The Strange Liturgy of the Neocatechumenals

Following are excerpts from the article:

A book authorized by founders Kiko and Carmen presents a doctrinal and liturgical defense of the Neocatechumenal Way. But the criticisms about how they celebrate the mass remain intact

by Sandro Magister
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ROMA, January 24 2005 – Among the new movements that have arisen within the Catholic Church in recent decades – on the "dangers" of which an editorial in "La Civiltà Cattolica" sounded the alarm on August 19, 2004 – there is one that is under closer observation than the rest: the Neocatechumenal Way.

Begun in 1964 in Spain by Francisco "Kiko" Argüello and Carmen Hernández (see photo), the Way has seen impressive growth throughout the world. On June 29, 2002, the Holy See approved its statutes. But that did not end the scrutiny. That same year, on September 21, John Paul II reminded the heads of the Way:

"It now falls to the appropriate dicasteries of the Holy See to examine the catechetical directory and all the catechetical, not to mention liturgical, practices of the Way itself."

In effect, the catechisms written by Kiko and Carmen, which provide a model for all of the Way, have never been made public, and are still under examination by the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.

The book [a synthesis using Kiko & Carmen's unpublished texts] is an open apology for the Neocatechumenal Way, in response to the criticisms advanced up to now, even by authoritative bishops and cardinals, before and after the approval of the statutes.

But there is one point upon which this apology remains weak. And it regards the liturgical practice of the Way.

The Neocatechumenals customarily celebrate the Sunday mass on Saturday evening, separately from the parish community to which they belong.

That's not all. Given that each Neocatechumenal community corresponds to a precise stage of the Way, each community of twenty or thirty persons has its own mass. If there are ten communities in a parish, on Saturday evening there will be ten discrete masses, in separate locations.

There is a glaring contrast between the encyclical [Ecclesia de Eucharistia], the instruction [Redemptionis Sacramentum], and the indications for the eucharistic year [Mane Nobiscum Domine] on the one hand, and the liturgical practices of the Neocatechumenal Way on the other.

And to justify the liturgical praxis of the Way, the author refers to unpublished texts by Kiko and Carmen, in which they recount to their disciples their own highly particular history of the mass, according to which the great merit of the Way is that of restoring the celebration of the mass to its original purity.

In effect then, Kiko and Carmen determine how the Holy Mass is to be celebrated, rather than the Church...I know some others who think much in the same way...

The fruits of [Kiko and Carmen's] questionable history lesson are visible in the liturgies celebrated by the Neocatechumenal communities all over the world.

The masses are almost always celebrated, community by community, not in the churches, but in parish buildings. Centuries of sacred art and architecture are thus nullified. And these are substituted by new decor typical of the Way, dominated by a large, square dinner table at the center of the room. The images used are in the style of the founder, Kiko, who is a Byzantine-influenced painter. And so are the songs. The musical accompaniment is provided by the guitar, defined as the instrument "closest to the ancient Hebrew psalter."

The celebration is formally open to all. In reality, at the moment of entrance there is an exchange of greetings, presentations, and applause, which acts as a barrier to those outside the community.

In the liturgy of the Word, each of the readings is preceded and followed by long "admonitions" from the catechists, which are then followed by "echoes" from many of those present. The priest's homily is barely distinguishable from the rest of the comments.

The eucharistic liturgy is also pulled free from the norms in order to represent instead the presumed physical actions of the primitive apostolic community: with a huge loaf of bread mixed and baked according to Kiko's precise instructions, with wine which passes from hand to hand in decanters, with a communion that takes place as fellow sitting diners eating and drinking around a dinner table...

But I thought Cardinal Arinze said, "The do-it-yourself Mass is ended."?

This article was a very enlightening expose about a subject of which I had little knowledge. I have had occasion to meet a few people associated with the group, but for some reason, I always felt a little uncomfortable - now I think I can understand why...

Source.