"The Path néocatéchuménal"
A pastoral note to the priests
Dear,
The shapes different of aggregation of the supporters, the oldest to the most recent, in their multiplicity, are signs ".. of the wealth and the eclecticism of resources of which the mind of the Lord Jesus nourishes the ecclesiastic cloth (laic Christifideleses, n. 29); they are God's big grant.". that all ecclesiastic realities must welcome with gratitude and must valorize responsible manner "(pastoral Note of Comm. Episcopal for the laïcat, The laic aggregations in the church, Intr.).
Reserving us to think in other opportunities, if he/it is appropriate, besides on others of experiences, He/it seems at present especially urgent to us to offer an orientation on the "path néocatéchuménal", of which the presence in our dioceses is marked by positive fruits, but also of a set of problems on which we are solicited; with the strength of our pastoral responsibility, we offer some indications.
We address them above all to you priests, and through you to all supporters, for the very spiritual of the whole community.
Our attention to the "path néocatéchuménal" is also stimulated by the encouragement several times expressed by the Holy Father (cf. particularly THE Messages of the 30.8.1990 and 12 .4.1993), that doesn't dispense the bishops of their discernment obligation (cf. AAS 1990, P., 1513), he/it requires it in a special manner, while always treating an experience under definition and even private of an approved Statute.
The experience of the "Path néocatéchuménal"
Idea-strength
The "Path néocatéchuménal" wants to offer an answer to the problem of the presence many baptized that cannot declare evangelized really and insiders to the faith and to the Christian life.
His/her/its intuition of bottom is to propose them an itinerary analogous to the real catéchuménat: an itinerary that for one time should adjust to the special situation of the one that is already Christian but in another time wants to be authentically "catéchuménal", nothing to take for acquirement, to propose the rediscovery and the personal assimilation again, stage after stage, all elements of the faith, the liturgy and the Christian life.
Fruits already true
Thanks to this itinerary a lot of people rediscover the Lord enthusiastically and they live an authentic experience of conversion, that is also revealed in very meaningful concrete gestures: detachment of the terrestrial goods, more generous opening to life on behalf of the spouses, availability to leave to get to the service of evangelism, copier flowering of ministerial and religious vocations.
Difficulty
The difficulties are born of the very situation of these people: baptized, believers, for the more part as practicing, but that don't recognize themselves really evangelized and they choose to make again catéchumènes, to be evangelized re, in a way while nearly leaving to zero. The full involvement to the life plain of the community changes for them in endpoint, in goal to reach.
It includes a certain separation, that sometimes is accentuated seriously inevitably.The lines formatives of the "Path" and the subsidies used, proceed by autonomous ways, without reference to the pastoral plans of the CEI (Council Épiscopal Italian) and of the Dioceses. One has a certain difficulty to harmonize with the other ecclesiastic experiences and associative shapes.
Inside the community of the "Path" there is the risk of an excessive, advanced uniformity sometimes until in the least details, especially in the liturgy. The pedagogy of the signs is precious (cf. The renewal of the catéchèse, n.175), but one must not assign to every detail the same importance and invariability that only can be worth the more essential signs and dedicated by the tradition.
One must also face an analogous risk in the catéchèses that, while founding them on the "oral tradition", end up falling in a stereotyped repetition, while disregarding the indispensable mediations to embody the gospel in every situation; in the interpretation of the biblical texts, sometimes selected and interpreted in an univocal and indisputable way, falling in a some fundamentalism; in a rigid exploration of the different stages; in the proposition generalized special choices of life.
What creates a difficulty, in reference to the role of the priests, that is the management of the communities on behalf of the laic catechists.
Assessments and orientations
To that to propose the "Path"
In itself, the "Path" addresses - as the Pope expresses it in the Message of the 30.8.1990 - to "... those that nearly abandoned the Christian life "; he/it is revealed"... particularly capable to contribute, in zones déchristianisées, to the necessary "Ecclesiastic reimplantation".. " (Message of 12.4.1993).
He/it should not be therefore proposed to the supporters that, even in the human fragility and in the unceasing necessity of the conversion are hired already in the faith and in the Christian life, or frankly already in some shape of association and apostolate and whose alliance would necessarily make merely a better catéchèse, a deepening of the Bible, the experience of a Christian fraternity in the small groups: in a word, the requirement of a permanent formation.
The "Path" in a renewed plain pastorale
The choice to start, for the people who can need special itineraries of re-evangelism must not imply a lack of esteem or carelessness for the other or distrust in the possibility to renew the plain pastorale also according to the big thrusts of the Council. The church evangelizes indeed and don't catechize as much by what it makes or says, but by what it lives, by what it is (cf. The renewal of the Catéchèse, n. 145). If we don't renew the life plain of our communities, those that moved away won't be tempted to come closer, or the new converts same, as tidy their formation have been it, they would not succeed more in fitting, they would be disappointed again and embossed.
The "Path" hears to get settled alone inside the parish. He/it have been routed only in the context of parochial communities that opens up to a global renewal and that commit to offer to all supporters a permanent serious food.
He/it is therefore indispensable that before routing the experience, is not only acquired the consent of the bishop and the vicar but, after an adequate information and an analysis of the situation, also the opinion of the parochial pastorale advice. To avoid harmful differences between neighboring parishes, he/it would be well also that one speaks itself of it within the vicariats and that the priest is listened there also.
The responsible priest must be customarily the vicar or a priest who help a pastoral in this parish, and to choose to get along with the bishop.
The parish must remain the house of all, must not exercise his/her/its hegemony on no association, group or movement. Catechists, liturgical and other animators ministries, must not only be chosen between those that adhere to a particular group.
.
That the adherents to the "Path" are encouraged to not to part with the other supporters, to know how to benefit from everything that the parish offers, and to give him their active contribution. In particular, even though they take care themselves, of laudable way, of the catéchèse of their children, that they don't omit to send them also to the parochial catéchèses with all others children. In the liturgical celebrations they can use the special powers gotten by the S.Siège (Notification of the 19.12.1988); for the rest, they are held to follow the common rules. It is also worth for the Sacrament of the reconciliation: it is beautiful to celebrate with the brothers God's mercy on his/her/its own life but the accusation of the sins in their specificity must remain reserved to the priest.
The adherents to the "Path néocatéchuménal", like all other community or movement must valorize The Catechism of the Catholic church, the Source document of the renewal of the catéchèse and the different volumes of the Catechism for the Christian life of the CEI. They must study and must follow the programs of the church that are in Italy and the lines of the diocesan pastorale.
The laudable attention to the temperament "eschatologique" of the Christian life and to his/her/its interior dimension doesn't prevent to valorize the "secular" temperament also of it, while holding in rightly consideration, the terrestrial realities and the engagement of the Christian inside them.
Those that discerned through the Path a special vocation (to the priesthood, to the permanent diaconat, to the dedicated life, to the ministry of roving catechists or abroad missionaries...) will not only operate a discernment inside the "Path" but in communion, by the vicar and the bishop, also with the vast reality of the particular church.
The religious must pay attention to not to interpret the experience of the "Path" in such a way that they compromise their identity and their particular charisma, that stay the main way of their sanctification (cf. dedicated Life, n. 56).
Role of the priests
The roving laic catechists and the local persons responsible of the Path in the progress of their role, should make reference to the ministers - bishops, presbyteries and deacons. and to recognize in them the clean authority of the Sacred order.
The responsible laymen, especially on the occasion of the "votes" for the different passages must abstain to enter in the most intimate field of the consciences, avoiding everything that can give the idea of an inquisitorial process,; promoting the discernment on the attitudes, no on specific choices; that they limit themselves to propose more important spiritual objectives merely. The priests also, in this delicate matter, as in all other opportunity, keep their pastoral responsibility without letting itself/themselves to reduce, to a merely functional role of ministers of the Eucharist and Sacraments.
The service to these communities must not weaken at the priest his/her/its availability to remain the man of all, the man of the church. One will also avoid this difficulty at the time of the alternation of the vicars.
The priest like every Christian, keep the right to fit in a group and to take advantage of a particular, right experience however subordinate to the duty to cultivate his/her/its identity, especially inside the diocesan presbytery (Pastores dabo vobis, 68,; Board of directors for the ministry and the life of the presbyteries, 29). For the "Path néocatéchumenal" one must specify however that the priest, although being industrious of conversion and spiritual growth, he/it cannot get on a par with a "uninitiated"; he/it will be able to follow the stages different of the itinerary catéchuménal nevertheless but he/it is not able to nevertheless the re to browse while putting between parenthesis shepherd's ministry that has already been conferred to him.
Some special problems
The paschal Vigil
One of the most frequent points of friction is the celebration of the paschal Vigil. The adherents to the "Path" since the beginning elaborated a particular shape of ampler celebration, enriched of other elements, prolonged during the whole night until the dawn, and they declare that she/it constitutes for them a fundamental, practically irreplaceable moment. This requirement enters however precisely in conflict with the other less important not to split up the Christian community in separated groups, in "parallel" eucharisties, as culminates all year liturgical, in the celebration of this salute mystery that makes us Church while introducing us in the communion with God and with the brothers. The Community of the divine Cult, in the letter Paschalis sollemnitatis of the 16.1.1988 expresses itself thus: "One will encourage the involvement of the special groups to the celebration of the paschal Vigil in which all united supporters will be able to experiment deeper manner their sense of adherence together in the same ecclesiastic community.
Consequently, in every Parish, after having celebrated only one paschal Vigil, the groups néocatéchuménals (without excluding the other supporters possibly available) will be able to converse until the the dawn, but without repeating none of the four liturgical essential moments foreseen by the Roman Missal (the liturgy of light, of the Speech, of water - with possible baptisms - and of the eucharistie), but only while adding other commemorative and didactic elements, prayers, songs, personal meditation, exchange of experiences, moments of feast and fraternity,. Therefore not two successive Vigils, but after the unique liturgical Vigil a real a commemorative.
The weekly eucharistie
Another frequent difficulty is the one of the celebration weekly eucharistique. The communities believe indispensable, in the context of their work formatif, to have a celebration that is reserved to them, longer, which facilitates the sharing of the Speech. In not wanting to go without from the wealth of the dominical liturgy, structural element of the liturgical year, and while underlining the recall of the celebration of the Passover, the communities moved for the solution to celebrate this eucharistie Saturday at the end of afternoon.
The difficulties of this solution are obvious. According to the norm in force, the eucharistie of Saturday afternoon already considers itself by all effects eucharistie of Sunday (cf. The day of the Lord, n. 34). He/it falls therefore under the general rule: "The Mass for special groups in principle don't celebrate themselves Sunday, but as much that possible during the workdays; that in every case the celebrations of the adherents to the different ecclesiastic movements don't have as result to hinder the community" (ivi. n. .33; cf. Eucharisticum mysterium, nn. 26-27; eucharistie, communion and community, n. 81). Then it is necessary to take into account the concrete difficulty to find a celebrant, either for lack of priests, either by the heap of pastoral liabilities that in this day rest on the shepherds. On the other hand, to call a celebrant of the outside would carry to make vain the report with the parish and to aggravate the tendency already noticed to reduce the priest to a merely functional role.
He/it would not be therefore appropriate, normally, to concede this celebration. The bishop will be able to grant it however if, according to the prudence of his/her/its judgment, he results a spiritual profit to the groups néocatéchuménals without compromising the common good of the whole parochial community.
With our blessing
The indications that we offered on the "Path néocatéchuménal", in mind of dialogue and common discernment are not, in no way, ordinates specifically to this experience, but they concern life ordered of all communities of church and the different pastoral experiences on the whole.
We accompany them by our prayer and our blessing.
Molfetta, December first, 1996, first Sunday of the Advent,
+ Benigno Luigi Dad, Archbishop Métropolite of Taranto, President of the Episcopal Conference of Pugliese,,
+ Giuseppe Casale, Archbishop Métropolite of Foggia-Bovino, apostolic Administrator of Lucera-Troia,,
+ Mariano Magrassi, Archbishop Métropolite, of Bari-Bitonto,,
+ Cosmo Francesco Ruppi, Archbishop Métropolite of Lecce,
+ Settimo Todisco, Archbishop of Brindisi-Ostuni, + Carmelo Cassati, Archbishop of
Trani-Barletta-Bisceglie,
+ Vincenzo Of Addario, Archbishop of Manfredonia-Vieste,,
+ Francesco Cacucci, Archbishop of Otranto,,
+ Armando Franco, Bishop of Oria,,
+ Martino Scarafile, Bishop of Castellaneta,,
+ Domenico Padovano, Bishop of Conversano-Monopoli,
+ Raffaele Calabro, Bishop of Andria,
+ Giovanni Battista Pichierri, Bishop of Cerignola-Ascoli Satriano,,
+ Silvio Cesare Bonicelli, Bishop of San Severo,,
+ Domenico Caliandro, Bishop of Ugento-S. Maria Leuca di,
+ Donato Negro, Bishop of Molfetta-Ruvo-Giovinazzo-Terlizzi,,
+ Agostino Superbo, Bishop of Altamura-Ravina-Acquaviva,,
+ Vittorio Fusco, Bishop of Nardò-Gallipoli,,
+ Luciano Bux, Auxiliary of Bari-Bitonto,,
+ Riccardo Ruotolo, Auxiliary of Manfredonia-Vieste,,
