 This gave rise to many speculations about his work and the Old Catholic Church here in the United States which no doubt contributed to many of the problems encountered by Old Catholicism in its efforts to establish itself in the new country.By the 1950s, several factors combined to threaten the continued viability of the church, including the assimilation of ethnic groups served by the church into the mainstream culture, a reduced interest among Americans in religion in general, and internal rivalries.For a time, plans were explored to merge with the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, but Carfora ultimately abandoned the idea.