Category Archives: The Neocats

Kiko Arguello and Carmen Hernandez, perpetrators of the Neocatechumenal Way,
in the company of gullible others [original image found here]

Call for Neocatechumenate testimonials
The Church Mouse is compiling a dossier on the activities and impact of the Neocatechumenate movement on ordinary Catholics, in particular (but not exclusively) within Australia.
If you have an experience that you would like to share with others affected by this sect, please email the Church Mouse.

Consequences

By | | Our pastors
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Despite the intense feelings of abuse and loss at having the Easter ceremonies celebrated(?) begrudgingly and with a palbable emanation of loathing, the Church Mouse remained silent, giving space to the deeply distressed community to voice its own concerns, which it certainly did, with a number of individuals writing to the heirarchy.

The sorry story is told in their letters, some of which are reproduced below.

The first collection of letters was addressed to Cardinal Pell and Mgr John Usher (Chancellor) of the Sydney Archdiocese.

Your Eminence,

We write once again in reference to the relationship between the Parish Priest, … Continue reading →

Not this Way

By | | General
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This website receives the occasional email from individuals who seem to have misunderstood the Church Mouse’s position on matters Neocatechumenal. Here is a recent example (only the sender’s name has been changed).

From Matthew Lopoto
To church-mouse@lanuera.com
Date Sun, Mar 13, 2011 at 1:35 AM
Subject Re: Inquiry about the Neo-catechumenate.

Dear Sir/Madam/Rev.

I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus christ. I am glad that I have been able to get this contact. I am Matthew Lopoto, a seminarian studying in St. Mary’s National Seminary Ggaba, P.O.Box 1871, Kampala. I am doing theology … Continue reading →

Fundamentalism or Neocat poetry?

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The following opinion piece, Religion is poetry or it is nothing!, by Paul Collins, appeared in ABC Religion and Ethics Online last December, and was subsequently picked up by Cathnews (as Opinion – Threat to religion is from fundamentalism not atheism). Our own Sheila Quonoey reproduced the article in the March edition of her "Thoughts for the Month".

A couple of dozen or so copies were still floating around the back of the church this morning until defender of the church Mendes seized them, having decided that they were unsuitable material. He also commanded that the … Continue reading →

Heading the wrong Way for Japan

By | | Japan
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The country’s Neo-Cats need some time for reflection that will pave the way for dialog.

Over about the past 20 years, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan (CBCJ) has expended great time and energy on problems concerning the Neocatechumenal Way (which I refer to hereafter as simply ‘the Way’). To our extreme disappointment, these efforts have not improved the situation.

Of the passion and good intentions of the people of the Way, I have not the slightest doubt. Nevertheless, the Way’s activities over the past 30 years can in no way be called a success. The fact is that … Continue reading →

Bishop speaks out on Neo-Cats

By | | Japan
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Bishop Osamu Mizobe of Takamatsu today issued a New Year pastoral letter titled “The Neocatechumenal Way” that described a visit by Japanese bishops to Rome to discuss problems that have arisen in connection with that movement in Japan.

The bishop announced that, “until we have received the visit of the special Envoy of the Holy Father all activities of the Neocatechumenal Way will be suspended in this diocese.”

Bishop Mizobe says that until now he has tried to deal with the problem of the Neocatechumenal Way in the Church in Japan “as quietly as possible,” hoping for “self-discipline.”

On … Continue reading →

Japanese bishop seeks lay help with Neo-Cats

By | | Japan
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Movement’s net effect has been negative conference president says.
ucanews.com special correspondent, Tokyo

The president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan (CBCJ) has called for the cooperation of priests and laypeople to confront "problems" with the Neocatechumenal Way, which he says has had a negative effect in the country.

“In those places touched by the Neocatechumenal Way, there has been rampant confusion, conflict, division, and chaos," the Jesuit Archbishop of Osaka, Leo Jun Ikenaga, said in a statement published in Katorikku Shimbun, the Catholic Weekly of Japan, yesterday.

“In Japan, the net effect has been negative,” … Continue reading →

Japan’s bishops want Neocatechumenal Way to leave for five years

By | | Japan
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By Alan Holdren, Catholic News Service Rome Correspondent Vatican City, Dec 16, 2010 / 07:32 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Citing years of “trouble,” Japan’s Catholic bishops have asked the Neocatechumenal Way to cease activities in the country for the next five years.

Archbishop Joseph Mitsuaki Takami of Nagasaki told CNA on Dec. 15 that the bishops’ proposal, made directly to the Way’s founder, Kiko Arguello, has so far not been accepted.

Archbishop Takami was reached by phone at his home in Nagasaki. Four other Japanese bishops took part in a Dec. 13 closed door meeting in Rome with Pope … Continue reading →

Pope meets with Japanese bishops to discuss Neocatechumenal Way

By | | Japan
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By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Japanese bishops, including the president of the bishops’ conference, met with Pope Benedict XVI and top Vatican officials to discuss the Neocatechumenal Way.

The Dec. 13 meeting with four Japanese bishops had been called by Pope Benedict, said the president of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Japan, Archbishop Leo Jun Ikenaga of Osaka.

He told Catholic News Service that the meeting lasted nearly two hours and included the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, and "several other cardinals."

While the archbishop would not comment on the substance … Continue reading →

One Day at St Vincent’s – what they didn’t do for Sr Pat Durnan

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The following is a detailed account of the Neocat "memorial" for Pat Durnan by Peter Griffin, who was present last Tuesday.

The recent passing of (Sr) Pat Durnan has been an occasion for yet another eruption of dysfunctionality in the relationship between the church community of St Vincents Redfern and the incumbent priests – both members of the internationally established and Vatican approved group known as the Neo Catechumenate.

Pat was, of course buried with due respect and celebration in Melbourne. Nonetheless there are many in Sydney who remember her with fondness and wished to mark her loss to … Continue reading →

Political?

By | | Our pastors
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Sunday 11th July 2010.
St Vincents Redfern.

The Church Mouse has reported infrequently in recent months on the blatant abuse of clerical authority at St Vincent’s, not because things are settling down between the community and the Neocat clergy, but in the interests of providing a less incendiary space for all concerned.

From time to time the ever present tensions erupt and sometimes the story simply must be told. Last Sunday was such an occasion; it left the community doubting the very validity of Clesio Mendes’ 10am Mass.

The Mass began uneventfully enough after the customary argie-bargie between Clare … Continue reading →