The zeal to evangelise and announce the Gospel must be tempered with charity and respect for an individual’s conscience, Pope Leo XIV has told members of the Neocatechumenal Way. Source: OSV News.
“Within the Church, no gift of God is more important than another – except for charity, which perfects and harmonises them all – and no ministry must become a reason to feel superior to one’s brothers or to exclude those who think differently,” the Pope said on Monday to members of the Neocatechumenal Way gathered at the Vatican.
The Pope met with 1000 itinerant catechists, including Kiko Argüello, founder of the ecclesial reality, along with Fr Mario Pezzi, and Maria Ascensión Romero, who comprise the international team responsible for the Neocatechumenal Way worldwide.
Founded in Spain in the 1960s, the Neocatechumenal Way was defined by St John Paul II as an “itinerary” of Catholic formation. According to its website, the movement is present in 139 countries with 20,300 communities in 6197 parishes, as well as 936 families in mission across 68 countries.
In his address, Pope Leo recognised the fruits of the Neocatechumenal Way’s evangelisation efforts, which “represent a precious contribution to the life of the Church.”
The Pope also expressed his gratitude to the many families in mission who left behind “the securities of ordinary life” and set out on mission, sometimes in dangerous areas, “with the sole desire of proclaiming the Gospel and witnessing to God’s love.”
However, the Pope also told members of the Neocatechumenal Way that carrying out the mission to evangelise also requires “interior vigilance and wise critical capacity to discern certain risks that are always lying in wait within spiritual and ecclesial life”.
“You do a great amount of good, but its goal is to allow people to know Christ, while always respecting the life path and conscience of each individual,” he said.
Pope Leo told the members of the Neocatechumenal Way that they must live their spirituality “without ever isolating yourselves from the rest of the ecclesial body” and to “go forward in joy and humility, without closing yourselves off, as builders and witnesses of communion.”
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Pope encourages Neocatechumenal Way to continue mission ‘without closing yourselves off’ (By Junno Arocho Esteves, OSV News)
