Pope Praises Neocatechumenate's Missionary Zeal

Reflects on Meaning of Liturgy

By Salvatore Cernuzio VATICAN CITY, JAN. 20, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Benedict XVI says that the Neocatechumenal Way is a "special gift that the Holy Spirit has given our time," and he lauded the members of the Catholic lay group for their commitment to the proclamation of the Risen Christ, at the cost of "abandoning personal and material safety, even leaving your own countries." The Pope said this today to the crowds of members of the Neocatechumenal Way who packed Paul VI Hall. An official degree formally approving the celebrations of the Way was proclaimed, the culmination of roughly 15 years of careful study by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments. The audience also included the formal sending-out of 100 families -- with a total of 362 children -- and the priests who have answered Christ's call to go on mission, leaving everyday life to devote themselves to the proclamation of the Gospel. The families are headed to eight destinations, six of them European and two American, which were marked out on a posterboard presented to the Holy Father: France (Alby, Nice, Bayonne, Toulouse, Strasbourg), Belgium (Antwerp), Slovenia (Ljubljana), Austria (Vienna), Estonia (Tallinn) and Great Britain (Manchester). In addition, Venezuela (Gria) and the United States (Lawrence, Cambridge and Brockton). "New presences of the Church in the world, requested by the bishops," as Kiko Argello, the founder of the Way, described them in his speech, in areas that are "difficult and secularized." History The meeting opened with an invocation to the Holy Spirit, followed by Bishop Josef Clemens, secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, reading the decree that was the culmination of the audience today. Bishop Clemens retraced the steps that mark the history of the Way: from the approval of the statutes on May 11, 2008, to that of the Catechetical Directory "as a binding aid for the Neocatechumenal Way," on Dec. 26, 2010, up to today with the "green light" by the Pontifical Council for the Laity and the "favorable opinion" of the Congregation for Divine Worship, to the celebrations contained in the Catechetical Directory that "by their nature are not already in the liturgical books of the Church." Argello then took the floor, stressing the importance of the Kerygma, or the good news of the risen Christ that permeates the entire Neocatechumenal itinerary that is "all celebratory, based on the power of the tripod of the Word, Eucharist and community, pillars of the Christian life." Viva! Around 11:30 a.m., accompanied by the notes of the song "Mary Blessed Mary," Benedict XVI arrived, immediately met by applause and by the affectionate cry "Viva il Papa!" (Long live the Pope!) After the presentations, Father Mario Pezzi proclaimed the Gospel of Matthew of the glorious resurrection of Christ, in response to which the Orchestra and Chorus of the Neocatechumenal Way performed two songs of the Symphony "El Sufrimiento de los Inocentes"("The Suffering of the Innocents"). "This year I have the joy to meet you and share with you this moment of sending out for the mission" began the Pontiff, addressing an affectionate greeting "to all the priests, seminarians, families, formators and members of the Neocatechumenal Way." "Your presence today," he continued, "is a visible testimony of your joyful commitment to living the faith, in communion with the whole Church and with the Successor of Peter, and to be courageous heralds of the Gospel." "Bringing Christ to the people and bringing people to Christ," the Pope said, "this is what breathes life into each work of evangelization," stressing that the Neocatechumenals carry this out "in a way that helps those who have already received baptism rediscover the beauty of the life of faith, the joy of being Christian." The Holy Father encouraged members of the Way to continue this mission and "offer your original contribution to the cause of the Gospel." Sunday Eucharist With regard to the celebrations in the "Catechetical Directory of the Neocatechumenal Way," which "are not strictly liturgical, but are part of the itinerary of growth in faith," the Pope, quoting Article 13 of the statutes, confirmed the possibility that members of the Way "may celebrate the Sunday Eucharist in small communities, after the first Vespers of Sunday in order to facilitate the

rapprochement to the wealth of the sacramental life by people who have strayed from the Church, or have not received adequate training." At the same time, the Pontiff reflected on the public character of the Holy Eucharist. "The celebration in small communities, regulated by the liturgical books, which should be followed faithfully, and with the particular features approved in the Statutes of the Way, has the task of helping those who are undergoing the Neocatechumenal itinerary to receive the grace of being inserted into the saving mystery of Christ, which makes possible a Christian witness capable of assuming the traits of radicality," he said. "At the same time, the gradual growth in faith of the individual and of the small communities should promote their integration into the life of the larger ecclesial community, that finds in the liturgical celebration of the parish, in which and for which the Neocatechumenate is implemented (cf. Statutes, art. 6), its ordinary form. But even during the way it is important not to separate from the parish community, right in the celebration of the Eucharist which is the true place of the unity of all, where the Lord embraces us in the various states of our spiritual maturity and unites us in the one bread that makes us one body."

1,000 Families on a Mission

Pontiff Sends Out 17 More Neocatechumenal Way Groups

By Salvatore Cernuzio VATICAN CITY, JAN. 20, 2012 (Zenit.org).- At an audience today with some 7,000 members of the Neocatechumenal Way, Benedict XVI sent another 17 groups for the "missio ad gentes" and the Catholic lay group received the news that the celebrations characteristic of the Way have received Vatican approval. The 17 groups sent out today -- to live, for example, among the Aborigines in Australia, to Papua New Guinea and to the most secularized parts of Europe -- join hundreds of these communities in working toward the new evangelization around the globe. These "missio ad gentes" teams are comprised of three or four families, who together with a priest, are sent to areas where a bishop has requested them. Before the audience, ZENIT spoke with Kiko Argello, who along with Carmen Hernndez initiated the Way, asking him to comment on the event. Argello: One of the proofs of the validity of this itinerary to form adult Christians are the mission families. Currently there are nearly 1,000 families of the Neocatechumenal Way in mission in different parts of the world. This missio ad gentes means a new presence of the Church. There are many people today who are completely secularized and no longer go to church, they are not interested in the churches, but when they see a group of Christians who love each other, that interests them, they are impressed by how they relate to one another. We have many experiences of people who have asked to be baptized after seeing how we relate among ourselves, how we love one another. I must say that in Europe many people suffer from loneliness. This is a terrible reality, typical of modern cities: the number of people living alone, the quantity of people who are alcoholic, the huge number of suicides, divorces, abortions... It's obvious that we need a new presence of the Church. We answered the call of John Paul II, who in the symposium of the European bishops in 1985 said to the European bishops that the situation in Europe is very difficult, that Europe is headed toward apostasy, that the families are being destroyed. Do not be afraid, said the Pope, on the contrary, we must nourish the hope that the Holy Spirit is already responding: we must return to the Cenacle, the first apostolic model when the Church lived in the houses and the people who came into contact with these communities were amazed, and wanted to become Christian. This is what the Neocatechumenal Way is doing. Following the directions of John Paul II, we form Christian communities in even the most heathen environments, such as in Chemnitz, which was the model city of communist East Germany, where 98% of people are not baptized. The bishop of Chemnitz requested two missio ad gentes [teams], which have already resulted in two communities, with people who were not baptized. These people were surprised to see how a Christian community lives. The missio ad gentes is a new presence of the Church, it is the answer for the new evangelization, it is the new evangelizati on in action.

The Pope is very happy to send 18 new missio ad gentes to Europe, in southern France to Toulon, Albi, Montpellier, Bayonne. ZENIT: What do you think of the approval of the celebrations that mark the stages of Christian initiation brought forward by the Neocatechumenal Way? Kiko: The recognition of the validity of this Christian initiation is a historic moment for us, it's what we were waiting for. After years of study and analysis by the Congregation of Divine Worship and the Sacraments, it has been approved. In the recognition of validity, it says that the celebrations that mark the stages of growth in the itinerary of maturation of the new man are wonderful and are truly inspired, they help people convert and become Christian, they help them to grow in faith and unite themselves to Jesus Christ. We are pleased and grateful to God for this recognition. After so much suffering and hard work we are grateful to the Church, which officially recognizes the validity of this Christian initiation for the creation of a new man. We insert the new man into a Christian community. It is our task to show what the pagans saw in antiquity, when they cried out, "Look how the Christians love one another." In ancient times there were the same problems as there are today: people were alone and suffered from loneliness and despair. When a man falls prey to the devil, he no longer knows how to love and becomes confused. St. Paul wrote that Christ died for man so that man might live no longer for himself. In this way, he explains that the man separated from God is condemned to suffer from his own selfishness. We are very grateful to Benedict XVI and the Church for this act in which we see and confirm that the Church is Mother and Teacher. *** The approval comes after 15 years of study by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, and concludes the path for the approval of the Neocatechumenal Way: In 2008 the Holy See approved the final version of the Statutes and in 2011 approved the doctrine contained in 13 volumes of the Catechetical Directory of the Neocatechumenal Way. Today Benedict XVI sent out 17 missio ad gentes teams: 12 to Europe (Albi, Nice, Bayonne, Toulon, Strasbourg, Lyon, Antwerp, Ljubljana, Sarajevo, Tallinn, Vienna, Manchester), four to America (three in Boston and one in Venezuela), and one in Africa, in Libreville (Gabon). In addition, other families for the missio ad gentes were also sent, already formed, to the Ukraine, among the Australian Aborigines, and to Papua New Guinea. These teams are added to the other 40 that have already been sent all over the world by Benedict XVI in previous years.

Founder's Thanksgiving
Kiko Argello Shares Impressions of Papal Audience

By Salvatore Cernuzio ROME, JAN. 20, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Joy is still sparkling in Kiko Argello's eyes a few moments after the Neocatechumenal Way founder leaves this morning's audience with Benedict XVI. With good reason: After a decade and a half of study, the Vatican announced today that the celebrations used by the Way along the journey of Christian initiation have the Church's approval. After speaking with Argello shortly before the audience, ZENIT caught up with him again right afterward. ZENIT: Kiko, let's start with a simple question: how did the meeting this morning go? Argello: Fantastic! It was really wonderful that the celebrations that mark all the stages of Christian gestation that the W ay has created, have been confirmed.

We were waiting for this moment, and finally the Church has confirmed the Neocatechumenal Way as a Christian initiation, in its doctrine, liturgy and its stages. What is important, above all, is the fact that the Pope has reiterated that the communities can celebrate the Sunday Mass as a community. It is a sociological fact of immense importance, which means that the small community is the salvation for the New Evangelization. The Eucharist, in fact, creates and forms the Christian community, it makes it stable, unites it. ZENIT: And with regard to the missio ad gentes (the family groups sent on mission by the Pope)? Argello: The missio ad gentes is also a small community in the midst of persons who are completely pagan or far away from th e Church. What we see is that these people are attracted to the "small community" represented by the mission families; they are surprised by the love they show to others and among one another. They agree to be catechized in their homes and become, thus, a small community themselves. ZENIT: What richness does all this bring to the Church? Argello: We can say that we are writing a new page in history: the new evangelization, in the midst of an epochal crisis affecting all of society, called secularization. A lot of people, we don't know why, "harass" the churches; in some countries, especially European ones, they have arrived at the point of selling or closing them. For this reason, I am happy and surprised when, with these missions ad gentes, in fact, there are people who say "thank you, because otherwise I'd never have entered a church" or give thanks for the "the love and acceptance" they breathe in the houses of these brothers who welcome them. In fact, there are many people who come to catechesis, and who don't want to go away: eleven o'clock at night and they still haven't left. This happens because the people in our society feel very lonely ... ZENIT: By now it's been 40 years that the Neocatechumenal Way has continued to bear fruit; just think of the large number of vocations. What do you think of these gifts that the Lord is giving the Way and above all to the Church? Argello: What do I think? ... that the Lord is very good to us. I really thank God, because although we had and we have many difficulties and sufferings, he has has never abandoned us, but always supported and sustained us. The meeting today is a testimony of that. ZENIT: In what direction is the Way moving now? Argello: Toward the start-up of a new evangelization all over the world. We are looking toward new horizons; for example, even the Orthodox Church has lately shown interest in our journey of faith. Above all, I believe, however, that we must prepare for China, Vietnam, throughout Asia in short, and in fact we have several families ready to go on mission into the Eastern part of the world. ZENIT: And besides that, five new seminaries have been created to prepare young people to leave for China? Argello: Exactly! We asked for 20,000 young people who feel called to become priests and evangelize in China, and 5,000 stood up. Now these boys will be screened, trained, we have to see who will complete their studies and so on. In short, China, Asia! ZENIT: Finally, Kiko, is there anything you would like to say to all those who are part of the Neocatechumenal Way, but also to all Christians? Argello: Yes, I want to express a simple wish for them: to find Christ and find, therefore, the true life that leads to eternal life. I hope that all can really meet with Jesus Christ, because he gives you his nature and his eternal life and changes your existence completely, he helps you and prepares you.