Her name is María Ascensiòn Romero, she is 57 years old, she is Spanish and so far she has been traveling in Russia. It was she who succeeded Carmen Hernández, who died on July 19, 2016, 85 years after a long illness, as a female figure in the international team that leads the Neocatechumenal Way in the world. This morning, during a meeting with the itinerants of the five continents in the center of Porto San Giorgio, Kiko Argüello, initiator of the neocatechumenal itinerary, stated that it is not a "replacement" of Carmen who remains « irreplaceable "and that it is a choice ad experimentum, therefore not definitive.
Choice made not soon and at the request of the Dicastery for the laity, family and life on the basis of the Statutes that regulate the Way - approved in 2008 by the Holy See - which envisage, in Article 35, the presence in the team responsible for "A single woman".
Missionary in Russia for about 25 years, of which nine in Kazakhstan and twelve in St. Petersburg in the parish of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Mar í in Ascensiòn has been collaborating since this summer with Kiko and father Mario Pezzi. With Carmen he shares the provenance of Tudela, in the diocese of Pamplona, and also studies in theology. She is described by everyone as a humble, elegant, discreet woman, and today she said she did not feel up to this responsibility but accepted it in the certainty that "God does impossible things".
She will then welcome, together with Kiko and Father Pezzi, Pope Francis in the great meeting of May 5 at Tor Vergata, in Rome - the same place of John Paul II's vigil with young people for the WYD in 2000 - to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the birth of the Neocatechumenal Way communities in Rome and throughout Italy. These are the first small groups of faithful, of every age and social origin, who after the announcement of the kèrygma brought by Kiko and Carmen first among the shacks of Palomeras Altas, among the poorest poor in Madrid, and then in the Latin Borghetto, at the suburbs of Rome, they began to gather together to undertake a path of rediscovery of the baptismal promises, thus giving life to one of the most widespread ecclesial realities in the world.
"The great meeting of May 5 at Tor Vergata, in Rome will celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the birth of the Neocatechumenal Way communities in Rome and throughout Italy."
ReplyDeleteDiana, this is exactly what I told you. You don't go there to celebrate the Pope or Christ. You go there to celebrate 50 years of neo! This is what the newspaper article states. Who is telling the truth?
Dear Joanne,
DeleteThe Pope is also going to be there to celebrate it with us. And our children will have the opportunity to be there to see the Pope.
Dear Joanne, I can imagine that the 50th anniversary of NCW is a great event for them. So I would not chastise anyone for going to Rome. Now, selling a car or re-financing your loan to cover the expenses looks a bit harsh to me and I surely would not do that! But again, NCW members are preparing for the canonization of their founding fathers who might leave them in the not very distant future. So please, just have patience and let them go. For the love of Mary.
DeleteDiana, what about the interview with Sonny Ada, a long time prominent member of the Neocatechumenal Way, in the PDN about the future of Archbishop Apuron and the NCW on Guam?
ReplyDeletehttp://www.guampdn.com/story/news/2018/02/04/neocatechumenal-way-groups-future-hinges-archbishop-byrnes/1068281001/
He says of the Archbishop: "If he’s found guilty, then let the law take it where it's supposed to go." What does it exactly mean? Is there a possibility that he's found guilty?
Dear Grow up in faith,
DeleteI will get to it soon. We've been busy trying to get our airfare booked to Rome. There is a high demand of people going to Rome worldwide, so I have been slow in my blogging.
At any rate, as we have been saying, an accused is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The canonical trial is already over, and we are waiting for the publication of the verdict. If he is found guilty, then the law act on it. If he is found innocent, then I hope that he returns as the Archbishop of Agana since he still holds that title.
It is the same with David Sablan. He has been indicted of conspiracy and allegedly holding secret meetings. He is also presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. If the court finds him guilty, then the law will act upon his sentence. If found innocent, then he will be set free.
Thanks, Diana. I understand what you wrote. You also mention David Sablan whom I don't know in person. Is he the CCOG guy? Why are you referring to him in relation to Sonny Ada's interview? Is he indicted in some kind of conspiracy? Sonny said nothing about David.
DeleteDear Grow up in faith,
DeleteI used David Sablan as an example. You do not understand when Archbishop Apuron was the accused, but you understand it better when one of your own becomes the accused.
Please do not play ignorant. You know who David Sablan is.
Diana, if you are trying to imply that I belong to the radicals, then you are wrong. I see some radicalism in the Latin Mass movement and also see the opposite kind of radicalism in the NCW movement. Both groups have both radicals and non-radicals in their ranks.
DeleteMy personal opinion is that mainstream non-radicals are the majority of Catholics on Guam. Based on my beliefs, I count myself among the non-radicals. What I know about Sablan, he is more like a radical than not. But he seems to be a government person or politician rather than a faith guy. But again, you may know him better than I do.
What I was wondering about was that you brought him up in relation to Sonny Ada's interview in the PDN. I am sorry that I have to repeat this but Sonny did not say a word about David. So how come?
Dear Grow up in faith,
DeleteI already answered your question as to why I brought up David Sablan. What I said about Archbishop Apuron is similar to what Sonny Ada said; yet, you did not understand. You understood only when I used David Sablan as an example. Using him as an example appears to irk you so much. Me thinks one protests too much.
Alright, Diana. Let me state this way: Sonny Ada's statement "if he’s found guilty, then let the law take it where it's supposed to go" suggests to the readers of PDN that NCW is willing to "throw the Archbishop under the bus", symbolically speaking, if he becomes inconvenient to stand by. Was this the intention?
DeleteDear Grow up in faith,
DeleteSymbolic speaking???? Really???? Why can you not read words the way it was written??? Symbolic speaking? 🙄