Saturday, June 21, 2014

WE ARE NOT ALONE....

...but how much worse for us when your bishop is one of them!



The Neocatechumenal Way's operations in Japan came under the spotlight recently when several of the country's bishops expressed misgivings about the movement and complained that it has sometimes been a divisive force in their Church. 

Here, an Osaka archdiocesan priest, Father Eijiro Suwa, 63, the pastor at Enokuchi parish in Kochi prefecture, in Takamatsu diocese, about 600km southwest of Tokyo, gives a personal account of the "Way" from his experience. This is an edited version of Father Suwas' comments. 

In order to serve the needs of the “Way”, their priests are ordained as “diocesan priests”, but they do not understand what it means to engage in pastoral evangelization in obedience to their bishop. They repeatedly proclaim, “We have been missioned by the Vatican”, and at meetings of the priests of the diocese they say to the Bishop’s face, “We obey the Vatican.” 

Are they not able to understand the policy of the diocese regarding “Collaborative Ministry”? At gatherings of the priests of the diocese they say, “That policy has nothing to do with us.” It is not an exaggeration to say that the Diocese of Takamatsu is being used by the “Way”.

When it came time for First Communion in the parish, a priest of the “Way” asked that he be allowed to give First Communion to the children of the members of the “Way”. When a member of the “Way” died, they did not notify the pastor of the parish until the day after the funeral, which they had conducted on their own. 

There was one additional priest “in charge” of Enoguchi Parish. Who named him to that post? In some secret way a priest of the “Way” had been named to look after the liturgy and gatherings of the “Way” in that parish. 

In order to augment the following of the “Way” many meetings and events are planned and carried out in secret. 

REDEMPTORIS SEMINARY 

At the present time the Takamatsu Diocesan International Redemptoris Mater Seminary has been closed in the diocese and has moved to Rome as “Redemptoris Mater Seminary for Japan”. 

At the time of the foundation of the seminary, since the process followed was neither legally nor financially sound, and since the wishes of the people of the diocese were not followed, many problems arose. 

The seminary was established in the Diocese of Takamatsu under the jurisdiction of its Bishop, but it was evident that it was independent of the diocese and all matters regarding formation and administration were handled by the “Way”. 

They were supported by donations, but since there was no report to the diocese with regard to the accounts and/or the formation being provided, there was no transparency in these matters. 
The Bishop was not even introduced to the new candidates who presented themselves each year. 

Many of the faithful of the diocese have felt keenly the suffering of the diocese for more than 20 years. However, the pain of the people of the diocese and the untiring direction of the Bishop was no more than static in their ears. 

Their consciousness was “We are being persecuted.” 

MISSIONARY FAMILIES 

There were two missionary families from Italy assigned to Enoguchi Parish. They are very good people. Their mission was to minister to and help the priests of the “Way”. They said that they were missioned by the Vatican to be completely submissive to them. 

They were friendly with the people of Enoguchi Parish, but when the priest of the “Way” no longer came to the parish and because of difficulties with the Japanese language, it became difficult for them to grasp their mission. 

LITURGIES 

The members of the “Way” celebrate a special Mass according to their own catechesis that is not part of the liturgical guidelines of the Bishops’ Conference of Japan. 

The same is true of the liturgy for Holy Week. They celebrate liturgies that ignore the sensibility of the Japanese people and are considered to be bizarre (funerals). 

There is also the problem of the collection during the Mass. It does not become part of the parish finances and its use is unclear

The Bishop - out of respect for the members of the “Way” - tried to deal with this issue quietly without making public statements. However, the members of the “Way” did not grasp the Bishop’s intention and continued to ignore him

Each time an issue came up the emphatic answer was “We obey the Vatican.” 

In seeking unity in our diocese our Bishop appealed to the Vatican time and again but each time it was felt that the true state of affairs was not understood in Rome.




My note: The bishops in Rome are easily bought. That's why Kiko is always there. So we don't wait for Rome. We take action ourselves and we take action now. Knocking down the AAA to only 42% of its goal was just the first step. More to come. Sick of this crap. 

8 comments:

  1. Interesting that this Cardinal who is I believe the Prefect for the Liturgy should say this statement and yet the proper way of receiving communion is not followed by the NCW.

    Lima, Peru, Jul 28, 2011 / 01:56 pm (CNA).- Spanish Cardinal Antonio Canizares Llovera recently recommended that Catholics receive Communion on the tongue, while kneeling.

    “It is to simply know that we are before God himself and that He came to us and that we are undeserving,” the prefect of the Vatican's Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments said in an interview with CNA during his visit to Lima, Peru.

    The cardinal’s remarks came in response to a question on whether Catholics should receive Communion in the hand or on the tongue.

    He recommended that Catholics “receive Communion on the tongue and while kneeling.”

    Receiving Communion in this way, the cardinal continued, “is the sign of adoration that needs to be recovered. I think the entire Church needs to receive Communion while kneeling.”

    “In fact,” he added, “if one receives while standing, a genuflection or profound bow should be made, and this is not happening.”

    “If we trivialize Communion, we trivialize everything, and we cannot lose a moment as important as that of receiving Communion, of recognizing the real presence of Christ there, of the God who is the love above all loves, as we sing in a hymn in Spanish.”

    In response to a question about the liturgical abuses that often occur, Cardinal Canizares said they must be “corrected, especially through proper formation: formation for seminarians, for priests, for catechists, for all the Christian faithful.”

    Such a formation should ensure that liturgical celebrations take place “in accord with the demands and dignity of the celebration, in accord with the norms of the Church, which is the only way we can authentically celebrate the Eucharist,” he added.

    “Bishops have a unique responsibility” in the task of liturgical formation and the correction of abuses, the cardinal said, “and we must not fail to fulfill it, because everything we do to ensure that the Eucharist is celebrated properly will ensure proper participation in the Eucharist.”

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    1. Sadly card. Cañizares Llovera is a great friend of the NC Way... he is mostly interested in gaining power and fighting card. Rouco Varela.

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  2. With all these problems regarding the NCW in many places, why isn't Rome taking action? Didn't Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI launch some sort of investigation on the NCW a couple of years ago? I wonder what's the status of that. I'm kind of saddened, as well, that the Apostolic Nuncio has not replied to our concerns.

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    1. Rome is, as evidenced by the strongest public rebuke from a pope ever by Pope Francis to the Neocatechumenal Way on Feb. 1. In dealing with wayward sects, theologians, clerics, and budding heretics, the popes take great pains over many years. A public rebuke is usually the last thing they do. In many cases, Rome lets nature take its course, the founder/trouble maker dies, the people get tired of the novelty and return, bishops grow a backbone and deal with it themselves, or, like us, the popular support against it grows to where the people wake up and the leaders find themselves empty handed. Kiko isn't the first and won't be the last. But hopefully we will have learned something when this ends. Dictators always arise when their is a vacuum in leadership.

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  3. You may want to have a look at the CBCJ official website (Catholic Bishops Conference in Japan), between May 2008 and April 2009:

    - Japanese Bishops meet Benedict XVI for second time in five months - "...The Neocatechumenal Way (the Way) and the International Takamatsu Diocesan Seminary known as Redemptoris Mater. We have here a serious problem. In the small Catholic Church of Japan, the powerful sect-like activity of Way members is divisive and confrontational. It has caused sharp painful division and strife within the Church. We are struggling with all our strength to overcome the problem but feel that if a solution is to be found, the consideration of Your Holiness for the Church in Japan will be of the utmost importance and direly needed."

    - Bishops' Conference makes direct appeal to Pope for closure of Takamatsu NCW RMSeminary. "In this meeting, Benedict XVI explained that he has not extended formal approval of the NCW Statute. The reason he gave was that, pertaining to their liturgies and relationships with the bishops, certain problems have been brought to light." --- Note: a few weeks later, card.Rylko announced the approval of the NCW Statutes (dated to June 13, 2008). Benedict XVI will not comment for many months.

    - Priests working in Takamatsu oppose the NCW - Though the Statutes of the movement state that it "is at the service of the Bishops as a form of diocesan implementation of Christian initiation and of ongoing education in faith," relations between the Way and diocesan bishops have frequently been contentious... "They ignored a decision by the entire bishops' conference of Japan as well as the apostolic nuncio"... "The NCW RM seminary is the driving force behind the activities of the Way, producing liturgical problems and damaged unity in parishes..."

    - NCW RM Seminary in Takamatsu: closed by Japan Bishops - Fun fact: NCW priests need a NCW "vicar" in order to talk with their respective Bishops. Because the 25 or so Neocatechumenal Way priests working in Japan "may encounter various difficulties in the wake of this decision," the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in Rome will appoint a vicar "charged with the specific responsibility of handling, in cooperation with the bishops of the episcopal conference, various issues pertaining to the presence and ministry of these priests, including their contracts of service."

    - Takamatsu Bishop announces closing of NCW RM Seminary.

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    1. As a note, Rome did not allow the Japanese Bishop's conference to kick out the Neo en masse. However, it reminded the bishops that they each already had the individual authority to do so. Some did. Others greatly restricted their activities.

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    2. It took sixteen years to close that Seminary in Takamatsu. And when closure was finally settling, in summer 2008 card. Tarcisio Bertone wrote a letter to Japanese Bishops to stop any action against the Seminary, claiming that Benedict XVI was going to "better study" the problem. Bertone, as a State Secretary of the Vatican, did not have authority on Japanese Bishops (because Japan is regarded as "mission land") and I do not believe that Benedict XVI first says he doesn't want to renew the NCW statutes and a few weeks after the Statutes are approved by a Pontifical Council for the Laity by card. Rylko, while Bertone enters the game.
      NC Way has powerful friends in Vatican - enough to use the salesian Bertone as a "last resort" soldier. The Seminary was eventually closed but seminarians just transferred in Rome (Italy) to establish a new "Seminary for the Japan" there. Kiko's arrogance has no limits, and the method of the Way is the "fait accompli" by surprise attack.

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  4. Stay tune what Pope Francis has to say about this.....

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