According to Zenit, the Pontifical Council for the Laity has set up a webpage for the Pentecost gathering of New Movements – it seems to be quite popular and has exceeded its bandwidth.

Ah well, check back later. In addition, Zenit continues its focus on these New Movments, highlighting two more today.

Some have wondered about these "New Movements," what they’re about, and why they are being promoted and encouraged. There’s a lot that could be said, and I think a book-length treatment of this matter would be quite interesting, because it’s not without tension and controversy, especially Pope John Paul II’s embrace of seemingly every New Movement that came along, encouraging them without, it seems, a whole lot of correction or constraints.

(Giving a lie, once again, to the "OVERCENTRALIZED CLERICALLY OBSESSED PAPACY OF JPII" thing you hear all the time)

It’s a fascinating moment, comparable to the 12th and 13th centuries, which saw the flourishing of not only mendicant orders, but a variety of lay spiritualities, as well as the post-Reformation era.

But what’s up with them? Why have they been encouraged so? Shouldn’t the parish be the locus of lay religious life?

Well, yes, but one of the theories behind analysis of JPII’s support for New Movements was that he sensed that in Europe at least, parish life was hopeless and dead, and even seriously off the rails spiritually and theologically.  The only hope for spiritual revival among the laity in Europe would be from movements external to parishes. For a taste of why he might have thought this, read Gerald’s Cafeteria is Closed blog for a few days.

In the US, there have been tensions between "new movements" and "regular" parish life, dating back to the days of the Charismatic Renewal, to be honest.  The Legionaries of Christ in the present day are mentioned frequently as a source of problems in this regard. It can definitely be a problem. But we’ll have to see how it all comes out – what will the ultimate impact of the various lay movements in the church be?