Neocatechumenal Way receives strong papal endorsement
March 06, 2015
Pope Francis gave his full support to the Neocatechumenal Way in a March 6 meeting with 7,000 members of the movement.
“I confirm your calling, I support your mission, and I bless your charism,” the Pope told the group. “It is your witness of life that demonstrates the heart of Christ’s revelation.”
The Pope directed part of his talk to the 200 families of the Neocatechumenal Way who will soon embark on missionary work, forming small communities in various parts of the world and reaching out to non-Christians. “Our meeting today,” the Pope remarked, “is a missionary response in obedience to Christ's instruction; 'Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved.’”
Pope Francis told the group that he has often spoken of “the need for the Church to pass from a pastoral ministry of simple conversion to a decisively missionary pastoral ministry.” He endorsed the approach taken by the Neocatechumenal Way:
You have received the strength to leave everything and to depart for distant lands thanks to a path of Christian initiation, lived in small communities, where you have rediscovered the immense richness of your Baptism. This is the Neocatechumenal Way, a true gift of Providence to the Church in our time.
Kiko Arguello, the founder of the Neocatechumenal Way, told the Zenit news service that he was delighted with the Pope’s expression of support. “We are amazed by the love he has shown us,” he said.
Arguello, whose movement has sometimes encountered criticism because of its distinctive liturgical practices, and has occasionally clashed with diocesan bishops, underlined the importance of the families sent out by the Neocatechumenal Way to establish beachheads for evangelization. “The Christian family, open to live, is a salvation for the world,” he said.
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Further information:
- The Pope to members of the Neocatechumenal Way on the “missio ad gentes”: take to the peripheries of the world the message the God loves humanity and that love is possible (VIS)
- Kiko Argüello: "The Pope Showed Today His Love for the Neocatechumenal Way" (Zenit)
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