Written Letter From A Priest.

The following letter was written by Father Neil Xavier O'Donoghue, who has a Ph.D in Liturgy.  I copied and pasted only the first page of his letter.  His letter is four pages long; therefore, I provided the weblink below for those who want to read the rest of his letter.   

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A Reation to Sandro Magister's conjectures on the liturgy as celebrated in the Neocatechumenal communities.  
Fr. Neil Xavier O'Donoghue, Ph.D in Liturgy 

     A story of the Desert Fathers tells of how some monks came to Abba Agathon and accused him of being a fornicator, of being an arrogant man and of always talking nonsense.  The elderly monk agreed to all charges, however, when his visitors accused him of being a heretic, he vehemently denied this.  When the visitors asked for an explanation of why he refused this last insult and was willing to bear the other calumnies he explained, "The first accusations I take to myself for that is good for my soul.  But heresy is separation from God" (see Benedicta Ward, The Sayings of the Desert Fathers [Kalamazoo, MI: Cistercian Publications, 1975], 21).  Over the years I have read many ridiculous suggestions and criticisms about how the liturgy is celebrated in the Neocatechumenal communities and up until now have not felt compelled to write any rebuttal.  However, with the furor raised by Sandro Magister in his chiesa blog (hosted by a generally anti-clerical Italian daily newspaper) and seeing how his theories are being picked up by the main-stream Catholic media, I felt compelled to write this short reaction in the spirit of Abba Agathon. 

     I have been in the Neocatechumenal Way for more than 25 years and it was through this charism that I discovered my love for the Church and a special love for Catholic liturgy (not to mention my vocation to the ministerial priesthood).  

     This love of the liturgy has inspired me to pursue graduate studies in liturgy and I now hold three post-graduate degrees in academic liturgy.  I am a priest in good standing, hold a mandatum from my archbishop and teach liturgy in a Pontifical faculty.  I have personally attended thousands of Eucharistic celebrations in Necatechumenal communities in the United States, Canada, Ireland, England, Scotland, France, German, Poland, Italy, Spain, Esonia, the Domincan Republic, Mexico, Australia, Guam, Saipan, Taiwan and Israel.  All of these Eucharists have been in conformity with the relevant rubrics and used approved liturgical books of the Roman Rite.    


Father Neil Xavier O'Donogue's Letter.