'A Giant Awakens - The Movementisation of the Church (Part 1)

In a previous post on the foundation of The Pontifical Council for Promoting New Evangelisation last year (July 2010), I pointed out that, for the first time, the Vatican was providing an official, tailor-made, centralised structure for the New Catholic Movements.  Both John Paul II and Benedict XVI had taken every opportunity to express their enthusiasm for the New Movements - particularly at their vast Pentecost meetings with members of the Movements in 1998 and 2006.  The Movements had also been favoured in a less visible but more significant way with many appointments of members to official Vatican bodies such as the Pontifical Councils, Academies and Vatican Congregations.  The new structure, however, will mean that the power of the New Movements can be harnessed more effectively than ever to Vatican-led projects so that the New Movements and the official Church become virtually synonymous.  As I predicted over fifteen years ago in The Pope's Armada, the New Movements permit the Vatican to act at grass-roots level on a global scale. They provide access to every aspect of civil society through the action of lay men, women and children, who do not necessarily disclose their allegiance to the Vatican.

Given that Cardinal Ratzinger had been a vocal supporter of the Movements as John Paul II's theologian-in-chief, even to the extent of hailing them as the only good thing to come out of the Second Vatican Council, it was always on the cards that consolidating their position within the structure of the Church would be the keynote of his reign as Benedict XVI.  Unlike John Paul's 'charismatic' and rather piecemeal approach to his various enthusiasms, Benedict's moves have been slower and more considered, but likely to have more impact in the long run (and of course a traditionalist like Benedict is well aware that the Church thinks and acts 'in centuries').  With his latest pronouncements, it can be said that the Movementisation of the Catholic Church is underway, confirming what the Pontiff once suggested - also while still a Cardinal - that today belonging to a Movement is the most effective way - not to say the only way - to be a Catholic.

On 17th and 18th October, the new Council held a meeting in Rome which brought together members of 33 episcopal conferences with 400 representatives of New Movements and ecclesial communities.  Numbers were swelled by 10,000 younger members of the Movements.  The Pope met briefly with the delegates on the first afternoon of the event and the next day for mass, hailing them as the 'new evangelisers'.  The President of the Council, Archbishop Fischiella, briefed the gathering on the new organisation's aim of countering secularistion both inside and outside the Church - even among the clergy! - via an explicit proclamation of the gospel.  In his speech on 17th October, Benedict reiterated his desire that the primary field of mission should be the traditionally Christian countries  - i.e. 'de-Christianised' Europe.

Leaders of the Movements - including Kiko Arguello, founder of the Neocatechumenate, Father Julian Carron, leader of Communion and Liberation, Adriano Roccucci of San Egidio, and Salvatore Martinez of Renewal in the Spirit - had a high profile at the event, addressing the delegates and greeting the Council's initiative enthusiastically.  A report on the conservative website Zenit, bullishly entitled its report on the meeting, 'A Giant is Awakening - New Evangelisation Flows Out of Rome'.

The establishment of the new Council has been followed by an even more significant papal pronouncement - that next years Synod of Bishops will have as its subject 'New Evangelisation for the Transmission of the Christian Faith'.  Speaking of the aims of the Synod on the first anniversary of the new Council last July, its President, Archbishop Fisichella, said 'We must try to give a unity to all this...listening to all these ecclesial realities - old and new - that, in these last years, have rolled up their sleeves and really implemented these methodologies of new evangelisation with great results.'

 It is above all the effectiveness of the methods of the New Movements that has endeared them to Rome.  The Vatican has already learned a few lessons from these organisations and imitated their methods with spectacular success.  The vast World Youth Days and the Meeting of the Holy Father with Families were inspired by Focolare's Genfests and Familyfests respectively, both of which John Paul II experienced first hand, and have been hailed as quintessential examples of the new evangelisation.  More recently, Benedict XVI cited Focolare's business venture, the Economy of Communion as an example to be followed in his encyclical Caritas in Veritate.   He has also recently called for dialogue with non-believers, another concept borrowed from Focolare.  The first practical initiative of the new Council will be the Metropolis Mission, which will target 11 major European cities during Lent 2012.  This draws directly on the experience of the New Movements which have shown themselves particularly effective in urban settings.  As Archbishop Fisichella has emphasised, the 'new evangelisation cannot be carried out...without new evangelisers' - ie the Movements.

This is stage one of Rome's plans for mobilising the Movements as its front line in the battle against secularisation.  In my next post, I will outline stage two - even more sweeping, involving the entire Chruch.