The following was posted on the ORCC List by Father Warren Thomas, in response to an inquiry regarding the Papal Bull Debitum Pastoralis of Leo X. [posted here with the permission of Fr. Thomas].

The Old Roman Catholic Church, strictly speaking, is NOT a Church. It is a jurisdiction within the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ upon the Apostles.  They did not leave the peace and unity of the Church. The Pope at Rome, + Eugene III, in 1145 granted them permission to elect our own Bishops without the need for a Papal Mandate. This did not mean they were outside the Church, only that they were totally self-governing and, autocephalous. It is important to note, at that historical time, the Western Church was not officially known as the Roman Catholic Church and they were not known as the Old Roman Catholic Church. In 1215, the Fourth       Lateran Council confirmed their autocephalous status within the Church. Pope Leo X in the Papal Bull, "Debitum Pastoralis" in 1520 again confirmed they had the right to consecrate Bishops without a Papal Mandate which is the definition of an Autocephalous jurisdiction. An Autonomous jurisdiction is basically self- governing but cannot consecrate Bishops without a Mandate from the Patriarch. In 1717, the Theological Faculty at Paris acknowledged their autocephalous status, which came to be known as the Leonine Privilege.
 

The Old Catholics, in 1870, fled the suppression of Pope Pius IX and the innovative doctrine of Papal Infallibility. The Old Roman Catholics gave them shelter, Episcopal Protection and Episcopal Consecration. These are not the same groups.
 
In 1853, Pope Pius IX decided there was no legal way to defeat their autocephalous status, so he installed Bishops to compete with the canonically established Bishops. The people gave them the name Old Roman Catholic to differentiate between them and the new Bishops, which were illegally installed. This was part of the long-term plan of Pope Pius IX to gain total control over the Church and to avoid sharing authority with other Bishops or allow for appeal to General Councils. Seventeen years later he declared himself infallible and formally eliminated the appeal to any General Council.
 
The charge was layed against them that they were Jansenist.  There is even a web site put up by a seminarian in the RCC (he is now a Priest) which says they are Jansenist and confuses Old Catholics with ORCC.  The author of the web site has no interest in learning he truth (typical RCC) and continues to bask in his ignorance.
 
The web site states the Old Roman Catholics were founded by Cornelius Jansen and that the Old Roman Catholics are Jansenist. Both statements are incorrect and betray the popular discrimination and prejudice against the ORCC by many Roman Catholics. This also testifies to the unending talent for "historical revisionism" so aptly applied by many that wish to discredit the Old Roman Catholics. What DID happen, was this; in 1691 some members of the Jesuits falsely accused Bishop Codde of fostering the Jansenist Heresy. A Papal Commission was established by Pope Innocent XII to investigate these serious allegations. The Papal Commission found the charges to be spurious and without merit. These same Jesuits regrouped. In 1700, after the death of Pope Innocent XII they were able to prevail upon the new Pope, Pope Clement XI, to reinvestigate the charges of fostering Jansenism. A second Papal Commission was established and confirmed the original finding of the first Papal Commission which found the charges were without merit. What could not be achieved through administrative remedy or a legal court, they attempted to achieve through political pressure and intrigue. One short year after the second Papal Commission and the second finding of innocence, the Jesuits were able to obtain an order from Pope Clement XI which attempted to prevent the presiding Bishop, + Codde, from appointing a successor. Knowing this was illegal, invalid and without moral effect, the Catholic world rejected the order. Faced with the disapproval of Church leaders everywhere, + Clement XI rescinded the order in 1703 without admitting error. [Popes do not make mistakes] Because of this, the Pope found himself isolated with only the devious and corrupt accusers of Bishop Codde to console him.

On March 19, 1704 His Eminence Peter Codde retired in the hopes that a new Bishop would usher in a new spirit of cooperation and reconciliation. On December 18, 1710 our Heavenly Father sent His Angels to rescue this Sainted Bishop from this earthly purgatory and provide him rest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

In 1717 the Theologians from around the world were determined that no new attacks would be made and publicly confirmed their autocephalous status at the Theological Faculty at Paris which became known as the Leonine Privilege. The original charge of fostering Jansenism was made to discredit them and the continuing charge is born of ignorance and discrimination. Knowing the truth cannot be used against them, some resort to lies and revisionist history to attack us.
 
Recently one group of ORCC actually have adopted the Jansenist heresy.  The North American Old Roman Catholic Church under Bishop Facione had on their web page they were now Jansenist.  Unless they have dropped that in the last year or so that is the way it still is with them.  They took in a new Bishop and the new Bishop is the one that put it up on the web some time back.
 
The Old Catholics in Utrecht have betrayed the Old Roman Catholics and the larger church by joining with the Anglicans in something like 1932.  From that day on, many Anglicans became valid and many Old Catholics lost their validity.

This is one of those Encyclicals Rome does not want advertised., because this is one of the most misapplied of all the Canonical Letters. There is a group called the Ancient Catholic Church who claim it was addressed to them or about them and from them came the Old Catholics.  This is a false statement.  It is not even about the Old Catholics AT ALL - and never was.  The Old Catholics had not even been thought of at the time.  What this IS about is the group that came to be known as Old Roman Catholics.  The Old Roman Catholics are NOT Old Catholics, although today you would never know it.  Try and find the Bull by Blessed Eugene III?  That would be a hard one to find for the same reasons.  It is part of a cover up, plain and simple.    If too many read it then the RCC could not call the Old Roman Catholics schismatic.  The Old Roman Catholics gave the Old Catholics their Orders, but that is a well guarded secret too.  There is more fraud going on than carter has little liver pills and it is still going on and mutates every few years.  A group of social misfits without valid Orders are always trying to claim legitimacy by perpetrating this fraud.