They Lie and Lie and Lie

Proverbs 6 :16-19 “There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.”

While in the Way, there was often drama. Some people were definitely prone to it and some people were driven to it by so called catechists sowing discord among us. If we weren’t being critical, confronting each other over every annoyance, we were told we were being fake, wearing a mask so to speak. On one occasion, a man in my community, who wasn’t directly affected by the drama of the day, stated to me that “everyone lies”. He said it with a smile as if he were the honest one by saying he and everyone else lies or has lied.  To which I responded “I don’t lie”.  That’s not to say I haven’t ever, but his statement and expression suggested he really thought everyone is in the habit of telling lies; in which case no, not everyone finds it natural to lie. In fact, many, myself included, find lying very stressful and unnatural.  I found his casual attitude regarding lying was similar to the Catechists and everyone else who had any authority in the Way. (Read here for an expansion of that topic – https://carmenkiko.wordpress.com/2022/12/05/humble-pie-in-the-face/ )

It has been stated on this blog and several others that the Neocatechumenal Way has inflated its membership numbers for many years – possibly from the beginning just to gain momentum. Each and every gathering, whether it is the local diocese of communities embedding themselves in parishes for a gathering with the local Bishop or the vocational meeting immediately following the Papal Mass the next day to hear “their Pope” Kiko; they will list off their community or country of origin and the number present as they stand and get acknowledged.  Why do they do this?  If they do not show that they are gaining members, just as with ANY organization,  religious or not, it means it is not working. Quantity over quality has been the motto of this group.  It does not matter how faithful a member, how far along, how invested; they just want every single person present when it counts (meaning when the bishops, cardinals or Pope are in their presence). 

At one of the many annual gatherings with our very own Archbishop in the Archdiocese of Denver, we were told as a community to make sure everyone was there and to invite anyone in our family that would come regardless if they were in the Way or not.  We also were told to call anyone, and I mean anyone, that had gone to the catechesis, regardless if they attended the initial retreat or not, to these meetings.  The number of people is a show to the Bishop – that their way of evangelization is working.  Those of us who have sampled this “new evangelization” whether just through the initial talks or in community for a number of years, know this show very well. 

 

Let’s examine this point in a very defined way.  World Youth Day Lisbon, Portugal just came to an end. Following the end of the week with the Papal Mass with all the “unsalted, unenlightened, non-chosen, natural religious” Catholics (their words not mine) they met with Kiko the following day in similar but very much smaller fashion.  

Our very own Archbishop Aquila, along with other duped OR complicit clergy to this scam attended with Kiko on stage, to look out at the crowds. Archbishop Aquila tweeted his attendance stating:

“WYD2023 meeting with the Neocatechumenal Way and Kiko – 20,000+ in attendance to hear the gospel”

Then he corrected himself (i.e. one of his Neocat handlers did) stating there were 80,000 in attendance!

I truly tried to find the best aerial shot of the crowd in Lisbon for the vocational meeting, to capture the crowd as best as possible, and this is the best I could do as the Way tends to scrub the internet of things that don’t fit the narrative.:

Now Archbishop Aquila is not a stupid man, and it’s doubtful his own eyes deceived him. So what does a crowd of 20,000 look like (https://blog.lime.link/visualizing-crowd-sizes/)

How about 50,000

And 75,000:

One can see that even if I spliced two of the best crowd shots together from the WYD Neocat Vocational call together it wouldn’t equal even half of Notre Dame Stadium.  I believe that Archbishop Aquila’s original estimation of 20,000 was a generous and more correct estimate. 

Two things can be true at the same time.  

True, numbers may not mean much to the Neocat.  Is it still an impressive gathering of people – yes. Do they exaggerate their claims for their own benefit – yes.

Have they garnered vocations from this meeting – yes.  Do they take the euphoria of one young man’s impulse to run to the stage, take note, and heavily pressure him, lure him with talks of destinations like the coast of Italy or somewhere out of his impoverished country, and then make it very hard to leave – yes.  (an Irish seminarian in our Archdiocese some years ago said “these f**ker$ just won’t let you leave!”) https://carmenkiko.wordpress.com/2022/11/21/time-to-fry-the-fruit/

Has the Way influenced people to have large families that otherwise wouldn’t have – yes.  Have these large families experienced criticism or neglect for “making each other an idol” by not adhering to the many lengthy commitments or faced awful abuse at the hands of overwhelmed or narcissistic parents – yes.  https://thoughtfulcatholic.com/?page_id=36383

Have they gained in numbers and established themselves within the Catholic Church – yes.  Have they lost many members but neglect to adjust the rosters (there are more ex-neocats than current). – yes.

Did they gain some approval from the Vatican – yes? – Did they take any endorsement or step of the approval process and make a sweeping claim as to their approval – yes. https://carmenkiko.wordpress.com/2022/12/09/approved-or-not/

Do the Neocats strive to practice their faith diligently – yes.  Likewise do protestants strive to practice their faith – yes.   https://carmenkiko.wordpress.com/2023/03/27/cult-fiction-20-years-later-part-1/

https://neocatecumenali.blogspot.com/search?q=foundation

Do they hold parish mission talks advertising an answer to your suffering – yes.  Do they deliberately hide that they are the Neocatechumenal Way and intend to follow a formulated plan to end up having you in a program separate from your parish mass and activities – yes https://carmenkiko.wordpress.com/2022/09/07/youve-been-invited-to-a-catechesis/

Again, two things can be true at the same time!  

Truth matters in both small things and big things. Someone who lies and deceives from the start no matter what possible good intentions for doing so – will continue to lie to you. Some of their lies may be smaller lies like inflating numbers or maybe they don’t tell you they are the Neocatechumenal Way much in the same way someone doesn’t tell you they are trying to sell you Amway. Or they are BIG lies like hiding and defending pedo priests https://neocatecumenali.blogspot.com/2018/06/ferrovia-sotterranea-neocatecumenale-per-i-predatori-sessuali.html

Kiko and company got far too comfortable with their lies thinking no one would show the receipts. They became too accustomed to not having the internet with recordings and photos, to show their deceit.  https://thoughtfulcatholic.com/?page_id=44740

My own pastor Fr. Felix Medina, devoted Neocat, weaved his own web causing division and confusion (http://www.junglewatch.info/2016/08/neocatechumenal-way-confusion-and.html) among the various groups and didn’t think anyone would actually talk to each other. As one frustrated fellow parishioner showed me the text messages received from him that were proof against his statements and e-mails of “I never said…..” the frustrated parishioner simply stated “I’m so sick of his lies”.  Yes – so sick of the lies. 

Proverbs 12:22 “Lying lips are an abomination to the Lord, but those who act faithfully are his delight.”

Proverbs 26:28 “A lying tongue hates its victims, and a flattering mouth works ruin”

Psalm 5:6 “You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.”

Exodus 23:10 “You shall not spread a false report. You shall not join hands with a wicked man to be a malicious witness.”

The Way's Exclusive Hymnody

The following is a translated and adapted excerpt from a 2022 case study by Valerio Ciarocchi, an Italian scholar, university professor, and expert in sacred and liturgical music. The abstract, as well as a link to the full PDF essay (in Italian), can be found here. The study, entitled The Repertoires of Ecclesial Movements, looks at the use of liturgical music in various "movements" within the Church. Obviously, our excerpt here concerns the Neocatechumenal Way.

Two footnotes, referring the reader to printed sources, have been omitted from this excerpt (but are retained in the original linked above). Two others have been retained but edited to fit the text. An additional intertext citation to a non-specific web source has also been omitted.

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Neocatechumenal songs have a different style from traditional sacred and liturgical music. They are characterized by a sustained rhythmical quality, a preferential use for guitar and percussion instruments, and a vocal outpouring that intends to refer to the Jewish tradition and to the primitive Church.

The songs of the Neocatechumenal Way are collected in a hymnal entitled Resucitò [or He Rose from Death in English. "He Rose from Death" is also the name of one of their most popular hymns. A PDF version of the English hymnal is available from The Thoughtful Catholic.] At each presentation of new songs, training sessions are scheduled to explain their function and purpose. They have a clear biblical emphasis and are characterized by a laudatory point of view and a "kerygmatic" proclamation.

German theologian Sven Amuth notes, "Although there is a book of Neocatechumenal songs, the members of the Way do not use it in liturgical celebrations because they know them by heart, and this normally does not allow guests to be able to sing with them."

According to Kiko Argüello, for the Neocatechumenal, sacred music "has the power to awaken, to make faith ring out, something important in our age today, in which this kerygmatic aspect is very much lacking."

The Neocatechumenal Way considers the use of songs essential, both in the liturgical and extra-liturgical spheres: "The Neocatechumenal Way uses a hymnal of songs taken from the Word of God and from the Christian and Jewish liturgical tradition, which underline the contents of the different stages and passages" (Article 11 of the Neocatechumenal Way, approved by the Holy See on May 11, 2008).

We emphasize that the musical experience within the Neocatechumenal Way is quite "unique." Never, in the history of the Church, has there been the presence of a single author (the founder Kiko Argüello) for words and music that cannot be revised or corrected; this also applies to the playing style. In other words, the principle of adaptability to the cultural and social context is missing. Unlike the repertoires of other movements, the Neocatechumenal repertoire excludes performance in other contexts, because the songs are dedicated to the internal path of the Way itself. Conveniently, because being conceived for the celebrations "of" the Neocatechumenal Way, the songs would be "foreign" to other celebratory contexts.

We believe this to be limiting because it would seem to indicate an "exclusivity" which is not legitimized by the systematic Magisterium on sacred music.