Mission

 

We are Roman Catholics and aim to love and commit ourselves to Jesus Christ and His Church in the best way possible. 

The same devotion to Jesus can be said, however, about our separated brethren in the Protestant denominations--the Lutherans, Evangelicals, Baptists, and even Mormons. There are countless outstanding fellow Christians in our circles and probably yours too; even our non-Christian friends may be some of the best Christ-like people we know. So why does it matter to make a site about a group within our own faith that is informative and mostly unflattering? Well, the truth matters. Far too many people have been unknowingly duped into joining and–far worse–have been spiritually and psychologically damaged by this “faith formation”.

Plenty of people have gone to the top (i.e. Bishops) and have not been heard or had their concerns invalidated – familiar territory? Unfortunately, yes, and we explore the possible reasons behind this. We are only now beginning to see that the Vatican has been trying to reign this in *- but locally, not so much. If you think that is meant as a slam against our local Archbishop, not quite–there’s a lot at play here and those in the higher ranks of the Way have a lot of influence; on the other hand, it is critical because many have voiced their concerns and nothing has changed – the Way has even been emboldened.

We are one, holy, catholic and apostolic church; and yet in our fallen humanity, there have been numerous serious errors in the 2,000+ years of our Church’s existence. Entire councils of theologians have convened over the centuries to hash out major discrepancies in the practice of the faith, the study of Jesus, and the best possible ways to truly know and love Him. This has often taken years of study, discourse, and even more than a heated argument (to put it lightly) to get it right–Santa punching heretics, anyone? As this is being written, it is the Feast Day of St. John Chrystostom, who, like St. Athanasius, worked within the Church, was even persecuted, and fought for what the Church abides by to this day.

The truth and background of just about anything is important. People should know what they’re getting into. After years of being out of the Neocatechumenal Way, it amazes us that there are still people seeking us out, or people that can relate to this abnormal “catholic” experience. Perhaps you felt something just wasn’t right and you searched the internet and found The Thoughtful Catholic’s Critical Look at the Neocatechumenal Way, or JungleWatch, or CruxSancta, etc., and surmised that these must be more isolated incidents where people (communities) had to be going rogue or perhaps there were geographical, or cultural issues that simply don’t apply here in the US, or the Archdiocese of Denver. It’s also possible you dismissed them because many of the posts were more than a few years old and they must have cleaned things up by now.

It’s a hard and soul-crushing feeling to learn that there are those within our own area, our own parish, that may be a part of a movement, sect, cult, heresy, whatever you wish to call it, undermining the Church. Are these evil people? Only God knows what is truly in the heart of someone; however, it is always best to look first at what is good in them all the while discerning their words and intentions. As troubling or harmful as they may have been to you or your parish, these are still our Catholic brethren and many are just trying to live the faith in a way that makes sense for them. However, many have found themselves involved in the Way before they really knew what all was involved; and like any relationship, it can be very hard to leave. So let us first be kind and merciful toward those in the Neocatechumenal Way and pray for them to abandon this “parallel church” and its errors.

Our aim is to validate those that have been confused and are questioning this movement within our parishes – you are not alone. There are far more ex-Neocats than there are those currently in the Way. It is also for the purpose of helping those truly harmed by the Way and for the purpose of sparing those who might fall prey to it. We wish to communicate its errors, validate concerns and appreciate our true and immensely good, just, and beautiful Roman Catholic faith.