Pope Francis has advised members of the Neocatechumenal Way to take
care to preserve close ties with the local dioceses in the places where
they work. Meeting on February 1 with about 8,000 members of the Neocatechumenal Way, the Pope urged them to “take the greatest care to construct and conserve communion within the particular churches in which you carry out your work.”
He stressed to that the group—which has sometimes been troubled by tensions with local bishops—that preserving communion “means listening to life of the churches to which your leaders send you, to recognizing the value of their richness, suffering for their weaknesses when necessary, and walking together as a single flock, under the guidance of the pastors of the local churches.”
“Communion is essential,” the Pope continued. He suggested that “at times it can be better to set aside some of the details that your itinerary requires in order to guarantee unity between the brothers that form the single ecclesial community.”
The Pope also encouraged members of the Neocatechumenal Way to realize, as they go forth on missions, that “the Spirit of God always arrives before us.”
He suggested that they pay “special attention to the cultural context” in the societies where they are stationed, and recognize how the Spirit is already at work there.