LE NEO-CATÉCHUMÉNALS PATH are HIM

GÉRALD A. ARBUCKLE, SM,

Lately a religious temporarily profès asked its superior for the permission to join the Neo-Catéchuménal movement (or the Path, as it is sometimes called). Him disait : " Cette organization impresses me indeed with his/her/its evangelical goodwill, his/her/its strong sense of faith community in the Lord. While being with them I can become only a better religious ". The superior accepted, but after some months they realized that the religious was less and less available for the projects of community and less interested in the spirituality and the formation required by the community. At the same time he/it became intolerant towards those that questioned the methods of evangelism of the Path. When these problems were shown to him, him répliqua : " Pour faithful being towards the goals of the movement I must give everything that I have. After all it is what an engagement towards the Lord means to say in the religious life. I only have what the Lord wants all Christians accomplished and especially of the religious. "

This incident raises a serious question for the superior and the team of formation. Is it that the fact to join some movements as the Neo-Catéchuménat is compatible with the engagement asked the religious? I believe that a religious cannot belong at two fully because il/elle cannot be hired completely towards two distinct groups of which the goals first is in opposition one towards the other. Secondly, the first task of the Path in practice is to minimize the importance of the inculturation, whereas a religious must support unconditional way evangelism by the inculturation. Therefore, the religious superior have the obligation to raise some limits to the engagement of members of their communities in the Path in order to protect the charisma of the religious life and the community. In this article I explain the reasons of my findings. I sustain that the manner to act of the Path, according to the experience of people in Australia and in the Pacific Sud, distinguish it like a sect. None religious authentic cannot belong to a sect. My reserves about the organization and the pastoral methods of the Path could be used by the readers like a case of survey to value others new contemporary movements inside the church.

Especially since the last twenty or thirty years a large variety of new religious movements (NMR) emerged as much inside that outside of the main Churches. History demonstrates that movements of this sort emerge in times of distress socio-économique/politique or confusion. They emerge like an initial and inevitably simplistic effort to provide a new social integration, as answer to social conditions without norms or anomie (1).

During the years 60 the west spent by one biggest cultural revolution recorded in history affecting every aspect of life; no political, religious, social or artistic institution has been touched by the radical assessment of the revolution. The revolution, to which one refers as being the one of the Revolution of the Mess Expressif(2), let people to the level of the emotions and culturally at the end of patience, losing a sense of identity and adherence, because the old securities had disintegrated themselves under the speed and the depth of his/her/its attack. The NMR, as the church of unification (Moonie), of Scientologie, for example, offered people disorientated of the systems definite, meaningful goods and ready-to-wear and a direction of life.

The demolition of the ghettos cultural of churches that Vatican II that coincided with the countercultural chaos brought, let so many Catholics in a struggle to take itself/themselves at the same time of it with the after-jolt of two revolutions, to know the cultural and conciliar revolutions. It is not astonishing that the NMR inside the church, as the charismatic movement and the Neo-Catéchuménat, developed an appeal so immediate.

We see history that, when the movements begin to form itself/themselves in reaction to a revolutionary change, they run the risk to develop some features similar to the sects. A sect is sociologically a grouping formed in protest against, and sometimes separating of, the organization of origine : his/her/its formation represents the support of beliefs, ritual practices, and moral standards, the most commonly raw by the members of the sect as being a return to shapes primitive and purer of the religion in question. The sects have in individuals the features suivants : They are elitist, claiming to have the total truth, so the salute he/it is not possible that while belonging to the sect. They tend to be laic organizations. The priests yet, can be accepted while having a necessary function, but they must submit to the laic authority in other matters that the priest's sacrificial role. The individuals must deserved their adherence to the sect while executing acceptable actions or while not passing a dramatic conversion or an experience of re-birth. The sects can accept in theory government's democratic shape, but makes the power of the group of it to control the individuals, directly by his/her/its leaders, becomes authoritative. For a total loyalty is asked of the adherents to the group; one treats the roaming members severely, even in the expelling positively, if the regulations are broken. The sects are generally of fundamentalist orientation, what means that they reject with anger converses it with the contemporary world or the non believers. For example, when the fundamentalists reacted in the "polluting  mauxes" of modernity, they sustained that the world and/or the church of origin were mistaken and that their task is to bring back them to the presumed age of gold of one previous period, even though it means the use of a violence and/or physical and moral in order to arrive there. The members of a sect, believe that they have the fullness of the truth, and are intolerant towards the people who dare to think differently; they condemn shamefully whoever dares to put in question their assumption of straightforwardness (3).

The cults are technically softer shapes of the sects. All along this article I use the word sect strictly as describes higher. In the popular contemporary language, what is called today " les cults ", like the Moonie, are sociologically sects.

The Path takes its source in the beginning of the years 70, emerging the personal religious conversion of an artist and musician, Kiko Arguello, and a small group of mates in the shacks of Palomeras of Madrid. Theoretically, the movement aims to re to create the long period of practice and teaching by which passed the catéchumènes in the primitive church. It requires an intimate knowledge of biblical texts, a power experience of the church like a small community of acceptance, the new flight of the Vigil Pascale as the feast central Christian, and the involvement to the Eucharist of Saturday evening and of the sacraments with one degree of engagement exceeding that for which is asked of a middle parish. The movement sees the church ideally like small communities with members that are held wholes by strong communal ties; the laic catechists have a central position and one expects of the members that they are generous in the grant of their time and incomes to the activities of the group. They can be required to go like missionaries of the Path in any part of the world in any time decided by the authorities of the Path. The Path is not concerned in particular by any social or political program. His/her/its task, he/it claims, is to proclaim God's Speech verbally. Little or no knowledge cultural the region to evangelize is necessary; everything of which one has need is the goodwill and the dependence towards the power of the Holy Mind.

The Neo-Catéchuménat can have estimable goals, but my experience, and those of a lot of other in this field, is not positive.

First, the Path, in practice in a famous general way several of the features enumerated higher of the sects. For example, he/it asks for a total and blind engagement of his/her/its members and a submissiveness to the authority of his/her/its promoters, he/it is elitist and is frequently source of division in the parishes. The Path asks for an excessive time of involvement of the prêtres/religieux and/or it acts customarily without reference to the existing parochial structures.

In practice the Path rejects the evangelical engagement of the inculturation secondly. The inculturation is the dynamic and precious exchange between the gospel and the cultures", a continual process of reciprocal and critical interaction and assimilation between them ".(5) as évangélisateurs we are not free to choose or to reject the inculturation. It is an imperative of the gospel. As Jean Paul II the dit : "the dialogue of the Churches with the cultures of our time (is) a vital domain, domain in which the destiny of the monde.est in games (6); and" the synthesis between culture and faith is not only a demand of culture, but also of faith. " (7)

The inculturation (8) is a complex and difficult process because it" presupposes ", writes the Pope", a long and courageous (effort). so that the gospel can penetrate the soul of a living culture ". (9) it is thus parce it supposes between other :

1. That the interaction is between two cultures. It is not a simple meeting between the gospel and a culture, because the gospel presents itself to our time as already embedded in a particular culture of the time of the evangelists. He/it must have a continual discernment there in order to discover what is the c.ur of the Christ's message, and what belongs to the Hébreux/Grecque cultures of his/her/its time and the one of the evangelists.
2. That the message of the gospel is also enveloped farther in a culture of the évangélisateurs old of several centuries; the gospel can be proclaimed adequately only if the évangélisateur can remove this cultural baggage and present what belongs to the faith of the gospel only.
3. That the Holy Mind is already to l'. uvre inside the cultures even before evangelism starts; the évangélisateurs must recognize this presence by the discovery of the securities that conforms to the gospel. From there, the need to approach the cultures with a critical respect, even a sense of reverence in the presence of the Sacred.
4. That he/it must have a dialogue, sponsored by the évangélisateurs, between the gospel and the cultures, there. But the dialogue is impossible, if the évangélisateurs is not prepared to be open to the culture of people that is evangelized while learning the most possible of their life style. the language, for example. To act otherwise insult the people that one wants to help. There is not an abridgment in this process, unless the Holy Mind makes some miracles and it is not the normal way of evangelism!

There is not a doubt that the Path continues to make the good for the Lord, especially inside his/her/its culture of origin, but it is not translated in a constructive way to the other cultures. So measured by the demand of inculturation sketched higher, the Path misses the target seriously. In their enthusiasm to preach the Good News the disciples of the Path stays deprived critical sense between the message of the Christ and the way of which he/it is expressed in the language cultural of the apostolic times. It is precisely the situation that Pierre and Paul condemned to the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15 : 1-35). The rituals and the material catéchétiques of the évangélisateurs of the Path are pre-wrapped in Europe and they are imposed to other cultures, without the dialogue considered like necessary or appropriate. It hinders the process of inculturation. Of the methods culturally insensible to express the communal ties are encouraged. So the embrace that can be characteristic of him, and acceptable in, the contemporary charismatic communities of the west are distinctly shocking in other cultures. For example, in the regions Malaysians in the Pacific Sud, this shape of "happy" public expression is taboo outside of very narrow definite social limits. Besides, I see no test devised among the évangélisateurs of the Path to get ready to work in cultures so different from theirs. A simple confidence in the Holy Mind is not a surrogate to a serious opening and to the respect for the diversity, the discernment and the pastoral expertise that Paul VI considers essential for the inculturation (10). The famous Path also of the fundamentalist features. His/her/its disciples are not prepared to the dialogue with people questioning their hypotheses and their pastoral methods; they have the truth, so the dialogue is not necessary.

A religious is someone named by God for a mission of service of foi/justice. Il/elle must answer freely and completely to the gospel while testifying in a community approved by the church that constantly endeavors to be formed by the Christ and his/her/its vision. By " une community approved by the church" us want to say that the church recognizes the evangelical authenticity of the founding idea; the members commit exclusively to live this idea under the authority legitimate of the group, no the one of another community or group. And this authority must be used in collaboration, that means, that the individuals must be consulted and, as much that possible, to be encouraged to participate in all process décisionnel. Everything that can interfere with this engagement exclusive to the charismas of the religious life and the community, no matter the good founded in himself. as, for example a particular shape of spirituality, a type of communal life. is contrary to the offering made by the religious to the Lord and to the church. A religious should become him a full-time member of the Path without restrictions, I believe that il/elle opted consequently for the exit of the community, because the Path asks for an unconditional loyalty to his/her/its vision and to his/her/its structure of authority. The fact is that a religious cannot be hired simultaneously towards two organizations, each asking his/her/its disciples for one total engagement. It would be equivalent to try to be at the same time Mariste and Jesuit!

Of the viewpoint of the mission and the spirituality the religious must fight in order to be prophetically to the forefront of the gospel and cultures. It is their task first. They exist in order to challenge the world and the church to be faithful to the securities and to the Christ's vision. The religious, if they have to be prophets, must, yet, to be specialists in the inculturation of the gospel. But, since the methods and the hypotheses of the Path fundamentally enter in conflict with the requirements of the inculturation, the religious cannot begin unconditionally with the Path. The religious life, contrary to the features of sectarian resemblance of the Path, presents itself for the universality and the critique opened towards the world. (11)

In brief, a religious community, if she/it has to be faithful to the charisma of the religious life, must not become a sect, not more that she/it must not support the activities including features of sectarian resemblance of other groups. A community is not able to either to act authentically if it is not advised to the mission of foi/justice of the Christ. The inculturation is indispensable to this mission. The Neo-Catéchuménat in practice doesn't accept the apostolic vision and the opening, as illuminated by Vatican II and thereafter supported on the social ecclesiastic teaching. Therefore, the leaders of community in order to protect the integrity of the charismas of their community, and to support the Christ's complete vision prophetically towards the world cannot permit to their religious to be hired in the movement of the Path without discernment.

1. To see G. Arbuckle, Earthing the gospel : Year Inculturation Handbook heart the Pastoral Worker (London : Geoffrey Chapman, 1990, pp. 113-119 )
2. To see B. Martin, IN Sociology of Contemporary Cultural Change (Oxford : Blackwell, 1981), passim
3. To see B.R. Wilson, Sects Society and (London : Heinemann 1961), pp 1-11.
4. To see Orensanz, " Spanish Catholicism in Transition ", T. in M. Gannon (Ed.), World Catholicism in Transition (N.Y. Macmillan, 1988), p 141
5. M. of Azevedo, Inculturation and the Contest Modernity of (rome : Gregorian University, 1982, p 11.
6. The Romano Osservatore, June 28, 1982, mentioned by A., Shorter, Toward has Theology Inculturation of (London : Geoffrey Chapman, 1988), p.230
7. Quoted by Shorter, p. 231
8. To see Arbuckle, op., cit. pp. 15-25
9. The Church ace has Creator of Culture (Melbourne : ACTS, 1983), p. 6
10. To see Paul VI, Evangelii Nintiandi, 1975, by. 20
11. I developed this point farther in " Beyond Frontiers : The Supranational Contest of the gospel ", Review Religious heart, Flight 46, No.3, 1987, pp 351-370,

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