In his latest book, Auxiliary Bishop Julian Porteous of Sydney has charted a fascinating phenomenon: the rise of new and unexpected movements, often rapidly growing, in the Catholic Church. And all share exactly the same faith…
By Bishop Julian Porteous
Sydney Auxiliary Bishop
The emergence of what have come to be termed “ecclesial movements” has been a significant feature of the Church in the past fifty years.
Such movements have been seen by Pope John Paul II and by Pope Benedict XVI as important gifts for the Church. Pope John Paul II saw the significance of the ecclesial movements and spoke in more general terms of them in 1981.
By 1987 he recognised the apostolic dynamism of the movements and saw them as a significant presence in the Church:
“The great blossoming of these movements and the manifestations of energy and ecclesial vitality which characterise them are certainly to be considered one of the most precious fruits of the vast and profound spiritual renewal promoted by the last Council”
In 1998 he said that the movements “represent one of the most significant fruits of that springtime in the Church which was foretold by the Second Vatican Council.
He went on to add that the movements have “a very precise – we can say irreplaceable – function in the Church.”
In his encyclical letter, Redemptoris Missio, 1990, the Pope saw the movements as “a true gift of God both for the new evangelisation and for missionary activity properly so-called.”
He spoke of them as “a new Pentecost for the Church”.
The role of Charism
The source of a movement is a charism which is given to the founder. A charism is as the word implies a gift, a gift for the Church. Thus a charism is for the Church.
The notion of charism which received special notice in the Constitution on the Church in Vatican II is of vital significance when speaking of the movements. It proposes that movements are not merely human undertakings, but have a divine source, an inspiration, which is usually incarnated in the spiritual vision of the founder.
Pope John Paul often referred to the complementary role of charism and institution. He saw them as “mutually complementary”. In his 1987 address to the movements he said:
“In the Church, both the institutional and the charismatic aspects, both the hierarchy and association and movements of the faithful, are co-essential and share in fostering life, renewal and sanctification, though in different ways”
Movements form around a charism
Movements become a reality when groups of the faithful respond to a charism. The power of the charism so engages them that they associate in order to live the charism. Pope John Paul addressed this phenomenon in these words:
“In the Church’s history, we have continually witnessed the phenomenon of more or less vast groups of the faithful which, under a mysterious impulse of the Spirit, have been spontaneously moved to join together in pursuit of certain charitable or sanctifying ends. This has come about in relation to the particular needs of the Church in their day, and even involved collaboration in the Church’s essential and permanent mission.”
What is important is that the forming of a movement is somehow a fruit of the impulse of the Spirit, with the free will of those who embrace the life of the movement. It is also important to recognise that the founder, embodying the charism, has a special influence.
Again, as the Pope expresses, “the passage from the original charism to the movement happens through the mysterious attraction that the founder holds for all those who become involved in his spiritual experiences.”
An outworking of the grace of Baptism
The ground upon which people from all states of life in the Church can become involved in an ecclesial movement is their common Baptism. Indeed, we can say that the movements are simply the actualisation of baptismal grace.
Pope John Paul II commented on this when he said: “Even in the diversity of their forms, these movements are marked by a common awareness of the ‘newness’ which baptismal grace brings to life, through a remarkable longing to reflect on the mystery of communion with Christ and with their brethren.” Members of movements in effect live out the full reality of their Christian identity and calling.
Again we refer to the words of the Pope: “Members of the Church who find themselves in associations and movements seek to live, under the impulse of the Spirit, the Word of God in their concrete lives.
“They do so by stimulating, with their witness, constantly renewed spiritual progress, by evangelically vivifying temporal realities and human values, and enriching the Church through an infinite and inexhaustible variety of initiatives in the realm of charity and holiness”. He commented that the movements “have helped you all to rediscover your baptismal vocation”.
What is significant about participation in the movements is that the Christian life of the members is not just partially involved, but their whole Christian life is engaged.
Movements are more than associations where individuals contribute to a work or cause in the Church; they are, rather, a completely involving experience.
Communion with the Church
Movements can be composed of Catholics and have a Catholic identity but there is a danger that they can operate outside the structures of the Church.
Sometimes they can be elitist or be critical of the “ordinary” life of the Church.
This can be a temptation at the beginning in the first flush of enthusiasm and discovery of their charism and life.
Pope John Paul recognised this and particularly at the 1998 gathering of communities called for a new level of maturity by which the movements could come to a better sense of their place in the Church.
He said:
“Today a new stage is unfolding before you: that of ecclesial maturity … the Church expects from you the ‘mature’ fruits of communion and commitments”.
To Bishops meeting one year later, he said: “This journey requires of movements an ever stronger communion with the Pastors God has chosen and consecrated to gather and sanctify his people in the light of faith, hope and charity, because ‘no charism dispenses a person from reference and submission to the Pastor of the Church’”.
A New Wine and Fresh Skins, Ecclesial Movements in the Church, a new book by Bishop Julian Porteous published by Connor Court Press, is available from The Record. Details: Page 20.