Cardinal Cipriani says new ecclesial movements to be embraced and helped

Lima, Peru, Jun 24, 2009 / 19:23 pm

At a recent meeting in Lima, Peru, Cardinal Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne encouraged leaders and members of ecclesial movements from Latin American and the Caribbean to embrace and help new movements within the Church.

During a Mass for the Meeting of Ecclesial Movements and New Communities of Latin America and the Caribbean, the cardinal recalled that the Catechism, the liturgical norms, the Word of God and the sacrament of Reconciliation “are like the pillars of doctrine and life which make it possible to help, guide and encourage all the new realities and movements in the Church.”

“For this reason, the Church calls on upon us pastors in these times to study these novelties and initiatives with respect and affection in order to extract from them all of the wonders desired by the Holy Spirit, and also to weed out with strength what perhaps might be a passing enthusiasm that does not belong in the Church,” the cardinal said.

The cardinal also warned that the new movements should never be treated with superficiality, but always with the truth. 

“This is the great service that Pope Benedict XVI is asking of us pastors, to welcome all of these realities without fear, with appreciation and affection, and at the same time, to help them, bless them and correct them,’ he said.