The Neocatechumenal Way Celebrates 40 Years of Fruitful Evangelization

"Let us keep firm in the hope that we profess for the one who made the promise is faithful. Let us be concerned for each other, to stir a response in love and good works. Do not stay away from the meetings of the community, ...but encourage each other to go, the more so often as you see the Day drawing near."

--Heb 10:23-25, New Jerusalem Bible

VISnews 090112‏

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01.12.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 06

NEO-CATECHUMENAL WAY: JOY, FAITH, SEARCH FOR UNITY

VATICAN CITY, 10 JAN 2009 (VIS) - In St. Peter's Basilica this afternoon, Benedict XVI commemorated the fortieth anniversary of the Neo-Catechumenal Way, a group founded by the Spaniards Kiko Arguello and Carmen Hernandez, and the Italian priest Mario Pezzi.

During the meeting, which was attended by 25,000 members of the Way, the Pope entrusted the "mission cross" to fourteen Neo-Catechumenal communities, each made up of some 30-40 members, soon to depart on mission to help pastors in the most difficult and secularised areas of the outskirts of Rome.

"Your presence", said the Holy Father in his address, "bears witness to the prodigies wrought by the Lord over the last four decades. It is also a sign of the commitment with which you intend to continue down the path you have begun, a path of faithful adherence to Christ and of courageous witness to His Gospel, ... a path of humble acceptance of the guidance of pastors and of communion with all other components of the People of God, ... well aware that helping the men and women of our time to meet Jesus Christ, Redeemer of man, is a mission for the Church and for all the baptised. The Neo-Catechumenal Way is part of this ecclesial mission, as one of the numerous 'ways' brought into being by the Holy Spirit at Vatican Council II for the new evangelisation".

"How much fresh apostolic energy has been created among priests and laity!" the Pope exclaimed. "How many families ... have been helped to rediscover the joy of faith and the enthusiasm of evangelical witness through the announcement of the 'kerygma' and the rediscovery of Baptism! The recent approval of the Statutes of the Neo-Catechumenal Way by the Pontifical Council for the Laity are a confirmation of the esteem and benevolence with which the Holy See follows the work the Lord began through your founders".

"Your apostolic activities, already highly praiseworthy in themselves, will be even more effective in the degree to which you constantly strive to cultivate that desire for unity which Jesus communicated to the Twelve at the Last Supper. ... It is this unity - gift of the Holy Spirit and incessantly sought by the faithful - that makes each community a living and well-integrated member of the mystical Body of Christ. The unity of the disciples of the Lord is part of the essence of the Church, and an indispensable condition if her evangelising activity is to prove fruitful and credible".

"Indeed, what is needed today is a vast missionary action involving the various aspects of the Church which, each conserving the originality of its own charism, must work harmoniously to achieve that 'integrated pastoral care' which has already enabled significant results to be reached. And you, placing yourselves - as your Statues say - with complete willingness at the service of bishops, can become an example for many local Churches which rightly look to Rome as a model to which to refer".

The Pope concluded his remarks by inviting the members of the Neo-Catechumenal Way "not to lose heart in the face of difficulties, and not to seek human success, nor to fear misunderstandings and even persecutions", but rather to "trust only in the power of Christ, to take up your own cross and follow the footsteps of our Redeemer".

AC/ANNIVERSARY/NEO-CATECHUMENAL WAY VIS 090112 (570)

"The family remains the principal institution of aid and solidarity".--Cardinal Antonelli, WORLD MEETING OF FAMILIES IN MEXICO CITY

01.09.2009 - Nineteenth Year - Num. 05
SUMMARY:
VISnews 090109‏
From:
visnews_en-bounces@mlists.vatican.va on behalf of Vatican Information Service - English (visnews_en@mlists.vatican.va)
___________________________________________________________
WORLD MEETING OF FAMILIES IN MEXICO CITY

VATICAN CITY, 9 JAN 2009 (VIS) - In the Holy See Press Office this morning Cardinal Ennio Antonelli, president of the Pontifical Council for the Family, presented the Sixth World Meeting of Families, which is to due to take place in Mexico City, Mexico, from 14 to 18 January.

"The Holy Father will be 'especially present' at these events" with two video messages, said the president of the pontifical council: a recorded message on the evening of Saturday 17 January, and a live message, via satellite, on Sunday 18 January at the end of the final Mass.

The meeting, which has as its theme "The family, teacher of human and Christian values", will be attended by cardinals, bishops and delegations of families from all continents. Cardinal Secretary of State Tarcisio Bertone S.D.B. will also be present in the capacity of pontifical legate.

As is the tradition in these world meetings - the last was held in Valencia, Spain, in July 2006 - the main celebrations will be preceded by a theological-pastoral congress.

This year's theological congress, to be attended by 8,000 people and held from 14 to 16 January, will focus on three main points: family relations and family values; the family and sexuality, and the educational vocation of the family. Lectures and workshops are also scheduled to take place on such subjects as: family relations and family values according to the Bible; values to be discovered and rediscovered; the family and the value of human life; organisations that help the family in the formation of values; family and the communications media, and the challenge of policymaking in support of life and the family.

The celebrations scheduled for 17 and 18 January, at which more than a million people are expected to attend, will take place at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. On Saturday 17 January, the praying of the Rosary will take place and families from Africa, Asia, America, Europe and Oceania will present their testimonies. On Sunday 18 January, Cardinal Bertone will preside at a solemn Eucharistic celebration.

Cardinal Antonelli also mentioned the "Family Mosaic" which has been prepared for the meeting, formed of thousands of photographs of families from all over the world arranged to create the image of Benedict XVI. A national competition entitled "A letter to my child" has also been organised, open to single mothers resident in the Republic of Mexico who wish to write a letter to their son or daughter. "The best letters will be collected in a commemorative book which will be presented to Benedict XVI as evidence of the profound values and dignity of Mexican mothers", the cardinal explained.

On the subject of families in Mexico, Cardinal Antonelli pointed out how, "as in other parts of the world, they are currently experiencing a crisis. Nonetheless", he added, "the family remains the principal institution of aid and solidarity".

He went on: "Abortion, divorce, euthanasia, questions associated with bioethics, though far removed from popular culture and practices, are also penetrating the mentality of Mexicans. Families today have to face ... the challenge of an individualist and market culture, founded on production and consumption. Unfortunately we have a mistaken concept of freedom, which is understood as self-sufficient autonomy. ... With this misguided mentality, laws often are passed - without broad social consensus and under the influence of small but active pressure groups, highly ideological and with large economic resources - that enable and facilitate abortion, rapid divorce and euthanasia".

"The Church is making great efforts of evangelisation, supporting Christian families in their values and encouraging a wide-ranging strategy to promote and defend life from conception to natural death. ... Thanks to God", he concluded, "over the last few years numerous initiatives, both ecclesial and civil, have come into being in the service of the family ... which support this work".

OP/WORLD MEETING FAMILIES/MEXICO VIS 090109 (650)