A NEOCATECHUMENAL WAY EXPERIENCE

Copied here is an extremely thorough examination of the "Neocatechumenal Way Experience". Here is the link to the original.

A NEOCATECHUMENAL WAY EXPERIENCE by F. John Loughnan Introduction Some statements made by Neocatechumenals, Trevor and Pam Atkinson, 1 during Catecheses conducted at St Patrick's Catholic Church, in the Archdiocese of Melbourne: 2 "Faith is not a lot of beliefs." "We [catechists] are angels." "There will be signs and miracles." "God loves you exactly as you are." "The saint always announce their sin!" "It is possible not to sin - if we believe." "[Jesus Christ] didn't come to be a model." "Good Friday is not the center of Christianity" "We have been sent to this parish by the pope." "The Catholic Church is not the raft of salvation." "The Lord wants to form in this parish a Community." "The Church is not called to make everyone Church." "All these catecheses...have, in fact, been scrutinized...by Cardinal Ratzinger's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Church (sic)." "In Christianity there is no holy place - the people are the holy place." The Catechical "messages are the sperm which goes into you and create new life." "The Church...by acknowledging her sins and weaknesses...will..." "The Church diverted from the course of the 'primitive Church' at the time of Constantine, and did not get back on course until the Second Vatican Council." Now, please view SOME QUOTES FROM THE NEOCATECHUMENAL WAY FOUNDERS - Appendix I Not all of the statements are necessarily false or misleading, but some of them, I believe, are of concern. Getting To Know The Neocatecumenals Some few weeks prior to July 23, a couple of Neocatechumenists knocked on the presbytery rear door and introduced themselves to the parish priest, Fr. Roger Ryan. Their object was to introduce the Neocatechumenal Way into the parish, with the ultimate object of forming a group in the parish. Fr. Roger, who is a compassionate, exemplary, devout and orthodox priest, announced to his parishioners that a mission would be commenced in the Parish on July 23, 2001, with the object of evangelising the parish, including lapsed and nominal Catholics - and even Christians of other faiths. A very laudable project, indeed! Being a person who likes to know something about something of which I know nothing - I searched the Internet for information on the Neocatechumenal Way. A vast majority of websites were favourable towards the "Way" - as should be expected when, as the catechists claim, they have the been "sent by the Pope," and are supported by the present and past Archbishop of Melbourne and other episcopal dignitaries. Who would dare gainsay that support? or their words? Some Websites Providing Information On The Neocatechumenal Way One of the pro sites is operated for and on behalf of the movement itself: The Neocatechumenal Way 3 This is where I first saw what was purported to be "Official recognition of the Neocatechumenal Way". 4 Another pro site is at Christus Rex 5 Yet another informative pro site is at The NeoCatechumenate Movement 6 And writings by Kiko Arguello and Carmen Hernandez at What is the NeoCatechumenal Way 7 On the other hand, the following websites contain information critical of the movement: A Maltese Marian website which contains much of the Passionist priest Fr. Enrico Zoffoli's files: Era of Peace 8 The Neocatechumenal Way and the Catholic Church 9 Heresies in the Neocatechumenal Way - Introduction 10 Heresies in the Neocatechumenal Way - Chapter 1. "No Redemption" 11 Heresies in the Neocatechumenal Way - Chapter 2. "Man Cannot Offend God" 12 Heresies in the Neocatechumenal Way - Chapter 3. "Enough Atoning Sacrifices" 13 Heresies in the Neocatechumenal Way - Chapter 4. "It Is Impossible To Sin" 14 Heresies in the Neocatechumenal Way - Chapter 5. "Christ is a Model of Sanctity for No-one" 15 Heresies in the Neocatechumenal Way - Chapter 6. "We Are All Priests" 16 Heresies in the Neocatechumenal Way - Chapter 7. "The Catholic Church is Not the Only Sheepfold of Christ" 17 Excerpts of Secret Instructions from the Founder Kiko Arguello... 18 St. Petersburg Diocese Ends Perpetual Exposition 19 Extract from Medjugorje 102, Nov. 1995, Milan, Italy, by Pietro Rocca The Neocatechumenal Movement: A Volcano of Errors 20 The Neocatechumenals, Who Are They?, What Their "Creed" Is, What We Should Think Of Them, by Fr. Enrico Zoffoli 21 The Psychological Mechanisms of Mental Conditioning Inside The Neocatechumenate Community 22 Doctrinal Problems; Notes Transcribed From A Videotape Of A Debate On The Neocatechumenate 23 Catholic Sect Accused of Brainwashing, The Sunday Times - April 23, 1995 24 Documents from PASCH - Parishioners Against a Secret Church Neo-catechumenate Review 25 Open letter From Karen Anderson to the Local Neocatechumenate Communities 26 Open letter to the Neocatechumenate Communities, by Ronald Haynes 27 Open letter From Louis & Mary Beasley-Suffolk to the Diocesan Neocatechumenate Enquiry Panel 28 Neo-catechumenate Teachings: The Parable of Barabbas 29 Mervyn Bishop of Clifton pastoral letter Advent 1997 30 Christian Order - Truth By Numbers? 31 Refer also Christian Order, April 1995: "The Neocatechumenals, Who Are They?, What Their "Creed" Is, What We Should Think Of Them", by Passionist priest Fr. Enrico Zoffoli. Christian Order, Nov. 1997: "An Experience of The Neocatechumenal Way, by D.J.Redfern - former NeoCatecumenal adherent and seminarian. Christian Order, Feb. 2000: "Truth By Numbers? Personal "Testimonies" In accordance with and pursuant to the main Catechist's statement that "The saint always announce their sin", the main catechist confessed to the audience that: His mother suicided when he was aged 14; His father was a drunkard and a cruel one at that; His sister has an ill-formed brain and died very young; He was a drunkard himself, and He "always had a weakness to pornography." His wife then confessed: That her husband was (or had been?) a drunkard; That it was impossible to love him; That - well, it seemed that she was just confessing also to her husband's guilt, and her inability to love him! The next confessions came from a married couple who Mutually confessed to having had great difficulty in loving one another and, in fact, separated for many months. Finally, the priest confessed - with much beard stroking and stammering: that prior to becoming a priest, while working on his motor-bike, he had difficulty in being charitable in offering assistance to a person whose car had broken down. Then after becoming a priest (as a late-vocationer) he confessed that, subsequent to becoming a Neocatechumenal adherent, "Jesus has started to come into my life." Quite frankly, the whole public confession business of "we are human beings 'just like you' " is repugnant. It is not subject to the "seal of confession," and lays open adherents lives to the possibility of future coercion or manipulation by cultists. Notes From The Sessions Thus forearmed with some background knowledge of the movement, I was able to listen to the presentations from the Catechists and to see that there was a recognisable "patter" - padded with some personal touchs. I made sure that I wrote as quickly as possible, referring to my tape recordings where necessary. Printouts of my jottings 32 and photocopies of the all documents from the above-mentioned websites "B", "F to U", and "P - AB" inc. were given to Fr Ryan, my Parish Priest on Aug. 10. He urged me to continue my observations, and to report back to him. The second set of comments was given to him on Aug. 14. 33 I've Had Enough!!! I advised Fr. Ryan that I would not be attending any further sessions. However, he prevailed on me to continue, and to take notes. He asked me if I minded if my notes to date could be given to the Catechists. I replied, "no, I had no objection," and Fr. Roger gave the notes to them on Aug. 15 for their comments. I attended the session on Aug. 16; the subject was "Reconciliation." After receiving the handout (Go to Appendix VIII - "Questionnaire On Reconciliation"), and before the discussion groups commenced, I left the hall, and did not attend further sessions. The Sins and Weaknesses Of the Church The handout: "Questionnaire On Reconciliation" included the following: The Church does not manufacture forgiveness - this comes from God. By acknowledging her sins and weaknesses, the Church will make manifest God's strength, communicated through her." Well, there we have it - among other things, the Church is defined as being The Mystical Body of Christ, and, just as Jesus Christ is sinless so, too, is His Mystical Body. The Neocatechumenists seem not to worry about such matters - which, of course, probably were defined AFTER the Church deviated from the "primitive Church" at the time of Constantine.!!! Christ was free from all sin, from original sin as well as from all personal sin. (De fide.) Christ has not merely not actually sinned, but also could not sin. (Sent. fidei proxima.) The Church is the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ. (Sent. certa.) The Church was founded by the God-Man Jesus Christ. (De fide.) The Church is a perfect society. (Sent. certa.) Christ is the Head of the Church. (De fide.) The Holy Ghost is the Soul of the Church. (Sent. communis.) The Church is indefectible, that is, she remains and will remain the Institution of Salvation, founded by Christ, until the end of the world. (Sent. certa.) The Church founded by Christ is holy. (De fide.) 34 Credit - or Blame - Cardinal Ratzinger's Congregation  Furthermore, thanks to my tape-recorder I was able to record the following from Trevor - [Copy given to Fr. Ryan - Appendix IX - Notes On Aug. 15, 2001 Session]: "All these catecheses we are giving are exactly as we received them. All have, in fact, been scrutinised by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Church (sic.) - by Cardinal Ratzinger's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Church (sic.); and all are approved. We daren't change anything. We are solely passing on to you what we have given. But there is a conclusion here: if the people of the Church do not forgive, how will others believe in a God who forgives?" The answers might be found amongst these: It is de fide Dogma of the Catholic Church 35 that: 1. "God, our Creator and Lord, can be known with certainty, by the natural light of reason from created things." 2. "God's existence is not merely an object of natural rational knowledge, but also an object of supernatural faith." And, Sent. Fidei proxima: 1. "The existence of God can be proved by means of causality." How can a person believe in a God who forgives...? By listening to His Church, I suggest! Certain it is that God desires the salvation of all men; and He gives to all men sufficient grace to attain salvation. Faith is a direct GIFT from God to whomsoever God chooses. God's mercy (and forgiveness) is NOT limited by finite human beings! But what is missing from the Neocatechumenals equasion? God has other properties in addition to His infinite mercy... The Four Last Things How will the Neocatechumenals supply THIS vital aspect if it is lacking in their catecheses? The Eschatology of the Individual Human Being 36 In the present order of salvation death is a punishment for sin. (De fide.) All human beings subject to original sin are subject to the law of death. (De fide.) D789 With death the possibility of merit or demerit or conversion ceases. (Sent. certa.) Immediately after death the particular judgment takes place, in which, by a Divine Sentence of Judgment, the eternal fate of the deceased person is decided. (Sent. fidei proxima.) The souls of the just which in the moment of death are free from all guilt of sin and punishment for sin, enter into Heaven. (De fide.) In addition to the essential bliss of Heaven which springs from the immediate Vision of God, there is also an accidental blessedness, which proceeds from the natural knowledge and love of created things. (Sent. communis.) The bliss of heaven lasts for all eternity. (De fide. ) The degree of perfection of the beatific vision granted to the just is proportioned to each one's merits. (De fide.) The souls of those who die in the condition of personal grievous sin enter Hell. (De fide. ) The punishment of Hell lasts for all eternity. (De fide.) The punishment of the damned is proportioned to each one's guilt. (Sent. communis.) The souls of the just which, in the moment of death, are burdened with venial sins or temporal punishment due to sins, enter Purgatory. (De fide.) The purifying fire will not continue after the General Judgment. (Sent. communis.) A "Clayton's Reply" From The Neocatechumenals - "The Reply You Get When You Don't Get A Reply!!!" 37 On Saturday Aug 25, Fr. Roger gave me a package from the catechists in response to my notes. It comprised: An unsigned, undated sheet (Appendix V - The Catechists "Instructions" To Fr. Ryan ) which starts out appearing to be from the catechist to me (John Loughnan), but quickly turned around and appears to contain instructions TO Fr. Roger Ryan on what to say to me when (or if) he writes to me. It really is a mixed up document. A photocopy of a letter in Italian, purportedly from Pope John Paul II, and apparently bearing his signature, dated: "Dal Vaticano, il 30 Agosto dell' 1990, XII de Pontificato." (Appendix VI - The Pope's Letter In Italian) An alleged translation of that letter, but bearing a superscript which is not on the first document: "Letter of John Paul II approving the Neocatechumenal Way" ( Appendix VII - The Alleged English Translation ) The Catechist "Instructs" The Parish Priest Speculatively, the "instruction" appears to be from the Catechist, Mr Trevor Atkinson. It reads as follows: "My first reaction to the letter was to suggest that you might like to point out the following facts. Dear John, Thank you for your letter 38, which the catechists passed on to me 39. I do appreciate the considerate way in which you have raised your disquiet. I 40 would however point out that the catechists are here at my 41 express request. Their catechesis has been studied and approved by Cardinal Ratzinger and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 42 and they are here with the full support of Archbishop Dennis Hart 43, who himself listened to the full catechesis 44 when he invited them to his Parish in Brunswick. I do not need to remind you that they are also supported by Archbishop George Pell, and Bishop Hilton Deakin, who had in fact hoped to show his support by coming to one of the nights towards the end of the catechesis. Sadly the dates proved impossible, as he had to go to East Timor. 45 The Passionist priest Father Enrico Zoffoli's claims were all investigated years ago and were found not to be valid 46. The letter by Pope John Paul affirming this to be an 'itinerary of Christian formation valid for our society and our times' has been validated by the Holy father on numerous public occasions not least the meeting of the New Movements in Rome which received worldwide television coverage. Trevor Atkinson finally and anonymously attempted to bring on the "big guns" - the threat in Gamaliel 5:38-39 (although he does not cite the verse numbers.) Who would be so unwise as to pit himself against the Neocatechumenal movement, the Holy Spirit, the Pope and a whole army of ecclesiastics, and so on? Surely not even a fool who has been in conflict with Church authority in the past? On the evening that I first met the Catechist, I advised him that I had been an adherent to the Society of St Pius X for about 23 years. This, of course, is public knowledge, and is not subject to the seal of Confession. It is interesting, however, that he should direct Fr. Ryan to bring up the subject: "I say this because of the accusations laid against the neocatechumenal Way are levelled by those not in true communion with the Church. Now your personal experience must surely show you the danger of this. I therefore ask you, sincerely, to continue attending these catecheses but with a heart open to the Holy Spirit or, if that is too difficult, 47 to consider the words of Gamaliel in Acts Chapter 5 "If this enterprise, this movement of theirs, is of human origin it will break up of its own accord; but if it does in fact comes from God you will be unable to destroy them. Take care not to find yourselves fighting against God.' His advice was accepted." (sic.) Fr. Enrico Zoffoli and Related Criticisms Mr Aitkinson's "Instructions" passed these off as follows: "The Passionist priest Father Enrico Zoffoli's claims were all investigated years ago and were found not to be valid...." It would be of great assistance for this to be validated in the form of official documentation of the process and the judgement. Is this readily available? Is there any evidence that Father Zoffoli was presented with the results of the process and judgement? Did he accept such judgement and withdraw his contentions unconditionally? What evidence for this is available? Why are his critiques still promoted? Why are further criticisms continuing from other sources such as "PASCH - Parishioners Against a Secret Church"? Why do the Neocatechumenals refuse to actually answer direct questions in a direct way? Why do they not make readily available their methodology and doctrine? Why do they think that they are beyond criticism? Time For A Further Appraisal? The answer, of course, is that time passes and so too may the prudence of individuals in the Neocatechumenal movement. Apart from the Pope in certain circumstances, individuals are NOT infallible; individuals, even in a good and holy enterprise, can fall into error. To point out error is the right and duty of EVERY Catholic. Perhaps the "whistleblower's" judgement is erroneous? There is no problem so long as the matter is left to the judgement of appropriate Church authority. In the meantime, is the expousal of perceived doctrinal error to be given free rein? Perhaps it is time for another evaluation of the Neocatechumenal Way? F. John Loughnan jloughnan@hotmail.com September 19, 2001 Footnotes: Appendices I, II, and VIII July 23 - Aug. 16, 2001. As I did not attend any further sessions of the Neocatechumenal Way catechesis, my report is limited to this period. The complete team comprised the English couple, Trevor and Pam Atkinson, Eric (Australian) and Charo (his Peruvian? wife), Fr. John Hogan (formerly from the Perth Archdiocese), and a Spanish(?) intending seminarian. Two visiting Italian seminarians, Fabrizzio and Maro, also promoted and attended the sessions. http://198.62.75.1/www2/ncw/nintroductions.htm http://198.62.75.1/www2/ncw/nrecognit.htm http://www.christusrex.org/ww2/ncw/ http://www.catholic.net/rcc/Periodicals/Inside/sep95/neocat1.html http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Sbenigni/whatis.htm Era of Peace The neocatechumenal Way and the Catholic Church Introduction - Heresies in the Neocatechumenal Way Chapter 1. No Redemption - Heresies in the Neocatechumenal Way Chapter 2. Man Cannot Offend God - Heresies in the Neocatechumenal Way Chapter 3. Enough Atoning Sacrifices - Heresies in the Neocatechumenal Way Chapter 4. It Is Impossible To Sin - Heresies in the Neocatechumenal Way Chapter 5. Christ is a Model of Sanctity for No-one - Heresies in the Neocatechumenal Way Chapter 6. We Are All Priests - Heresies in the Neocatechumenal Way Chapter 7. The Catholic Church is Not the Only Sheepfold of Christ - Heresies in the Neocatechumenal Way http://eraofpeace.tripod.com/nch-catechesis.html http://eraofpeace.tripod.com/expositionended.html http://members.xoom.it/_XOOM/alterinfo/E_Med102.htm http://members.xoom.it/_XOOM/alterinfo/E_NCGEN.htm http://members.xoom.it/_XOOM/alterinfo/E_DM002.htm http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/6919/E_ROCCA.htm http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/6919/E_BRAIN.htm http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Ronald_Haynes/welcome.htm http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Ronald_Haynes/nc-kla1.htm http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Ronald_Haynes/nc-rsh1.htm http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Ronald_Haynes/nc-lmbs.htm http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/ronald_haynes/nc-barab.htm http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Ronald_Haynes/bpl9711.htm http://www.christianorder.com/editorials/editorials_2000/editorials_feb00.html Appendix II - Some Of The Catechists Comments Appendix III - More Of The Catechists Comments "Fundamentals Of Catholic Dogma", Dr. Ludwig Ott, Tan Books and Publishers, Inc., 1974, p.168, pp.270-304. ibid. pp.13-17. ibid. pp.473-485. The Catechists answer to my notes was to produce the alleged private letter of August 30, 1990 from Pope John Paul II to Bishop Paul Josef Cordes:Appendix VI - The Pope's Letter In Italian and Appendix VII - The Alleged English Translation Fr. Zoffoli's comment on this letter is as follows: "The Holy See has never approved canonically the Neocatechical Movement, even though John Paul II deigned to write Mons. J.P.Cordes a private letter of praise and encouragement, based on the documentation of some positive results of the way presented by the recipient. 'The intention of the Holy Father' - we read in a note published on Acta Apostolicae Sedis -'in recognising the Neocatechuminal Way as a valid itinerary of Catholic training, is not to give binding instructions to the local Ordinaries, but simply to encourage them to consider carefully the Neocatechumenal Communities, leaving it to the judgement of these Ordinaries, however, to act according to the pastoral requirements of the individual dioceses.'" (Refer links "H" and "S 5" above). Don Gino, an associate of Fr. Zoffoli commented on the letter, thus: "The woman has quoted from a letter sent to Mons. Cordes that was written by the Pope. It would be better to know just a little bit more about the story behind the story behind this letter. When anybody makes an exegesis of any kind of text, one should look at it carefully. That text did not come out of the Secretary of State which is where Papal Documents are released from. The Neocatechumenate have drawn many quotes and conclusions from this text when it was released, but they didn't add the valid part of the text. Whoever knows canon law knows that the valid text of a document is the part published in the 'Acta Apostolicae Sedis'. Now, neither the 'Acta Apostolicae Sedis' nor the Osservatore Romano has published this letter dated the 30th of August which, by the way, contains a grammatical error in Italian and a typographical error and I can't imagine any documents coming from the Secretary of the Pope would be poorly done with these kinds of errors. "This is one of the proofs that the document did not come from the Pope, but that it came from the hands of Cordes. In any case, in the end, the Secretary of State (and this much I can say about it) added this famous side-note with the publication of the letter. 'The intentions of the Holy Father, in recognizing the Way, aren't meant to give a binding stamp of approval.' This note was added to save, in one way or another, whoever wasn't guilty of certain things. Therefore, don't even talk about approval!!" Now, the documents produced to Father Roger by the Catechist included the alleged letter from the Pope in Italian, a photocopy of the translation into English (with a caption gratuitously added: "Letter of John Paul II approving the Neocatechumenal Way"), and, what appears to be, instructions from the Catechist to Fr. Roger for HIS reply to me (F.J.L). What emerges is confirmation of Don Gino's assertions above, for the Italian version does, indeed, contain the phrase: "...accogliendo la richiesta rivoltami, riconosco il Cammino Neocatecumenale come un itinerario di formazione cattolica, valida per la societá e per i tempi odierni." The contention is that the word for valid = "valido" (a male word) has been incorrectly given the female form, "valida" - a grammatical error, normally unthinkable for a Secretary of State or Papal Secretary production! Secondly, the letter is in fact dated: "Dal Vaticano, il 30 Agosto dell' 1990, XII de Pon-tificato." It appears that "dell'" is here superfluous, or "anno" should have followed it to produce "...the 30th August of the year 1990..." Furthermore, the original Italian does NOT have an accent in "Hernández" - if there should be such an accent, what does this say of the Papal Secretary's professionalism. Or is there another darker answer? Accordingly, it appears that the Neocatechumenals are not quite telling it as it is when they claim to have been "sent by the Pope". I would suggest that the complete truth is that they have received their mission from Kiko Arguello and Carmen Hernandez. It further appears that this is a strategy used to "gull the gullible"! Trevor appears to be addressing John Loughnan. Actually, Fr. Ryan passed on the "comments" to the catechists, including Trevor. I guess the "me" IS Trevor? Is the "I" still Trevor? Or, does he here become Fr Ryan? I would suspect that the "me" here is intended to be Fr. Ryan! It is encouraging that he calls the Congregation by the right name on this occasion. During the catechesis (Appendix IX - Notes On Aug. 15, 2001 Session ) he called it the Congregation for the Doctrine of The Church. I would be only too pleased if Archbishop Denis Hart would instruct me to "heel" - for I will obey immediately, and happily occupy myself in the garden and doing work around the house which as been long overdue. I cannot comment on that; sometimes one nods off even during sermons? In any event, what was said and done may have differed from the St. Patrick's catechesis? This is all good filler material to disguise the fact that Trevor WILL NOT answer any of the specific objections. According to the material from Fr. Zoffoli, etc. this is precisely par for the course. What the writer refers to here may be further expanded from link "C" above, a portion of which is provided here: "Their work soon aroused the interest of the Vatican's Congregation of the Liturgy and Sacraments. After a period of examination, the Congregation published a laudatory article in its official journal Notitiae. "...Years later, on May 9, 1986, Kiko and Carmen were summoned by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith to respond to a series of questions regarding their views on hermeneutics, pastoral work and doctrine. After thorough study of their responses, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger informed them that his Congregation wished to assist them, and proposed linking the movement to a Vatican Congregation to provide a juridicial basis. Kiko and Carmen fervently desired the official support of the Holy Father. As a result, John Paul II nominated Bishop Paul Josef Cordes, Vice-President of the Pontifical Council for the laity, to act as the Pope's delegate ad personem to the movement and intermediary with the Vatican Congregations... "...Admitting the movement's recognition and praise, one could fill books with the criticism levelled against the Neocatechumenal movement. (In England they have been compared to the 'Moonies.') Much criticism comes from traditionalist, 'pre-conciliar' groups, who find the liturgical changes much too radical. Substantial criticisms are of two types: The first censures the movement for trying to create 'a Church within the Church.' As a matter of fact, the Neocatecumenate liturgies take place on Saturday evenings, perhaps several at the same time for different groups, and all outside the normal Sunday services (in which Neocatechumenate members apparently do not participate). This situation has created a myriad of problems between bishops and the movement. One example: Cardinal Giovanni Saldarini, Archbishop of Turin, issued a Decree on May 15, 1995, in which he, after praising positive aspects of the Neocatechumenate experience, cancelled their separate activities and restored all his parishes to normal diocesan pastoral supervision. The second criticism is of a doctrinal nature. Enrico Zoffoli, a Passionist Father has published his criticisms in several volumes (The Heresy of the Neocatechumenate Movement and A Comparison of the Pope's Magisterium and Kiko's Catechesis). According to Zoffoli, Kiko and Carmen have underplayed both the priest's absolution and the Real Presence in the Eucharist - accusations refuted by the Neocatechumenate movement, whose leaders say their beliefs and practices are supported by early Christian beliefs and practices." Most miscreants WILL refute accusations: perhaps they WERE successful on that occasion in refuting the accusations - but the difficulties persist; problems are still perceived with followers of the "WAY" who simply follow the manuals of the founders. Is the period between Constantine and the Second Vatican Council, and the "development of Doctrine" to be callously thrown to the winds of alleged "ancient Church" practices? ... at the expense of Dogma defined in the interim? What is the Catechist suggesting here?

Quoting The Neocatechumenals Some Of The Melbourne Catechists Comments More Of The Melbourne Catechists Comments "Some Short Comments On Quotes From The Neocatechumenal Way Founders The Catechists "Instructions" To Fr. Ryan The Pope's Letter In Italian The Alleged English Translation Questionnaire On Reconciliation Notes On Aug. 15, 2001 Session A Description Of The Neo-Catechumal Liturgy Return to Sean Ó Lachtnáin's HOME PAGE