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The Beauty of Being a Christian. Movements in the Church

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Laity Today A Series of Studies Edited by the Pontifical Council for the Laity PONTIFICIUM CONSILIUM PRO LAICIS THE BEAUTY OF BEING A CHRISTIAN Movements in the Church Proceedings of the Second World Congress of the Ecclesial Movements and New Communities Rocca di Papa, 31 May – 2 June 2006 Meeting with the Holy Father Benedict XVI Vespers of the Vigil of Pentecost St. Peter’s Square, 3 June 2006 LIBRERIA EDITRICE VATICANA 2007 Cover illustration: Benedict XVI, St. Peter’s Square, 3 June 2006 Photo: Emanuele Gualtieri © Copyright 2007 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana - 00120 Città del Vaticano Tel. (06) 698.85003 - Fax (06) 698.84716 ISBN 978-88-209-7977-5 www.libreriaeditricevaticana.com CONTENTS Preface Archbishop Stanis3aw Ry3ko .................. IX PART I Second World Congress of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities I.1. Messages Message of His Holiness Benedict XVI .............. 5 Letter of the Congress to the Holy Father ............ 9 I.2. Papers The beauty of Christ and the mission of the Church New fruits of ecclesial maturity Archbishop Stanis3aw Ry3ko .................. 15 Christ, the fairest of the sons of Adam Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, O.P. .............. 29 The beauty of being Christians Cardinal Marc Ouellet, P.S.S. .................. 41 Ecclesial movements and new communities in the mission of the Church. Priorities and perspectives Cardinal Angelo Scola ..................... 59 V Contents I.3. Panel discussions Encounter with the beauty of Christ. Educational itineraries Introduction Matteo Calisi .......................... 89 At the origin of everything, the discovery that “God is love” Alba Sgariglia .......................... 91 Small Christian communities for the new evangelization Kiko Argüello .......................... 99 The response to a human need Giancarlo Cesana ........................ 107 A prayer lavishly answered Patti Gallagher Mansfield ................... 111 A grace destined for all Christians Laurent Fabre, S.I. ....................... 117 Experiencing God’s blessing in a life of sharing Jean Vanier ........................... 121 Giving a reason for the beauty of Christ in the world of today Introduction Alberto Savorana ........................ 127 Among the sects and new age Bernard Peyrous ........................ 131 In relations with Islam Archbishop Fouad Twal .................... 143 In the education of youth Luis Fernando Figari ...................... 149 VI Contents In the presence of Catholics in society Dino Boffo ........................... 161 In situations of poverty and violence Andrea Riccardi ........................ 167 I.4. Liturgical meditations Christians, that is christóphoroi at the heart of the world Archbishop Stanis3aw Ry3ko .................. 177 New boldness, new creativity and renewed generosity Bishop Vincenzo Paglia ..................... 181 Following in the footsteps of Christ Bishop Josef Clemens ...................... 185 PART II Meeting with the Holy Father Benedict XVI Vespers of the Vigil of Pentecost II.1. The Pope’s words Homily of the Holy Father ..................... 195 II.2. Greetings to the Holy Father Archbishop Stanis3aw Ry3ko .................... 207 Chiara Lubich ............................ 209 Patti Gallagher Mansfield ..................... 211 Luis Fernando Figari ........................ 213 VII Contents II.3 Reflections on the psalmody of Vespers The grace and gift of concord in prayer Andrea Riccardi ........................ 219 “The Lord builds up Jerusalem!” ................. 223 Kiko Argüello The unassailable fascination of Christianity. Christ who begs for man’s heart Father Julián Carrón ...................... 227 APPENDIX “His Spirit is the true protagonist of the Church” ........ 233 “One great movement animated by the Holy Spirit” ....... 237 VIII PREFACE his volume contains the texts of the various interventions and T meditations that accompanied the celebration of Vespers on the vigil of Pentecost, presided over by the Supreme Pontiff in St. Peter’s Square on 3 June 2006 in the presence of over a hundred ecclesial movements and new communities. It also contains the proceedings of the second World Congress of ecclesial movements and new commu- nities, held at Rocca di Papa (near Rome) on the initiative of the Ponti- fical Council for the Laity in the immediately preceding days. The decision to hold a meeting of movements in the Church can be very significantly placed among the more immediate priorities of Benedict XVI on ascending the throne of St. Peter. He expressed the wish for such a meeting during the first audience granted to me as President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity. That was on 14 May 2005: by a happy coincidence, it was also the vigil of Pentecost! This priority of Benedict XVI also represented an important sign of conti- nuity with the teaching of John Paul II, who saw in the new lay groups in the Church precious gifts of the Spirit and a great sign of hope for humanity in our time. It is a conviction that the Servant of God elo- quently expressed on that memorable 30 May 1998, when he exclaimed to the members of the movements who had thronged St. Peter’s Square, replying to his invitation to bear common witness together: “In our world, often dominated by a secularized culture which encourages and promotes models of life without God, the faith of many is sorely tested, and is frequently stifled and dies […] There is great need today for mature Christian personalities, conscious of their baptismal identity, of their vocation and mission in the Church and in the world! There is great need for living Christian communities! And here are the ecclesial movements and the new communities: they are IX Archbishop Stanis3aw Ry3ko the response, given by the Holy Spirit, to this critical challenge at the end of the millennium. You are this providential response!”1 That day marked a decisive turning point for the life and mission of movements and communities. And now, eight years later, the new Successor of Peter wished to begin again just from there to resume the dialogue with them, and to invite them to meet together in the same place and on the same day. Pope Benedict XVI’s relations with the movements are long-stand- ing. His theological contribution, moreover, remains of fundamental importance for the definition of their ecclesial identity. He has himself spoken of his relations with them on several occasions. He has identi- fied in them the fruits of the recurrent irruptions of the Holy Spirit which, over centuries and millennia, constantly renew and revivify the structure of the Church.2 Even more recently he told a group of Ger- man bishops: “After the Council, the Holy Spirit endowed us with the gift of the ‘movements’ […], places of faith where young people and adults try out a model of life in faith as an opportunity for life today. I therefore ask you to approach movements with a great deal of love. Here and there, they must be corrected or integrated within the struc- tures of the parish or diocese. Yet, we must respect the specific charac- ter of their charism and rejoice in the birth of communitarian forms of faith in which the Word of God becomes life”.3 To the festive throng who invaded St. Peter’s Square and sur- rounding areas right down to the Castel Sant’Angelo on 3 June to re- live with the Successor of Peter the mystery of Pentecost, proclaim the 1 JOHN PAUL II, Address to the ecclesial movements and new communities (Rome, 30 May 1998), in: Movements in the Church, edited by the Pontifical Council for the Laity, Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Vatican City 1999, 222-223. 2 Cf. J. RATZINGER, “The ecclesial movements: a theological reflection on their place in the Church”, in: Movements in the Church, cit., 25. Cf. also “I movimenti ecclesiali e la loro collocazione teologica”, in: Nuove irruzioni dello Spirito. I movimenti nella Chiesa, Edizioni San Paolo, Cinisello Balsamo 2006, 15. 3 BENEDICT XVI, Address to the Bishops of the German Bishops’ Conference on their ad limina visit in the Consistory Hall, 18 November 2006; cf. IDEM, Address to the Bishops of the German Bishops’ Conference, 21 August 2005. X Preface joy of believing in Jesus Christ and renew the commitment to walk in his footsteps, Benedict XVI spoke of life, freedom and unity. “Pente- cost – he said to that immense throng who had come from every cor- ner of the Earth – is this: Jesus, and through him God himself, comes to us and draws us to himself. […] The Holy Spirit, through whom God comes to us, brings us life and freedom […] The movements were born precisely of the thirst for true life [and] want to and must be schools of freedom […], the freedom of the children of God”. Their multiplicity is the expression of the revivifying and always aston- ishing action of the Holy Spirit to enrich the Church to which they belong. But, added the Pope, “in Him multiplicity and unity go hand in hand. He breathes where he wills. He does so in unexpected ways, in unexpected places and in hitherto unimaginable forms”. Therefore, his presence is also demonstrated in the missionary impetus that leads to proclaiming the Lord in all the spheres of human life, without fear, without presumption and without discouragement, always operating “in union with the enduring orders – the joints – of the Church, with the successors of the apostles and with the successor of Peter”. At the end of the meeting the Holy Father confirmed once again the confi- dence he has in the movements and communities, appealing to them to “be, even more, far more, collaborators of the universal apostolic ministry of the Pope, by opening the doors to Christ […], the best ser- vice that the Church can perform to man”. The meeting with Benedict XVI in St. Peter’s Square was pre- ceded by the Second World Congress of the ecclesial movements and new communities held in Rocca di Papa from 31 May to 2 June 2006 on the theme “The beauty of being Christians and the joy of commu- nicating it”. The congress was attended by some 300 delegates of these groups and various invited guests, including cardinals, bishops, men and women religious, and an ecumenical delegation.
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