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Friday, February 14, 2014

The 13 Volumes of the "Catechetical Directory of the Way."

In 2010, the Catechetical Directory of the Way was approved by the Vatican. It consist of 13 volumes.  (In one of my post, I erroneously wrote 14 volumes).  According to the weblink I provided below dated January 17, 2011: 

"The Neocatechumenal Way," Cardinal Rylko said, "acts according to the proposed writings of the founders...which will have the title of Catechetical Directory of the Neo-Catechumenal Way." he announced to thunderous applause. 

The work to approve the teachings had already been done once.  From 1997-2003, Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF) revised, modified and approved the teachings, which until that point had only been recorded from founder Kiko Arguello's talks.  

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, then prefect of the Vatican department saw to it personally that the Way put things on paper......


Questions continued to come up about whether certain modifications of liturgical practices proper to the community had been approved by the Vatican. There was confusion about how the Way treats communion, why lay people were asked to preach and what reasons were behind the practice of Way members celebrating Mass "privately" on Saturday evenings.  

The prompting led co-founder Kiko Arguello to request that the Vatican's doctrine department confirm their approval of the Way's methods.  

Cardinal Rylko said he was authorized to make that announcement to the audience hall this morning.  He explained that "so as to give greater security to the actions of the Neo-Catechumenal Way and to offer doctrinal guarantees to all the pastors of the Church," the CDF revisited the 13 volumes of teachings and approved them as the "Catechetical Directory of the Way."  

The Pontifical Council for Laity, of which the cardinal is head, authenticated the doctrinal approval and archived the decree on Dec. 26, 2010, he said. "Your catecheses have thereby received an important seal from the Church," he told them, "It is a compass, a sure compass according to which you will be able to walk."...... 

Bishop Zbigniew Kiernikowski of Siedlce, Poland - who was at the press conference as an apparent sign of solidarity - said that he has seen positive effects of the Way's catechesis in his diocese.  Now that they can come with their word and "with this book," bishops will know that "there is no decepetion, not a fictitious thing, he said.  

If they believe the instruction they receive, bishops will give their "people a reality that can transform them," the Polish bishop added.  

Arguello added later that the announcement is "marvelous" because the decree approves the teachings for official proclamation.  "It has been revised by the Holy See and completed.  It's correct."  

This is from the Church!" he exclaimed.

But the Way still encounters bumps in the road when it comes to its relationships with local pastors, a fact that Arguello alluded to in his next statement.  

The directory, he said, "will be very important because now a parish priest who says something, we can say, "Look father what it says here on page 427," this was approved by the Church."    


http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/neocatechumenal-way-receives-vatican-approval-for-its-teachings-instructions-from-pope/ 



1 comment:

  1. Are the volumes available for purchase? I am very much interested in them. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete