by Sandro Magister Show DescriptionSandro Magister comments on a book authorized by founders of the Neocatechumenal Way which presents a doctrinal and liturgical defense of the movement. He concludes that the criticisms about how they celebrate the Mass remain intact. Publisher & Datewww.chiesa.org, January 24, 2005 Among the new movements that have arisen within the Catholic Church in recent decades – on the "dangers" of which an editorial in "La Civiltà Cattolica" sounded the alarm on August 19, 2004 – there is one that is under closer observation than the rest: the Neocatechumenal Way. Begun in 1964 in Spain by Francisco "Kiko" Argüello and Carmen Hernández (see photo), the Way has seen impressive growth throughout the world. On June 29, 2002, the Holy See approved its statutes. But that did not end the scrutiny. That same year, on September 21, John Paul II reminded the heads of the Way:
In effect, the catechisms written by Kiko and Carmen, which provide a model for all of the Way, have never been made public, and are still under examination by the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Written "in a somewhat chaotic way, with unclear theoretical formulations, with recourse to paradoxes, using images more than concepts" (this is one evaluation of the original draft, made by the Vatican Congregation for the Clergy), these catechetical writings have lent themselves over the years to accusations of doctrinal error, which a reviewed and corrected publication should put to rest. But such a publication still seems a long way off. Notably, up until now there has been only a synthesis of the first fifteen catecheses and the following two days of life in common; that is, of the birth phase of each new community: two months out of a span of fifteen years, which is the minimum duration of catechesis in the Way. The synthesis was made public – evidently at the behest of Kiko and Carmen, and using their unpublished texts – in Italy at the end of 2004, by a priest of the Way, Piergiovanni Devoto, in a book entitled: "The Neocatechumenate: A Christian Initiation for Adults," printed by the Chirico publishing house in Naples. The book is an open apology for the Neocatechumenal Way, in response to the criticisms advanced up to now, even by authoritative bishops and cardinals, before and after the approval of the statutes. Lending weight to this apology is the ardent preface written by Archbishop Paul Josef Cordes, president of the pontifical council "Cor Unum," and even more so the innumerable attestations of esteem made by John Paul II, which are compiled in the second part of the book. * * * The Neocatechumenals customarily celebrate the Sunday mass on Saturday evening, separately from the parish community to which they belong. That's not all. Given that each Neocatechumenal community corresponds to a precise stage of the Way, each community of twenty or thirty persons has its own mass. If there are ten communities in a parish, on Saturday evening there will be ten discrete masses, in separate locations. Since 2002, the statutes approved by the Holy See have obligated these masses to be "open also to other members of the faithful" (art. 13.3), but in point of fact nothing has changed. And then, above all, it is the way in which the masses are celebrated that draws strong reservations both within and outside of the Vatican. On October 17, 2004, John Paul II decreed "the year of the eucharist" for the entire Church, with the purpose of revitalizing the celebration of the mass. To this end, he wrote the apostolic letter "Mane Nobiscum Domine," having already published in 2003 the encyclical "Ecclesia de Eucharistia," followed on March 25, 2004, by the instruction "Redemptionis Sacramentum," by the Congregation for Divine Worship,"on some matters that must be observed and avoided in regard to the most holy eucharist." There is a glaring contrast between the encyclical, the instruction, and the indications for the eucharistic year on the one hand, and the liturgical practices of the Neocatechumenal Way on the other. The book "authorized" by Fr. Devoto seeks to defend the Way from some of the recurrent accusations: in particular, that it obscures the sacrificial nature of the mass and minimizes the permanent real presence of Christ in the consecrated bread. And to justify the liturgical praxis of the Way, the author refers to unpublished texts by Kiko and Carmen, in which they recount to their disciples their own highly particular history of the mass, according to which the great merit of the Way is that of restoring the celebration of the mass to its original purity. But this historical reconstruction – with the practices which are derived from it – is itself the most questionable point of the apology. Here by way of example are some passages taken from pages 71-77:
* * * The masses are almost always celebrated, community by community, not in the churches, but in parish buildings. Centuries of sacred art and architecture are thus nullified. And these are substituted by new decor typical of the Way, dominated by a large, square dinner table at the center of the room. The images used are in the style of the founder, Kiko, who is a Byzantine-influenced painter. And so are the songs. The musical accompaniment is provided by the guitar, defined as the instrument "closest to the ancient Hebrew psalter." The celebration is formally open to all. In reality, at the moment of entrance there is an exchange of greetings, presentations, and applause, which acts as a barrier to those outside the community. In the liturgy of the Word, each of the readings is preceded and followed by long "admonitions" from the catechists, which are then followed by "echoes" from many of those present. The priest's homily is barely distinguishable from the rest of the comments. The eucharistic liturgy is also pulled free from the norms in order to represent instead the presumed physical actions of the primitive apostolic community: with a huge loaf of bread mixed and baked according to Kiko's precise instructions, with wine which passes from hand to hand in decanters, with a communion that takes place as fellow sitting diners eating and drinking around a dinner table... * * * Various bishops have expressed reservations, even recently: for example, that of Brescia, Giulio Sanguineti. In 2004, he wrote in a letter that "we must avoid that the eucharist celebrated in the Neocatechumenal communities be perceived as the 'true' eucharist in comparison with the one celebrated for all the faithful." Other bishops are instead, and in growing numbers, enthusiasts of the Way. They admire its power of propagation and the flowering of vocations. John Paul II is one of their most convicted admirers. In the Vatican, they receive strong support from Cardinal Crescenzio Sepe, prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples. But the Neocatechumenals are meeting with some luck here and there even outside the Church. Since they constructed their worldwide citadel on Mount Korazym, above the Sea of Galilee, which was inaugurated by the pope in person in 2000 and is heavily visited by their pilgrims, they have been in great favor in Israel, especially in some of the circles of observant Judaism. In 2004, the Neocatechumenal Way was even on the brink of receiving from the Israeli government the concession of permanent use of the hall of the Cenacle in Jerusalem. This concession was blocked in extremis. The Israeli government is now studying the idea of giving the use of the Cenacle to the pope. __________ Piergiovanni Devoto, “Il neocatecumenato. Un’iniziazione cristiana per adulti”, presentazione di Paul Josef Cordes, Chirico, Napoli, 2004, pp. 272, euro 16,50. __________ > Neocatechumenal Way And the website of their citadel in Israel: > Domus Galilaeae The Way is currently present in more than 900 dioceses in the world, with more than 17,000 communities in 6,000 parishes. More than 1,000 priests have been ordained into its ranks, and 1,500 others are being prepared in more than 50 "Redemptoris Mater" seminaries. __________ > Saturday Night Masses for Everyone! Carmen and Kiko's Church of Many Rooms (5.12.2002) Pier Giorgio Liverani, of the diocese of Rome, is a director of Catholic Action and of the Movement for Life. He was once the editor of "Avvenire," the newspaper of the Italian bishops' conference. __________ Go to the English home page of > www.chiesa.espressonline.it, to access the latest articles and links to other resources. Sandro Magister’s e-mail address is [email protected] This item 6843 digitally provided courtesy of CatholicCulture.org Is Neocatechumenal Way Catholic?The Neocatechumenal Way, also known as the Neocatechumenate, or NCW (colloquially, The Way or Neo-Cats) is an association of the Christian faithful within the Catholic Church. It was formed in Madrid in 1964 by Kiko Argüello and Carmen Hernández.
What is the Neocatechumenal movement in the Catholic Church?The Neocatechumenal Way, or the Neocatechumenate, is a loosely organized Catholic renewal and catechetical apostolate founded in 1962 in the Palomeras slums of Madrid by Kiko Argüello, who serves as a chief catechist of the movement and is currently a consultor to the Pontifical Council on the Laity.
What is catechesis?Catechesis is an education in the faith of children, young people and adults which includes especially the teaching of Christian doctrine imparted, generally speaking, in an organic and systematic way, with a view to initiating the hearers into the fullness of Christian life.
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