Approval for Neocatechumenal Way does not include changes in Mass

January 23, 2012

The Vatican’s formal approval for the Neocatechumenal Way does not extend to changes that members of the movement have made in celebrating Mass, Vatican officials have confirmed.

As CWN reported on January 20, the Pontifical Council for the Laity approved the ceremonies outlined in the Catechetical Directory of the Neocatechumenal Way, specifying that this approval applied to those celebrations “which are not, by their nature, already regulated by the liturgical books of the Church.” In a public statement of his own support for the movement, Pope Benedict XVI also noted that the group’s ceremonies are not liturgical, and urged members of the Neocatechumenate to observe the liturgical directives of the universal Church and their diocesan bishops.

Speaking to the Catholic News Agency, unnamed Vatican officials explained that in celebrating the Mass, the members of the Neocatechumenal Way must “follow the norms of the Church as indicated in the liturgical books—to do otherwise must be understood to be a liturgical abuse.”

 

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Further information:

• Vatican approval for Neo-Catechumenal Way only applies to non-liturgical teachings (CNA)
• Vatican gives approval to celebrations of Neocatechumenal Way (CWN, 1/20)
• The Neocatechumenals get their diploma. But not the one they were expecting (L'Espresso)