and canon lawyer,

Thomas P. Doyle, O.P., has written:
"When a Catholic sacred minister is unavailable and there is
urgent spiritual necessity, Catholics may receive the Eucharist,
penance, or anointing from sacred ministers of non-Catholic
denominations whose Holy Orders are considered valid by the
Catholic Church. This includes all Eastern Orthodox priests, as well as
priests of the Old Catholic or Polish National Church." Rights and
Responsibilities, A Catholics' Guide to the New Code of Canon Law, p.
44.

In 2002, Edouard Cardinal Gagnon, issued a statement regarding

Old Catholic orders:
 Statement of Edouard, Cardinal Gagnon, on the validity of Old
Catholic Holy Orders

À qui de droit :

Après avoir étudié la documentation relative à Mgr André Letellier et à

ses prédécesseurs dans la succession épiscopale, je suis convaincu qu’il a
été validement consacré évêque.

Il ne m’appartient pas de me prononcer sur les rapports de

l’organisation, incorporée sous le nom de « Église Catholique
Charismatique du Canada » avec les Conférences des Évêques
Catholiques du Canada et du Québec.

Mais rien ne m’autorise à douter de la validité de l’ordination épiscopale

de Mgr André Letellier par Mgr André Barbeau et de celle de Mgr
Barbeau par l’Évêque Charles Ignace Brearley, Primat de l’Église des «
Vieux Catholiques », ayant son siège en Angleterre. Les ordinations des
« Vieux Catholiques » sont généralement considérées comme celles des
évêques Orthodoxes.

J’ai connu Mgr Barbeau il y a plus de 60 ans au Grand Séminaire de

Montréal. J’ai eu peu de contacts avec lui par la suite, ayant exercé mon
ministère loin d’ici. Mais il m’a toujours été connu comme un homme de
prière, un mystique. Et je crois que ses disciples sont aussi, avant tout,
des hommes de prière.

+ Édouard Cardinal Gagnon, p.s.s.

Montréal, 6 mai 2002

Translation:

To whom it may concern:

After having  studied the  documentation about Mgr André Letellier and
his predecessors in episcopal succession, I am convinced that he has
been validly  consecrated a bishop.  
It  is not my intention  to rule on the reports of the  organization,
incorporated under the name of Catholic Charismatic Church of Canada
with the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Canada and of Québec.

But nothing allows  me to  doubt the validity of episcopal ordination of

Mgr André Letellier by Archbishop André Barbeau and that of
Archbishop Barbeau by Archbishop  Ignatius Charles Brearley, Primate
of the  Church of the "Old Catholics" having its seat in England. The
ordinations of the "Old Catholics " are generally considered to be the
same as those of Orthodox bishops.

I have known Archbishop Barbeau for more than 60 years since our time
at the Grand Seminary of Montreal.    I have had little contact with him
thereafter, having exercised my ministry far from here.   But  he has
always been known to me as a man of prayer, a mystic.  And I think that
his disciples are also, above all, men of prayer. 

+  Edouard Cardinal Gagnon, p.s.s.

Montreal, 6 May 2002