LETTER "Ogniqualvolta" 
OF HIS HOLINESS' POPE JOHN PAUL II 
TO BROTHER BISHOP PAUL JOSEF CORDES
August 30 ^th 1990

...
."I acknowledge the Neocatechumenal Way as an itinerary of Catholic formation, valid for our society and for our times.

It is therefore my wish that the Brothers in the Episcopate - together with their presbyters - value and support this work for the new evangelization so that it may be implemented according to the lines proposed by its initiators, in the spirit of service to the local Ordinary and in communion with him in the context of the unity of the local church and the universal Church."

...

From the Vatican, 30th August 1990, 12th year of the Pontificate.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Statutes of the Neocatechumenal Way

 

STATUTES IN PDF

 

INTERVENTION OF KIKO ARGUELLO
AT THE HANDING 
OVER OF THE STATUTES OF 
THE NEOCATECHUMENL WAY

(28 June 2002)

We are very happy that after all the work of these years has been possible to arrive at the approval of the Statutes.

Therefore we can do no less than thank first of all the Holy Father who was the first person to want this approval. Secondly, we thank his Eminence Cardinal Stafford who has always been very paternal towards us. I also thank Monsignor Rylko, who has had the patience to bear with our sins, and who has given us a truly Christian witness. I also thank the Undersecretary, Dr. Guzman Karrequiry, and the canonist, Fr Miguel Delgado, who with great love have accompanied us in the drafting of these Statutes.

In the first meeting which John Paul II had with us at Castelgandolfo, on the 5^th September 1979, at which Carmen, Fr Mario and I were present, after the Mass, the Pope told us that during the celebration he had seen in front of him: ATHEISM-BAPTISM-CATECHUMENATE.

At that moment I did not understand well what this meant, indeed it seemed to me a mistake to put baptism before the catechumenate. The catechumenate in the tradition of the Church is for those who are preparing to receive baptism.

Today, after 23 years, in front of these Statutes desired by the Pope, who personally insisted that they be approved, these words acquire their true meaning.

Perhaps we can find the key in what the Pope said in a parish in Rome, when he spoke to the Neocatechumenal Communities: "I see in this the genesis of the neocatechumenate… someone, I don’t know if Kiko or other people, asked themselves from where came the strength of the primitive Church and from where comes the weakness of the much more numerous Church of today? And I believe that he found the answer in the catechumenate, in this way."

When the pope said that he had seen before his eyes: ATHEISM-BATISM-CATECHUMENATE, what did he mean?

I think that after the experience of atheism which he had had in Poland, he, who is a philosopher whose roots are in the phenomenology of Husserl, meant that to answer to the force of modern atheism and to secularization, baptized Christians need a catechumenate like that of the Primitive Church, a post- baptismal catechumenate.

This is the basis of the approval of the Statutes of the Neocatechumenal Way, not as an association, but as a post-baptismal catechumenate, as a Christian initiation, an instrument that the Holy See offers to the bishops so that, in response to modern atheism, the baptism of Christians can be strengthened.

In the VI Symposium of European bishops in 1985, after having made a serious analysis of the current secularization which destroys the roots of faith, he, a modern man who suffers when he sees society lacerated by the destruction of the family, said: "The Holy Spirit has already given an answer to the situation, we have to go where the Spirit is working, is giving signs of life, we have to have the courage to leave behind our atrophied schemes and welcome the new realities that the Holy Spirit is creating…".

Juridically speaking, the fulcrum of Christian initiation is the bishop, thus Canon 788 of the Code of Canon Law says that it is the task of the Episcopal conferences to issue statutes which regulate Christian initiation.

Today, almost all the Episcopal conferences are speaking about the need for a post-baptismal initiation. And they find it very difficult to realize it in practice.

With these statutes, the Pope courageously offers a means of initiation and a post-baptismal catechumenate validated by more than 30 years of a way full of fruits.

We can only thank the blessed Virgin Mary who inspired this Way leading us to make communities like the Holy Family of Nazareth, which live in humility, simplicity, and praise, where the other is Christ.

This is the passage from a pastoral work of Christianity, or we could say, of a Christianity of the temple, to the pastoral work of the community, as the body of the risen Christ.

During three centuries, the primitive Church had a serious catechumenate, in which, before receiving baptism, the catechumens had to show that they had faith, that they began to do works of life, works which showed that the risen Christ lived in them.

Here we can see that baptism was the gestation to a new creation, where the synthesis of the announcement of the kerygma, the Good News, the change of moral life and the liturgy were one single thing.

These Christians were inserted in living communities. They met in houses; God himself placed these communities on the lamp-stand, and through persecution, they were able to show the signs of the new man who proclaims the Sermon of the Mount: "Do not resist evil, if someone strikes you on the right cheek, offer him the left, if someone takes you to court to steal your tunic, give him your cloak as well, if someone steals what is yours, do not ask for it back, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you."

Here are the signs of the crucified Christ: love "as I have loved you", in this love they will know that you are my disciples; " be perfectly one and the world will believe."

These communities converted the Roman empire; today in front of globalisation, atheism and the apostasy of Europe, here is John Paul II saying that we need to return to the primitive model.

But for us there is only one point: that the new man, the heavenly man, may appear, in a serious itinerary of Christian formation; that man who Saint Paul says carries in his body the dying of Jesus, so that in his body it can be seen that Christ is alive, in such a way that when the Christian dies " the world receives life".

With these statutes, the Pope recognizes the Neocatechumenal Way as an itinerary of Catholic formation valid for our society and times, and wishes that the bishops and their priests value and help this work for the new evangelisation so that it may be carried out according to the guidelines proposed by the initiators. With these Statutes the guidelines of the initiators are made concrete as a " clear and certain rule" for the bishops in their work of evangelisation, in the mandate to evangelise all the nations that they have received from Christ.

In these years, seeing the witness of many brothers and sisters of these communities, many pagans have wished to draw closer to Christ and have asked to be baptized. We have welcomed them in our communities and accompanied them for 4 years in their itinerary of the R.C.I.A., with marvelous fruits.

This fact is also recognized in these statutes, which will be welcomed with great joy by many pagans who are drawing near our communities. We are happy to be of service to bishops and parish priests without forming any parallel structures.

From a juridical point of view, these statutes without a doubt are a novelty, but we hope that they will be welcomed with joy by parish priests and bishops and that they will help to dispel misunderstandings and prejudices, which are often a fruit of lack of knowledge of the Way.

Thanks to you all, also on the part of Carmen and Fr. Mario.

Pray for me who am a sinner.

 

 

 

ADDRESS OF JOHN PAUL II
TO THE PRIESTS AND CATECHISTS
OF THE NEOCATECHUMENAL WAY

Saturday, 21 September 2002

        1. Dear Catechists and Priests of the Neocatechumenal Way, I am happy to receive you as you come here today to meet the Pope. With affection, I greet and welcome each of you and through you, I greet the entire Neocatechumenal Way, an ecclesial reality that has spread to many countries and is appreciated by many Pastors. I thank Mr Kiko Argüello, the co-founder of the Way with Miss Carmen Hernández, for his cordial address. With his address, he expressed your faithful attachment to the See of Peter and witnessed to your common love for the Church.

        2. How can we fail to thank the Lord for the fruit the Neocatechumenal Way has born in the more than 30 years since it came into being? In a secularized society like ours, where religious indifference is spreading and many live as though God did not exist, there are multitudes who need to rediscover the sacraments of Christian initiation, especially Baptism.

        The Way is certainly one of the providential answers to this urgent need. Let us look at your communities: how many have rediscovered the beauty and greatness of the baptismal vocation they have received! How much generosity and zeal they have for proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, especially to those who are the most distant! How many vocations to the priesthood and to the religious life have arisen thanks to this itinerary of Christian formation!

        3. I have a vivid memory of our last meeting in January 1997, immediately after your gathering on Mount Sinai to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Neocatechumenal Way. On that occasion I told you that drafting the Statutes of the Way was "a very important step that [would] lead to its formal juridical recognition by the Church, and [give] you a further guarantee of the authenticity of your charism" (Address to Neocatechumenal Way, 24 January 1997, n. 4; ORE, 5 February 1997, p. 9).

        Our meeting today expresses your joy over the recent approval of the Statutes of the Neocatechumenal Way by the Holy See. I am glad that this process, which began more than five years ago, has been brought to completion through an intense effort of consultation, reflection and dialogue. I want now to mention in a special way Cardinal James Francis Stafford, to whom I express my gratitude for the commitment and care with which the Pontifical Council for the Laity accompanied the international leadership team of the Way in this process.

        4. I would like to emphasize the importance of the recently approved Statutes for the present and future life of the Neocatechumenal Way. Indeed, above all, this norm stresses once again the ecclesial character of the Neocatechumenal Way which, as I said a few years ago, is "an effective means of Catholic formation for society and for the present time" (Papal Letter Ogni qualvolta to Bishop Paul Joseph Cordes, Vice-President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity [today Archbishop and President of the Pontifical Council "Cor Unum"], 30 August 1990; ORE, 7/14 August 2002, p. 4).

        The Statutes of the Neocatechumenal Way also describe the essential aspects of this itinerary, offered to the faithful in their parish communities who want to revive their faith, and to adults who are preparing to receive the sacrament of Baptism. Above all, however, the Statutes establish the fundamental tasks of the various persons responsible for providing this itinerary of formation in the Neocatechumenal communities: the priests, the catechists, the families on mission and the teams responsible at every level. Thus the Statutes must be for the Neocatechumenal Way a "clear and sure rule of life" (Letter to Cardinal James F. Stafford, 5 April 2001, n. 2; ORE, 2 May 2001, p. 5), a fundamental point of reference so that this process of formation, that aims to bring the faithful to a mature faith, may be realized in a way that is in accord with the teaching and discipline of the Church.

        5. The approval of the Statutes marks the beginning of a new phase in the life of the Way. The Church now expects of you an even greater and more generous dedication to the new evangelization and to the service of the local Churches and parishes. Therefore, priests and catechists of the Way, you are responsible for ensuring that the Statutes are faithfully put into practice in all their aspects so that they become true leaven for a new missionary zeal.

        The Statutes are likewise an important help to all the Pastors of the Church, particularly the diocesan Bishops who are entrusted with the pastoral care and especially, the Christian initiation of the people in their diocese "In their fatherly and careful accompaniment of the Neocatechumenal communities" (Decree of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, 29 June 2002; ORE, 31 July 2002, p. 11), the diocesan Ordinaries will be able to find in the Statutes the basic principles for realizing the Neocatechumenal Way in fidelity to its original plan.

        I particularly desire to address a word to you priests, who are dedicated to the service of the Neocatechumenal communities. Never forget that as ministers of Christ you have an irreplaceable role of sanctification, teaching and pastoral guidance for those who follow the itinerary of the Way. With love and generosity, serve the communities entrusted to you!

        6. Dear brothers and sisters, with the approval of the Statutes of the Neocatechumenal Way, we have happily succeeded in defining the essential ecclesial formula of the Way. Let us all thank the Lord for this.

        It is now the task of the competent offices of the Holy See to examine the Catchetical 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.

        I shall continue eagerly to follow your work in the Church and in my prayers I entrust you to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Star of the New Evangelization, and to you I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing.
 

 

 

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