Golias magazine n°65 mars/avril 1999 pp 48-49; reproduces here with their agreeable authorization.
When Kiko, the guru of the path sells his movement to the bishops
Anxious to facilitate the progress of the pope's favorite organization, Vatican went extremely far to promote the neo-catéchuménal Path from all over the world by the bishops. In October 1991, one organized a meeting here Rome for 800 parishioners members of the Path néocatéchuménal and their priests of all the Europe, of the East as the west, in order to achieve an official presentation of the movement to the bishops gathered to the Vatican â the opportunity of the extraordinary synod on Europe. Forty bishops attended the event of the neo-catéchuménal Path, among which the cardinal Glemp, primate of Poland, and the cardinal Lopez Rodriguez, primate of Holy-Domingue and president of the Latin American Conference of the bishops. To which came to be added, well evidently, Eminence Paul Josef Ropes of the papal Council for the laymen.
The tentative first to sell the movement to the episcopate via semiofficial meetings sustained by Vatican proved to be so convincing that one took this formula since then on various occasions, to a lot bigger scale.
At the time of the gathering of 1992 for the Conference of the bishops of Latin America in Holy-Domingue, the pope had shown his predilection for the new movements and had returned visit in the seminary of the neo-catéchuménal Path. On this occasion, hundred fifty South American bishops attended a presentation of the movement, that that
will trigger a controversy in the region because of the disdain of the Path for the social questions. This gathering of the Conference of the bishops coincided with the celebration of the discovery of the American continent. Number of those that there attended, conscious of the colonization and the exploitation of the region, felt that it was there the opportunity to express their regret for the sins committed in the name of God; a group of bishops celebrated a service indeed to repent - attitude all news in a Church that, in principle, doesn't admit his/her/its mistakes.
Were several people doing attend the event indignant to hear each other to tell by the sarcastic Kiko Arguello" You that ask for the forgiveness of Christopher Columbus sins would not have to you to ask for forgiveness for necks even? " Actually, it was about a direct attack against the theology of the liberation sustained by number of Latin American bishops. However, Kiko Arguello is a shy objector to the theology of the liberation; according to him, the sin is not structural: it is a strictly personal business.
Of the 13 to April 17, 1993, a similar event, this time reserved to the bishops of Europe, was organized in a hotel of Vienna in Austria - to the expenses of the neo-catéchuménal Path. This place had been chosen to facilitate the displacement of people of Europe of the East. But there was another reason: he/it was appropriated more to organize such a meeting on a neutral territory, to a respectable distance of Rome and Vatican. It was an unprecedented event in the sense where it was about a publicity stunt. Not only Eminence Paul Josef Ropes of the papal Council for the laymen were one of the main present personalities, but the cardinal Lopez Rodriguez helped him there also to give a report of the success of the similar meeting that had taken place the previous year in Latin America. To the total, hundred twenty bishops of Europe of the East and the west attended there, among which the conservative bishop Bomers that represented Netherlands.
Following this gathering, Eminence Bettazi, bishop of intoxicated (in the north of Italy), reprocessed recently, addressed a letter to the pope in which he/it deplored that the Italian bishops have not been allowed to speak.
Of the 28 to January 31, 1994, one made Rome come hundred thirty bishops and cardinals of Africa, all payed expenses (by the neo-catéchuménal Path), to reproduce the performances of the conviviencias held in Holy-Domingue and Vienna, this time in a hotel in the center of the city. Queerly, in his/her/its speech intended to the participants, Jean-Paul II made reference to the neo-catéchuménal Path like a" providential instrument" for the inculturation in Africa: one could already notice how much the movement denied the very concept of inculturation, only using the idea of personal, some charisma either criticize them.
An Italian archbishop who plays a gilt-edged role in the Conference of the Italian bishops expresses how much the gap between the pope and the bishops dug itself because of the neo-catéchuménal Path: "Numerous are the Italian bishops who have fled to hear their critiques to him. topic of the movement neo that téchuménal - YUême to placed high stations. Numerous are those that in spoken out to the pope on the occasion of their visits ad limina. Month from the moment they approach the topic, the pope separates it with contempt and pass to something else... The pope controls and impose all! A lot of bishops present titi profile drank, even though they don't approve what happens, or because they tremble for their career, or because they hope... the soli solution fïnale. "
The archbishop makes allusion here to what Giovanni Caprile, sj, overtly affirms publisher of the monthly Jesuit Civilta cattolica: "The problem da neo-catéchunénal Path won't be able to resolve that by the pope's death. >.
France: of reticence to the welcome...
The doubts expressed by the French bishops on the occasion of the synod on the laymen of 1987 are the result of long years of quarrel with (e neo-catéchuménal Path. To the departure, the communities entered in (has prestigious parish of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. But the divisions and the controversy happened to from it to such a point that the cardinal Marty, ù the time, archbishop of Paris, forbids the expansion of it during numerous years.
The nervous center of the neo-catéchuménal Path for Paris and France is to the Notre-Dame church Of Good in Montmartre. His/her/its priest, Antoine of Monicault, recognizes that the communities met some problems in the French parishes. When we asked him how one the to the aforesaid treated, his/her/its answer illustrated the inability for the "Path" to adopt an objective viewpoint
It is not so much a problem that you priest of the parish is convinced; if he/it has some doubts, it becomes a problem. >? One will note it, the problems met by the nonconformist parishioners are not even taken in consideration.
Today the things evolving for the Path, some bishops appearing more welcoming to his/her/its consideration. The neo-catéchuménal Path constituted thus in France a network of about hundred communities, present in about fifteen dioceses. Besides Paris â, some neo-catéchuménales communities exists in the parishes of
Montpellier, Toulon, Meaux, Strasbourg, Nancy and Marseille.
