User:X!/Mediation/sandbox/Neocatechumenal Way

The Neocatechumenal Way is an entity within the Catholic Church dedicated to the Christian formation of adults. Taking its inspiration from the catechumenate of the Early Church, by which converts from paganism were prepared for baptism, it provides a post-baptismal catechumenate to adults who are already members of the Church.

The Neocatechumenate was initiated in 1964 by the Spanish painter Francisco (Kiko) Argüello as a response to the Second Vatican Council. The Neocatechumenate is implemented in small, parish-based communities of between 20-50 people. There are around 20,000 such communities throughout the World, with an estimated 1 million members.

The NC Way is known to be one of the most controversial entities within the Catholic church because of its liturgical and doctrinal differences, as well as obedience issues.

History of the Neocatechumenal Way
The Pontifical Council for the Laity's decree officially describes the history of the movement as follows: “The Neocatechumenal Way began in 1964 in the slums of Palomeras Altas, Madrid, through the work of Mr. Francisco (Kiko) Argüello and Ms. Carmen Hernández who, at the request of the poor with whom they were living, began to proclaim to them the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As time passed, this kerygma was embodied in a catechetical synthesis, founded on what is called the tripod: "Word of God-Liturgy-Community", that seeks to lead people to fraternal communion and mature faith.

This new catechetical experience, born in the wake of the renewal inspired by the Second Vatican Council, attracted the keen interest of Archbishop Casimiro Morcillo, who encouraged the initiators of the Way to spread it to the parishes who asked for it. This experience of evangelization thus spread gradually through the Archdiocese of Madrid and to other Spanish dioceses.

In 1968, the initiators of the Neocatechumenal Way arrived in Rome and settled in the Borghetto Latino. With the permission of Cardinal Angelo Dell'Acqua, then Vicar General of His Holiness for the city and district of Rome, the first catechesis began in the parish of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament and the Canadian Martyrs. Since then, the NC Way has continued to spread to dioceses around the world and even to mission countries”

In 1974, thanks to Archbishop Annibale Bugnini, the Congregation for Divine Worship publicized on their official magazine, a brief note Praeclarum exemplar appreciating the works of the Neocatechumenal communities.

Nature and Mission of the Neocatechumenal Communities
According to its first Statute (expired in 2007), the Neocatechumenal Way “is at the service of the Bishops as a form of diocesan implementation of Christian initiation and of ongoing education in faith, in accordance with the indications of the Second Vatican Council and the Magisterium of the Church”.

It is made up of a "post-baptismal catechumenate" (or baptismal catechumenate if the members have not received the sacrament of baptism), an ongoing education in faith and a service of catechesis.

The Neocatechumenal Way is implemented in the dioceses under the direction of the diocesan Bishop and with the guidance of the Responsible Team of the Way “according to the lines proposed by its initiators”.

Leadership of the Neocatechumenal Way
The Neocatechumenate is led by the International Responsible Team of the Way, which comprises the Initiators, Kiko Argüello and Carmen Hernández, together with Father Mario Pezzi, a priest of the Diocese of Rome. Under the terms of the 2002 statute, this team will remain in place until the demise of its members, after which an electoral college of senior neocatechumenal catechists will elect a new team, with a mandate to lead the NC Way for a period of 7 years.

Leadership at national and regional level is given by around 700 teams of "Itinerant Catechists", comprising a priest and 2 or 3 lay people, appointed and supervised by the International Responsible Team. Depending on the number of communities in a particular area, a team of Itinerant Catechists may be responsible for the implementation of the NC Way in a country, a group of countries or a region of a country.

Pope John Paul II summarized the role of the Itinerant Catechists in a Private Audience for 2000 priests of the Neocatechumenal Communities in December 1985 (reported in the Italian edition of Osservatore Romano, 11 December 1985)'':"'They contribute by forming the first neocatechumenal communities of a parish, and are supposed to maintain regular contact with the Bishops of the diocese in which they work; the itinerant teams preserve a constant link with the responsibles of the Neocatechumenal Way, visiting periodically the communities they catechized and taking care of the development of the Neocatechumenal Way in the territory assigned to them, being fully faithful to the charism given to the initiators and obedient to the local Ordinary.'"

The Itinerant Catechists do not make any formal commitment to their missionary role, and are free to resign at any moment.

Missionary Activity
In front of the secularization of Northern Europe and vast areas in the world, the Initiators of the Neocatechumenal Way, have began the experience of families in mission. This charisma serves to establish the presence of the Catholic Church in countries where there is none (this is referred as Implantatio Ecclesiae) or to strengthen the presence of Catholic communities in particularly difficult areas.

About two-hundred families met with Pope Benedict XVI asking for the missionary mandate before beginning their mission to mainly France, Belgium, Germany and China on January 12, 2006 bringing the number of “Families in Mission” from the Neocatechumenal Way to over five-hundred in the entire world. . The Pope also spoke about the "certain norms" contained in the letter from the Congregation for Divine Worship on the celebration of the Holy Eucharist in the Neocatechumenal communities. He explained that the purpose of these norms is to make the apostolate of the Neocatechumenal Way "even more effective" in communion with all the People of God.

In March of 2008 the Neocatechumenal Way held a meeting with nine cardinals, including Cardinal Paul Josef Cordes, and Cardinal Stanislaw Rylko, and 160 European bishops who gathered March 24-29 at the Domus Galilaeae International Center on the Mount of Beatitudes in Galilee. Cardinal Schönborn said that during the last 40 years Europe has said ‘no’ to its future three times: in 1968 when it rejected 'Humanae Vitae'; then, 20 years later, with the legalization of abortion; and today with homosexual marriages. He also called the Neocatechumenal Way an answer of the Holy Spirit to this situation. A joint declaration from the bishops said ''Here we have an important proposal, the proposal of the Neocatechumenal Way, which is to renew the life of the family.

The Redemptoris Mater Seminaries
Kiko and Carmen also started the "Redemptoris Mater" Seminaries. These diocesan seminaries are presented as a fruit of the Second Vatican Council as well as a fruit of the prophetical vision of Pope John Paul II and accept only priestly vocations coming from the Neocatechumenal Way. The idea to establish these seminaries started in Rome, the diocese of the Holy Father, to establish a seminary with these characteristics: In 1988, the first Redemptoris Mater Seminary was erected by Cardinal Poletti, Vicar of the Holy Father in Rome.
 * international, i.e. with vocations coming from different nations;
 * missionary, i.e. that upon ordination, the priests are available to go wherever the ordinary sends them.

The seminarians in these seminaries have the same educational formation as the other diocesan seminarians, following the directives of the nations where they are erected, and the Neocatechumenal Way guidelines on liturgy and catechesis. The "Redemptoris Mater" Seminaries are seminaries of the diocese and under the full jurisdiction of the ordinary. Today, 73 Redemptoris Mater Seminaries have been started in the world, which have led to ordain more than 1200 Neocatechumenal priests.

The most significant aspect of these Seminaries lies in their relationship to the Neocatechumenal Way, as a Way of maturing towards an adult faith: this Way prepares and awakens vocations in many young people before they enter the seminary. It accompanies them during their time of formation; once ordained as presbyters it continues to sustain them in their permanent formation. The Neocatechumenal Way itself then becomes a means of evangelisation for the ‘far away’, an instrument for the "implantatio ecclesiae", through the presence of families that accompany them and help them in their mission.

In April 2008, the Japanese Bishops' Conference sent a delegation “to discuss with Pope Benedict XVI "the serious problem" they are having with the Neocatechumenal Way and its seminary in Takamatsu diocese”. Peter Takeo Okada, Archbishop of Tokyo, said that “in the small Catholic Church of Japan, the powerful sect-like activity of Way members is divisive and confrontational. It has caused sharp painful division and strife within the Church. We are struggling with all our strength to overcome the problem but feel that if a solution is to be found, the consideration of Your Holiness for the Church in Japan will be of the utmost importance and direly needed”.

The World Youth Days
The World Youth Day has been periodically organized by the Roman Catholic Church, during which the Pope summoned youths from all over the world to a chosen city. The Neocatechumenal Way has been an active organizer within the World Youth Days and has rallied youths from the Neocatechumenal Communities to attend the World Youth Day. During the last World Youth Day, held in Cologne in August 2005, Neocatechumenals claim that nearly one hundred thousand youth from the NC Way met in Cologne (nearly about 10% of the total of all the youths from around the World who attended the event).

After the meeting with the Pope held for all the youths, the initiators of the Neocatechumenal Way organized a meeting with the Neocatechumenal Way youths, at the end of which a call for vocations was made by Kiko Argüello, who said that in Bonn around one thousand five hundred (1,500) young men answered the call for the priesthood, together with another nine hundred (900) young women who felt called to enter a religious order.

These young men and women, began a process of discernment in their own dioceses and NC Way communities (most of the priestly vocations go to a "Redemptoris Mater" seminary), which may lead to priesthood or consecrated life.

At a meeting in Loreto in September 2007 led by Pope Benedict XVI, which was organised as a run-up to the WYD in Sydney in 2008, more than 100,000 Neocatechumenal Way youths exclusively from Europe attended the meeting. The next day, during the meeting organised for the youths of the Neocatechumenal Way, according to the organizers, two thousand young men and one thousand two hundred young women from Europe answered the call for consecrated life.

Since the meeting with Pope John Paul II in 1984 the Way has had vocational calls in order to “harvest the fruits” which grew in the encounters with the Holy Father. When the call was made in Loreto some 2,000 man and 1,200 women stood up showing their willingness to become priests or to live a consecrated life and received a blessing (numbers were stated by Kiko; another pro-Neocatechumenal source reports the actual overall number being around but not larger than one thousand, including “7-year-old children and people doing it only for fun” ).

The Statutes: a Partial Approval
The Statutes of the Neocatechumenal Way approved in June 2002 by Pontifical Council for the Laity were marked as ad experimentum (Latin words meaning "experimental version") for five years, they thus expired in June 2007. They required the approval of an unpublished Catechetical Directory containing a version of the catechetical statements of the Way without heretical statements or doctrinal errors ; currently the Holy See Congregations are still verifying and correcting the documentation of the Way (more than thirteen volumes). As the name states, the Statutes described what the Way "has to do", while the Catechetical Directory will describe the method and the doctrines of the Way.

In the days following the approval of the Statutes, Pope John Paul II did not mention the event ; only on September 21st, 2002, he will mention the Statutes telling to Neocatechumenals that “it is now the task of the competent offices of the Holy See to examine the Catechetical Directory and the catechetical and liturgical practices of the Way. I am sure that its members willingly and generously support the directives they will receive from these authoritative sources”.

The ad experimentum Statutes expired in June 2007; to date, neither a Catechetical Directory nor a final edition of the Statutes have been approved.

According to rumors in many Neocatechumenal communities, a definitive approval of the NC Way was expected in June 2007 (news coming from an interview with Kiko Argüello on the Spanish newspaper La Razón on May 28, 2007 ), then in September 2007, then in February 2008, and finally Easter 2008. Korazym, an Italian news website which always praised the Way, reported those rumors and commented: “Neocatechumenals' Statutes case has become a telenovela”, also highlighting that the rumors were mostly originated by Kiko Argüello.

Another ad experimentum release of the Statutes is expected in late May 2008, for 7 years (thus expiring in May 2015).

Liturgical Concerns and "Holy Father's Decisions"
The Holy See is mainly concerned about Neocatechumenal liturgies. On December 1st, 2005, a few days after Benedict XVI met in a private audience with Kiko Argüello, Carmen Hernández and fr. Mario Pezzi, Cardinal Francis Cardinal Arinze sent to Argüello, Hernández and father Pezzi a letter containing “Holy Father's decisions“ about Neocatechumenal liturgies, requiring that “in the celebration of the Holy Mass, the Neocatechumenal Way shall accept and follow the liturgical books approved by the Church, without omitting or adding anything“ and stating that:


 * 1) ”at least one Sunday per month, the communities of the Neocatechumenal Way must participate in the Holy Mass of the parish community” ;
 * 2) ”as for any admonitions issued before the readings, these must be brief”;
 * 3) ”the homily to the priest or deacon is reserved to the priest or deacon;
 * 4) about "echoes", that they “be brief and not take the place of an homily”;
 * 5) ”on the exchange of peace, permission is granted to the Neocatechumenal Way to continue using the indult already granted, pending further instructions “;
 * 6) ”on the manner of receiving Holy Communion, a period of transition (not exceeding two years ) is granted to the Neocatechumenal Way to pass from the widespread manner of receiving Holy Communion in its communities to the normal way in which the entire Church receives Holy Communion. This means that the Neocatechumenal Way must begin to adopt the manner of distributing the Body and Blood of Christ that is provided in the liturgical books”.
 * 7) ”in short, the Neocatechumenal Way, in its celebration of the Holy Mass, should follow the approved liturgical books, keeping in mind what is laid out above under the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6”.

The official Neocatechumenal Way Internet website does not publish the letter, but only an interpretation of it by Giuseppe Gennarini , the chief of the Way in the USA.

Criticisms from Roman Catholic World
The Way is praised and encouraged by lots of Bishops and priests; the most known is in the letter Ogniqualvolta by pope John Paul II to mgr. Paul Josef Cordes (dated August 1990), where he wrote: “having seen the documentation you sent me, welcoming the request addressed to me, I acknowledge the Neocatechumenal Way as an itinerary of Catholic formation, valid for our society and for our times”.

In the Roman Catholic Church there are some serious concerns about the NC Way. In 1983, pope John Paul II already told to Neocatechumenal communities: “do not isolate yourself from the Parishes and Dioceses (...) Follow without negligence and without omissions Canonical and Liturgical laws”.

There are four kinds of concerns about the Way, coming from Roman Catholic priests and hierarchy: These aspects are dealt in Roman Catholic Bishops documents and books about the Way written by Roman Catholic priests.
 * 1) doctrine: equivocal and misleading doctrinal statements, sometimes near to heresy;
 * 2) liturgy: serious differences between the Way and the Catholic Church liturgies (large "admonitions" - "introductions" like homilies -, use of a cloth-covered "dinner style" square table instead of the Altar, receiving the Holy Communion while sitting, lengthy and closed-doors liturgies, etc);
 * 3) pastoral: cult-like practices (original catechetical texts kept secret as far as possible; the Way shown as the only way to be Catholic; the length of the Way, often way more than 15-20 years; excess of emphasis on the Old Testament; reduction of the importance of the sacraments; reduction of the devotion to the Virgin Mary; Neocatechumenal catechists considered better than priests and Bishops; cult of personality; "fabricated" Redemptoris Mater priests ; etc);
 * 4) other aspects: ugly chants, negative consideration about Catholic history between Constantine and Second Vatican Council, excessive emphasis about the demon, Messianism , etc.

Neocatechumenals defend themselves accusing biases, badmouthing and misunderstandings, and asserting compatibility between the Way and the Catholic Church. Anyways, only Roman Catholic Church has the right to judge if and how the claimed compatibility does exist. In the following paragraphs there are some doctrinal, liturgical and pastoral considerations from Catholic hierarchy and priests. In some cases, a number of diocesan bishops issued letters or decrees to control this reality at a local level, or regarding the modalities of its liturgies; there were even bishops totally prohibiting the Neocatechumenal Way in their own diocese.

Criticism by Priests and Theologians
The first documented criticism to the Way came in 1983 by mgr. Pier Carlo Landucci. Landucci analyzed the catechism of the NC Way and wrote that, compared to the Catholic Church, in the NC Way “there is not even a single doctrinal statement or practical action which is not deformed; everything is impressively rough and confused, both in theological and biblical aspects, while keeping an evocative attitude of personal engagement“. Landucci stresses that:
 * compared to the Church, in the Neocatechumenal Way “all the fundamental theological truth positions are horribly deformed, and -consequently- also the sacraments”;
 * in the Way, while keeping some truth aspect, “all statements are intended to impress” people, as in a sect ;
 * Neocatechumenal doctrine is “in line with the Protestants negation of the true sacraments”;
 * in the Way there is a “great confusion about theology and Bible, but showing an appearance of sharpness and charisma”;
 * Neocatechumenal people show a “treacherous identification” of the Way and the Vatican II “as if the Vatican II line was (and only was) their”.

Another documented criticism came later by the theologian and philosopher Passionist priest Enrico Zoffoli (1915-1996), who wrote in the last ten years of his life a number of books, articles and letters about the Way. In his Dictionary of Christianity (1992) he wrote about the Neocatechumenals: “''their doctrine is seriously compromised with errors against fundamental dogmatics of the Church, the Popes and the Councils. They negate the Redemption, the sacrifice character of the Eucharist, the transubstantiation, etc... they misunderstand the sin and the Grace concepts... their doctrinal statements are fundamentally wrong''“.

In a letter to the chief of Radio Maria in 1994, Zoffoli reported that already in the late Sixties saint Pio of Pietrelcina defined Kiko Argüello and the Neocatechumenals as “the new false prophets“.

Criticism by Bishops and Cardinals
A number of Roman Catholic Bishops and Cardinals expressed explicit written criticisms against the Way ; a few examples are reported here.

In 1986 Bruno Foresti, Archbishop of Brescia (in northern Italy), wrote that in the Way there is:
 * a “pessimistic idea about human life”;
 * ”bad ideas about other Catholic religious styles”;
 * problems about “sacraments discipline”;
 * a “common disobedience to Bishops” by priests of the NC Way.

In 1995 Silvano Cardinal Piovanelli, Archbishop of Florence wrote that in the parishes where the Way operated there were "tensions" and problems and asked to the Neocatechumenals to stop contrasts.

In 1996 Salvatore Cardinal Pappalardo, Archbishop of Palermo (southern Italy), wrote a letter to all Neocatechumenal communities, and also to all priests of his diocese, to prohibit to Neocatechumenals the “closed-doors liturgies... or anyways "isolated" from other Catholics”; he also wrote that “the Way is not equal to the entire Church... so the Way shall not avoid the Parish liturgies”.

In 1996 Basil Hume, Archbishop of Westminster (UK) refused to ordain fifteen seminary students coming from Neocatechumenal Way, because of their obedience, expected to be more to their communities than to the Bishop.

In 1997 Mervyn Alban Alexander, Bishop of Clifton (UK), prohibited the Neocatechumenal Way in his diocese stating that “the catechetical and evangelisation methods of the "Neo-Catechumenate" are neither beneficial nor appropriate”.

In late 2001 Luigi Bommarito, Archbishop of Catania (Italy), wrote a letter to the Neocatechumenal Way of his diocese stressing that in the Way:
 * the priest is reduced to a simple "liturgical executor";
 * the "pessimism" is substituted to the "Christian hope";
 * there is a deliberate "separation" from the "non-Neocatechumenal Catholics";
 * the "alleged" "insuperable" Neocatechumenal "method";
 * the "serious problems" "emerged in the Parishes where the Way is present";
 * the so-called "scrutinies", seen as "public confessions of sins", like the worst fundamentalist sects.

In 2008 Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, Archbishop of Lima (Peru), in an interview about liturgical abuses, said: “I absolutely do not approve some aspects of the celebration of the Holy Mass by the Neocatechumenals, and I repeat that the liturgy is unique and must be respected by everyone in the same manner“.

Also on April 2008, Cardinal Jorge Medina Estévez (Prefect Emeritus of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments) also criticized Neocatechumenal liturgies, reporting that they effectively disobeyed to the letter of 1 December 2005:
 * “In their liturgies I found weird things and strange issues. The Holy See has asked them to correct and obey; I also ask them to do, because the liturgy is not a property of someone, and not even Kiko Argüello's”
 * “The Holy Communion, seating instead of kneeling (an absolute disrespect to Christ)”
 * “Then the homilies: lay people - I repeat: lay people - do sermons that even if not called "homilies", they indeed are. Only a priest or deacon can. These are dangerous abuses”.

During that same period German Bishop Josef Clemens, the secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, stated that he does not expect the approval of Neocatechumenal statues to happen in near future as the liturgy issues were not yet resolved.

Mgr. Malcolm Ranjith, secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, called “disrespectful towards the Holy Sacrament and the Holy Father” the way Kiko Argüello received the Holy Communion (with arms crossed) by Benedict XVI, and said that “no news about the Statutes”. A similar comment came from mgr. Nicola Bux, a theologian of the same Congregation and mgr. Marco Frisina.

"Very Content with the Norms": a Letter to the Pope (1/2006)
On 17 January 2006, Kiko Argüello, Carmen Hernández and fr. Mario Pezzi sent to pope Benedict XVI a letter in which they claim to be "very content with the norms" about liturgy, but claim the need to "speak with the Bishop of each Diocese" to arrange the participation "at least one Sunday per month", and still praise the Neocatechumenal liturgies, while thanking for the "period of two years" about distributing the Communion (period of transition given in Arinze's letter was expressed as "not exceeding two years", while Kiko, Carmen and Pezzi thank for "granting a period of two years").

Pope meets with Roman Clergy: "Many Complications Still Exist Today" (2/2007)
On Thursday 22 February 2007, the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, met the clergy of Rome. In a question-and-answer session with Roman clergy fr. Gerardo Raul Carcar asked the Pope for advice on how he should integrate movements in order to develop a real ministry of unity in the universal Church.

The Neocatechumenal Way was mentioned briefly by the Pope in the following:"'For example, we ask ourselves whether, after five years of experience, it is possible to confirm definitively the Statutes for the Neocatechumenal Way, whether a trial period is necessary or whether, perhaps, certain elements of this structure need perfecting. In any case, I knew the Neocatechumenals from the very outset. It was a long Way, with many complications that still exist today, but we have found an ecclesial form that has already vastly improved the relationship between the Pastor and the Way. We are going ahead like this! The same can be said for other Movements.'"

The Holy Father cited two rules for movements' growth: respect for the charism, and integration with and service of the Church.

A letter from the Bishops of the Holy Land (2/2007)
Three days later, on the 25, The Catholic Bishops of the Holy Land sent a letter to Kiko saying, amongst other things:
 * 1) Brothers and sisters of the Way: You are welcome in our dioceses.
 * 2) Pursuant to the letter that Pope Benedict XVI addressed to you on January 12, 2006, and the one from the Congregation for Divine Worship on December 1, 2005, was ask you to take your place in the heart of the parish in which you proclaim the Word of God, avoiding making yourselves a group apart.
 * 3) Your first duty, if you want to help the faithful grow in faith, is that of rooting them in the parishes and in their own liturgical traditions in which they have grown up for generations.
 * 4) The rite is like an identification card, and not only one way of praying among others. We implore you to have the charity to understand and respect the attachment of our faithful to their own liturgies.
 * 5) The Eucharist is the sacrament of unity in the parish, and not of fragmentation. And so we ask that the Eucharistic celebrations, in all the Eastern rites as well as in the Latin rite, be presided over always by the pastor, or in the case of the Latin rite, in full agreement with him. “Where the bishop is, there is the Church,” wrote Saint Ignatius of Antioch. Teach the faithful to love their liturgical traditions, and put your charism at the service of unity.
 * 6) We also ask you to undertake a serious study of the language and culture of the people, as a sign of respect for them and as a means of understanding their soul and their history, in the context of the Holy Land: religious, cultural, and national pluralism.

Melkite Leader invites NC Way to "adopt the Melkite Catholic rite" (6/2007)
In June 2007, Abuna Elias Chacour (Melkite Archbishop of the Archeparchy of Acri, Haifa, Nazareth, and all Galilee) has proposed the establishment of a new "branch" of the Neocatechumenal Way "to work specifically in the Eastern-rite Church" (Melkite liturgy).

He also mentions the fruits born of The Way in Israel, "We know the tree by its fruits, and after several months of diligent work in the different parishes of the Melkite Catholic diocese, your group has given some excellent fruits."

He continues stating that the Communities would have to conform to the Melkite rites, "I would be happy to consider even a branch of the Neocatechumenate to join our Church and adopt the Melkite Catholic rite."

Archbishop Chacour states in his message that he has searched for "someone or some community to preach the Good News to my parishioners" as an answer to proselytism of the sects, and that the Neocatechumenal Way is an answer. Fr. Rino Rossi received the letter with great joy and reported to ZENIT that "We share the sense of urgency expressed by Archbishop Chacour to evangelize 'the living stones' in the land of the Lord."

It has now also been announced that a Redemptoris Mater Seminary of the Melkite Rite is due to open in 2008.