Negative Publicity

The following article was taken from the Scottish Catholic Observer.  The article tell of some of the inspiring stories behind Scotland's NCW communities.  However, I only quoted a part of the article because their experience is similar to what we are going through in Guam.  According to the article: 

Teresa Lally is no longer involved in the community—she is active now within Catholic Charismatic Renewal—but it was through the Way that she rediscovered her Catholic roots.

She described the Way as an ‘adventure learning about our Faith.’

“For me, it made me appreciate and love the Roman Catholic Church, the beauty of the Mass and the Sacraments, and gave me a grounding in Catholic dogma and the magisterium. It also made me know my Scripture and love and appreciate it.”

She explained the Way is also evangelistic, and that members hold street events and pilgrimages, and even go door-to-door to spread the Gospel.

“Although I am no longer in community, I have a big love of it and appreciation of how it has formed me as an active Catholic,” she said.

“In my experience people in the Neocatechumenal Way, despite some bad press, get very involved in parish life, supporting and serving the parish.”

Bad press

The Catholic newspaper Crux described some of that bad press in a recent article. “In some parishes, congregants have complained about the small groups, meeting apart from the larger Church community,” it read, attributing the criticism to a general ‘wariness of something new.’

In 2017, the Bishop of Lancaster issued new rules for the Way’s liturgies, saying that while the Way had been a ‘blessing,’ there was a ‘growing sense of unease’ about ‘some of the differences in the way the Mass is celebrated among the communities’ of the Way.

However, Fr Devlin said such criticism is certainly not apt in his experience at St Bridget’s.

“The members of the Way I know come to Sunday Mass every Sunday and are very much a part of the parish,” he said.

“They do meet up as a community but they are not separate from the Church.

“If people get to know them they will see that they are just ordinary people. I have always found them very inspirational.”

At the catechesis talk, the Way members were keen to stress that the Way is not separate from the Church, and that their Masses have the same solemn dignity as Sunday Mass.

Although Teresa Lally is no longer walking in the Way, the Way has become a stepping stone for her into joining other movements such as the Charismatic Catholic Renewal and in involving herself in parish life.  In Guam, some NCW members have also joined other movements; however, they still remain with their NCW communities.  Some brothers have joined the Legion of Mary,  Couples for Christ, Christian Mothers, and Catholic Daughters of America. 

The NCW have also involve themselves in parish life.  Some communities volunteered to provide flowers for their parish every month and even volunteered to maintain parish grounds.  Others involve themselves in post-confirmation classes and activities.  Others volunteered themselves to be altar servers, parish choir members, Eucharistic ministers, Lectors, and CCD instructors.  Because they volunteer as altar servers, parish choir members, lectors, and Eucharistic Ministers, one can also see them during the Sunday Mass.   Others help out in other voluntary work, cleaning the parishes inside and out.  The brothers also contribute their time and work in helping out with parish activities.  For example, my community have always contributed to the parish fiesta every year.  The fact that the NCW has involve itself in assisting the parish is evidence that it is part of the Church.  After all, is that not what the Legion of Mary and the Christian Mothers do?  They are just as part of the Church as the NCW.    

My family and I were church-goers like these folks in Scotland.  We attend Sunday Mass every week.  That was the extent of our involvement in parish....sit in the pews and give our regular monetary donation as the baskets are being passed around.  After that, we usually head out as a family to the beach to enjoy the sun and water.....something our kids always look forward to.  After joining the Way, we no longer sit in the pews anymore.  You can find us serving at the altar either as altar servers or singing among the church choir.  The Way made us appreciate the Mass even more that many members involve themselves at the altar.  Our voluntary work also brought us closer to the parishioners as we work alongside them and even serve them.  

Of course, there will be a few who hate us because of the negative publicity from the jungle.  But I have found that they really do not pose much of a problem.  Why?  Because they chose to leave the parish and attend another parish.  We never told them to leave.  They left of their own free will.  We cannot change these people, and it is not our job to change them.  We can only change ourselves.     

In some ways, the bad publicity of the NCW have done some good things.  For one thing, it has encouraged people like Tim to open up a bible study group at St. Anthony parish.  If I am not mistaken, I believe the chancery have also opened up a bible study course of its own as well.  According to Tim Rohr:

Case in point. The Neo's essentially hold a weekly study of Scripture wherein they are indoctrinated with Kiko's interpretations of it. While we may be horrified by what is taught, where else in this diocese do Catholics have access to a weekly study of Scripture? And led by someone solid in the Church's (NOT HIS OWN) understanding of it?    

Actually, the NCW specifically uses the Jerusalem Bible or the New Jerusalem Bible that has numerous footnotes and side bar parallel readings. These footnotes and parallel readings help indoctrinate us with the Church's interpretation of Sacred Scripture.  We also use the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Dictionary of Biblical Theology by Xavier Leon-Dufour.  All these books, by the way, were purchased from Tim Rohr's bookstore.  :-)