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Hervorhebungen im Text: Jo Hoffmann
Date:
2006-04-01
On
Ecclesial Movements and New Communities
Archbishop
Stanislaw Rylko's Address in
* * *
Ecclesial Movements and New Communities:
The Response of the Holy Spirit to Today's Challenge of Evangelization
By Archbishop Stanislaw Rylko
President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity
1. The greatest challenge facing the
Church at the beginning of the new millennium is the task which has always been
entrusted to her: evangelization. The Church is called in every epoch,
and therefore in our own, to embrace anew the missionary mandate of the Risen
Christ: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in
the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them
to obey everything that I have commanded you." (Matthew 28:19-20).
For Matthew, making "disciples" and making "Christians" are
one in the same.[1] "Making disciples" is at the very heart of
Church's ongoing vocation and mission. The Church, founded by Christ, is sent to
evangelize the world; it lives in a permanent state of mission and finds its
very reason for being in that mission.
The evangelization of today's world -- the new evangelization and of such great
interest to and so often spoken about by the Servant of God John Paul II -- is a
task in which the Church places great hope; yet the Church is fully aware of the
innumerable obstacles she faces in this work due to the extraordinary changes
happening at a personal and social level and, above all, to a postmodern culture
in serious crisis.
The expanding process of secularization
and an authentic "dictatorship of relativism" (Benedict XVI) have
produced a tremendous absence of values in many of our contemporaries, which is
accompanied by a joyful nihilism that ends in an alarming erosion of faith, a
type of "silent apostasy" (John Paul II) and a "strange
forgetfulness of God" (Benedict XVI).
This situation, so sadly prevalent in countries of ancient Christian tradition,
is contrasted with a type of "religious boom" characterized by
ambivalence and ambiguity. The Holy Father mentioned this phenomenon in
Consider the invasion of religious
sects, the spread of New Age attitudes and lifestyles, and pseudo-religious
phenomena such as magic and the occult. In truth, the globalized world has
become a gigantic mission territory. As the Psalmist says so
dramatically: "The Lord looks down on the sons of men if any are wise, if
any seek God" (Psalm 14:2). It is more urgent than ever today to preach
Christ in the great modern areopagus of culture, science, economy, politics and
the mass media. The evangelical harvest is great and the laborers are few (cf.
Matthew 9:37). This vital field of action for the Church requires a radical
change of mentality, an authentic new awakening of conscience in everyone. New
methods are needed, as are new expressions and new courage.[3]
As the Servant of God John Paul II exhorted the Church at the beginning of the
third millennium: "I have often repeated the call for a new evangelization
during these years. I repeat it again in order to emphasize that we must renew
that original impulse and allow ourselves to be filled with the zeal of the
apostolic preaching after Pentecost. We must awaken in ourselves those
sentiments of
And in his words to the German bishops in
2. Among the many fruits produced for Church life by the Second Vatican Council,
the "new associative moment" of the lay faithful undoubtedly holds a
special place. Thanks to the ecclesiology and the theology of the laity
developed by the Council, many groups referred to today as "ecclesial
movements" or "new communities" have appeared alongside the
traditional associations.[6]
Once again the Spirit has intervened in the history of the Church, raising up
new charisms that possess an extraordinary missionary dynamism which responds in
an opportune way to the challenges of our time, great and dramatic as they are.
The Servant of God John Paul II, who followed these new ecclesial realities with
particular attention and pastoral care, affirmed: "One of the Spirit's
gifts to our time is truly the flourishing of the ecclesial movements which,
from the beginning of my pontificate, I have seen and continue to see as a
reason for hope for the Church and for society."[7] The Pope was deeply
convinced that these ecclesial movements were a manifestation of a "new
missionary advent," of a great "Christian springtime" prepared by
God at the threshold of the third millennium of the Redemption.[8] Truly
this was one of the great prophetic moments of his pontificate.
The ecclesial movements and new
communities contain a precious evangelizing potential urgently needed by the
Church today. Yet their richness has not yet been fully recognized or
valued. John Paul II said: "Often in today's world, which is dominated by a
secular culture that proposes models of life without God, the faith of many is
greatly tested and often suffocated and put out. Therefore there is an urgent
need for a strong testimony and a Christian formation that is solid and deep.
What a great need there is today for mature Christian personalities who are
aware of their baptismal identity, of their call and mission in the Church and
in the world! What great there is of living Christian communities! This is where
the ecclesial movements and new communities appear: they are the answer which
has been raised up by the Holy Spirit to this dramatic challenge at the end of
the millennium. You are this providential answer!"[9]
Here the Pope notes the two fundamental
priorities of evangelization, of "making disciples" of Jesus Christ
today: a "solid and deep formation" and a "strong
testimony." These are two areas in which the new ecclesial movements
and new communities are producing stupendous fruits for the life of the Church.
These groups have become true "laboratories of faith" and authentic
schools of Christian life, holiness, and mission for thousands of Christians in
every part of the world.
3. The first and greatest priority is,
therefore, Christian formation. Here we touch on a central point, since
today the very foundations of the educational process of the person are being
weakened. As Cardinal Ratzinger
pointed out, "a dictatorship of
relativism is being created that sees nothing as definitive, and whose only
limit is the personal "I" and its whims."[10] The dominant
culture of our time tends to produce fragmented, weak, and inconsistent
personalities.
As one commentator warns: "the very ability of an entire generation of
adults to educate its children is presently in crisis. For
years there has been preached from the 'new pulpits' -- the schools,
universities, magazines and television -- that freedom is the absence of history
and foundation; that one can become great without belonging to anything
or to anyone, but simply by following personal choice or whim. Today it is the
norm to think that everything is essentially the same, that in the final
analysis nothing has value except money, power and social position. People live
as if the truth didn't exist, as if the desire for happiness which is at the
heart of human experience is destined to remain unanswered."[11]
Christians are not exempt from the
influence of today's culture. It produces individuals whose Christian
identity is weak and confused; faith is little more than a routine practice
often influenced by a dangerous syncretism of superstition, magic and New Age.
Membership in the Church, often superficial and distracted, fails to impact
their choices and behavior in any significant way. Today we are witnesses to a
worrisome lack of educational environments not only outside the Church, but even
within the Church. The Christian family is no longer capable on its own of
passing on the faith to the next generation, and neither is the parish, even
though it continues to be the indispensable structure for the Church's pastoral
mission in any given place.
Parish boundaries, especially in large
urban centers, are frequently too extensive -- and where the parish is
little more than a bedroom community -- for meaningful personal relationships
that could serve as a place for true Christian initiation. What are we to do? Precisely
in these cases the ecclesial movements appear as places for a Christian
formation that is both solid and deep. The movements and new communities are
characterized by a wide variety of methods and educational approaches of
extraordinary effectiveness. And what is the motivation behind their
pedagogical strength? The "secret," so to speak, is found in the
charisms which have produced them and which constitute their very soul. It is
the charism which produces the "spiritual
affinity between individuals"[12] animating a community and a
movement.
And thanks to this charism, the
fascinating original experience of the Christian reality, of which each
founder is a witness, can be relived and
reproduced in the lives of many people and of many generations of people without
losing its novelty and freshness. The charism is also the source of the
extraordinary educating power of the movements and new communities. Here I refer
to a formation whose departure point is a deep conversion of heart. It is no
accident that these new ecclesial realities include many converts, people who
"come from afar."
At the beginning of this conversion
process there is always a personal encounter with Christ which radically
transforms life; an encounter made possible by credible witnesses who
relive in the movement that unique experience of the first disciples: "Come
and see" (John 1:46). There is always a "before" and
"after" in the lives of those who belong to ecclesial movements and
communities. For some, the conversion of heart is often a gradual process which
takes time. For others, the conversion is an unexpected and all-encompassing
"lighting bolt" experience.
But in both cases the conversion is lived as a free gift of God, a gift that
fills the heart with joy and becomes a spiritual benefit for the whole of one's
life. How many members of movements and new communities can repeat the words of
the convert André Frossard: "God
exists, and I have experienced him."
Formation is the privileged environment
in which the various movements and communities express their charisms.
Each group bases its formative process [of the person] on a distinct, specific
pedagogical approach which is typically Christ-centered. It focuses on what is
truly essential, which is the awakening in the person of that baptismal vocation
or identity that characterizes true Christian discipleship. It is radical in the
sense that it refuses to dilute the Gospel by proposing holiness as an ideal
worthy to be pursued. It develops within small Christian communities which serve
as an indispensable reference point and support, in great contrast to today's
"atomized" society where loneliness and depersonalized relationships
are the norm; and it is integral in the sense that all the dimensions of life
are embraced and challenged, producing in the member a complete sense of
belonging.
Yet this sense of "belonging" is distinct from membership in other
religious groups or circles. The member
of a movement or new community typically manifests a strong sense of belonging
to, and love for, the Church. Therefore, there is no danger in affirming that
these new movements and communities are true schools for the formation of
Christian "adults." As Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger wrote some
years ago, they are "forceful ways of living the faith that stimulates
individuals, giving them joy an vitality; their faith really means something for
the world."[13]
Our picture would not be complete without some mention of the role these groups
can play in the context of the Church in
4. The movements and new communities respond to a second urgent need of great
importance, which is the need for "strong testimony." All
Christian formation ought to have a missionary element because the
Christian vocation is, by its nature, a call to apostolate. Missionary
outreach helps baptized persons discover the fullness of their own vocation;
it helps them overcome the temptation of egoistic selfishness and the subtle
danger of seeing the movement or community as a refuge or a way to flee the
problems of the world in an environment of warm friendship.
Notable among the characteristics of missionary commitment found in ecclesial
movements and new communities is the indisputable ability to awaken the apostolic
enthusiasm and missionary courage of the laity. They know how to draw out
the spiritual potential of the laity by helping them smash the barriers of
timidity, fear, and false complexes of inferiority which today's secular culture
creates in the hearts of so many Christians. Many of their members have
experienced a deep inner transformation, at times to their own surprise; in
fact, many never would have imagined themselves preaching the Gospel in this way
or participating so actively in the Church's mission.
Movements know how to awaken a desire to
"make disciples" of Jesus Christ, a desire that often moves
individuals, married couples, and even entire families to leave everything in
order to embrace the mission. The movements and new communities propose not only
personal example, but also the direct announcement of the Christian message,
thereby rediscovering the value of the kerigma as a method of evangelization and
catechesis. In this way the movements and new communities are responding to one
of the most urgent needs of the Church today, which is the catechesis of adults,
understood her as an authentic Christian initiation manifesting the value and
beauty of the sacrament of baptism.
One of the greatest obstacles to the
work of evangelization has always been routine or habit, which eliminates
the freshness and persuasive power of Christian missionary outreach and witness.
The movements break with the habitual way of doing apostolate; they re-examining
the methods, approach, and propose new forms. They direct their efforts
courageously and naturally at today's modern areopagus which is present in
culture, in the mass media, politics and the economy. They give special
attention to those who suffer, to the poor and marginalized. How many social
works have been born of their initiative!
They do not wait for those no longer practicing the faith to return to the
Church on their own: They seek them out. They do not hesitate to reach
out by taking to the streets and city squares, by entering supermarkets, banks,
schools and universities and wherever people can be found. Their
missionary zeal carries them "to the ends of the earth." And they grow
-- showing that the charisms from which they spring are capable of feeding the
Christian life of men and women of all places, cultures and traditions.
And not just this. Present as they are within the fabric of the local Churches,
they are transformed into eloquent signs of the universality of the Church and
its mission. Their special relationship with the ministry of Peter's Successor
finds its origin here. Indeed, it is truly surprising to witness the missionary
vision which the Holy Spirit has raised up today by means of these new charisms.
The movements and new communities have become true missionary
"schools" for so many lay people. In today's Church there is much talk
of evangelization: congresses, symposia, seminars on the topic are organized;
book and articles on the topic are published, and official documents
promulgated.
While we do well to discuss evangelization in this way, since it is so vital to
the Church and to the world, there exists a very real danger of remaining at the
level of pure theory, of making plans that remain, so to speak, inert on paper.
But these new charisms generate groups of people -- men and women, youth and
adults -- who are solid in their, full of zeal, and ready to preach the Gospel. Here
we are not talking about theoretical concepts, but rather "living"
projects experienced in the concrete, personal lives of individuals and in the
life of so many Christian communities. These are projects ready to
happen. … This is the great richness of the Church in our day.
How we marvel at the quantity and quality of the fruits produced in the Church
by the new charisms! The Gospel principle "you shall know them by their
fruits" (Matthew 7:16) remains true today. Thanks to these charisms, many
people have met Christ for the first time and believed in him or have returned
to the Church and the sacraments after years of being away. So many people have
gone from being Christians in name only to believers who are convinced and
committed. How many fruits of authentic holiness of life! How many families that
have been reconstituted in mutual love and fidelity! How many vocations to the
priesthood, consecrated life, and new expressions of lay life according to the
evangelical counsels! These new charisms proclaim this fundamental message to
today's world: Christianity is truly worthwhile; following the call of Christ is
worthwhile. Try, and see for your yourself!
5. As we have seen, the ecclesial
movements and new communities are a truly "providential gift" of God
to the Church, a gift that should be received with a living sense of
gratitude and responsibility so that the opportunity they represent is not
squandered. This gift is both a task and a challenge for the lay faithful and
the Church's Pastors. What task and what challenge?
John Paul II never tired of insisting that the ecclesial movements and new
communities are called to take their place "humbly" in dioceses and
parishes, serving the Church with an attitude wholly devoid of pride or
superiority with regard to other realities and with a true spirit of sincere
collaboration and ecclesial communion. And at the same time the Holy Father
insisted that Pastors -- bishops and parish priests -- ought to welcome these
groups "cordially," recognizing and respecting their particular
charisms and accompanying them with paternal care.[15] St. Paul's golden rule
applies here: "Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of
prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good" (1 Thessalonians
5:19-20).
The great novelty brought to the Church by the ecclesial movements and new
communities obviously raises frequent questions and causes a certain confusion
with regard to the established way of doing things at the day-to-day pastoral
level. As John Paul II said, "When
the Spirit intervenes, we are always surprised. The Spirit causes events whose
newness startles us."[16] As we have repeated so often, the
movements represent a challenge and a healthy invitation to which the Church
must respond by vocation. The movements' radical Christian "way of
being" is an indictment of that "tired Christianity" (Benedict
XVI) of so many baptized persons, that superficial Christianity rife with
confusion.
Alexander Men, a Russian dissident priest assassinated in 1990, remarked
provocatively during the years of religious persecution that the greatest enemy
of Christians was not the militant atheism of the Soviet state, but rather the
pseudo-Christianity of so many baptized persons.[17] These words jar our
consciences. In the final analysis, the true and greatest enemy of the Christian
is mediocrity and resistance to true faith in the Gospel.
With their overflowing passion for the mission, the movements also challenge our
preconceived notions of "being Church" which are perhaps too
comfortable and too adapted to the spirit of the age. A few years ago Cardinal
Joseph Ratzinger made reference to "a gray pragmatism in the Church's daily
life (…) in which everything appears to be "business as usual," but
in which faith is actually eroded and cast into confusion.[18]
The "calm conservation" vision of the Church which is so prevalent in
certain circles today comes under direct
challenge by the movements' vision of a missionary Church courageously
projected toward new frontiers. This latter vision ought to help diocesan and
parish pastoral programs recover a much needed prophetic, militant element. The
Church of today is greatly in need of this. It must be open to the newness of
produced by the Spirit: "I am about to do a new thing; now it springs
forth, do you not perceive it?" (Isaiah 43:19).
With regard to the ecclesial movements and new communities, the magisterium of
Pope Benedict XVI has given perfect continuity to the teaching of John Paul II. The
present pope has long been aware of the service they provide to the mission of
the Church. While still prefect of the Congregation of the Doctrine of
the Faith, he wrote: "One notes that something new is beginning: Here
Christianity appears as a new reality, and is perceived as a way to live -- to
be able to live -- in today's world by people who have often come from
afar." And he added: "Today
there are "isolated" Christians at the margins of our strange
understanding of modernity who are willing to try new ways of living. While they
may not get much attention from public opinion, their way undoubtedly points to
the way of the future."[19]
According to the then Cardinal
Ratzinger, the ecclesial movements and new communities provide something new
which makes them a type of prophecy of the future. And now as Pope,
Benedict XVI continues to remain faithful to this very subtle and personal
understanding of the situation of the Church. At the closing of World Youth day
in
* * *
NOTES
[1] Cfr. L. Sabourin, "Il Vangelo di Matteo. Teologia e Esegesi," vol.
II, Roma 1977, pp. 1069-1070.
[2] Benedict XVI, Holy Mass at Marienfeld, L'Osservatore Romano, Spanish
language edition, Aug. 26, 2005.
[3] Cf. John Paul II, Discourse to the 19th General Assembly of CELAM, March 9,
1983, "Insegnamenti di Giovanni Paolo II" VI, 1 (1983), pp. 690-699.
[4] John Paul II, apostolic letter "Novo Millennio Ineunte," No. 40.
[5] Benedict XVI, Encounter with the German bishops, L'Osservatore Romano,
Spanish language edition, Aug. 26, 2005.
[6] Cfr. John Paul II, apostolic exhortation "Christifideles Laici,"
No. 29.
[7] John Paul II, homily at vigil of Pentecost, L'Osservatore Romano, Spanish
language edition, May 31, 1996, No. 7.
[8] Cfr. John Paul II, encyclical "Redemptoris Missio," No. 86.
[9] John Paul II, to members of ecclesial movements and new communities, at the
vigil of Pentecost, L'Osservatore Romano, Spanish language edition, June 5,
1998.
[10] J. Ratzinger, Holy Mass "Pro eligendo Pontifice," L'Osservatore
Romano, Spanish language edition, April 22, 2005.
[11] "Se ci fosse una educazione
[12] John Paul II, "Christifideles Laici," No. 24.
[13] Cfr. J. Ratzinger, "Il sale della terra. Cristianesimo e Chiesa
cattolica nella svolta
[14] Cfr. Paul VI, apostolic exhortation "Evangelii Nuntiandi," No.
48.
[15] Cfr. John Paul II, encyclical "Redemptoris Missio," No. 72.
[16] John Paul II, to members of ecclesial movements and new communities, cit.
L'Osservatore Romano, Spanish language edition, June 5, 1998.
[17] Cfr. T. Picus, Aleksander Mien, "Verbinum Warzawa" 1997, p. 37.
[18] Cfr. J. Ratzinger, "Fede, Verità, Tolleranza. Il cristianesimo e le
religioni
[19] Cfr. J. Ratzinger, Il sale della terra, op. Cit., pp. 145-146.
[20] Benedict XVI, Encounter with German bishops, cit.
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