“Ecclesial Movements: Communion and Mission on the Threshold of the Third Millennium”
1st World Congress, May 27-29, 1998
Pope John Paul II sent a message to all the Movements on their arrival to the Congress.
"What is meant today by "movement"? The term is often used to refer to realities that differ among themselves, sometimes even by reason of their canonical structure. If, on the one hand, that structure certainly cannot exhaust or capture the wealth of forms produced by the life-giving creativity of Christ's Spirit, on the other, it indicates a concrete ecclesial reality with predominantly lay membership, a faith journey and Christian witness which bases its own pedagogical method on a precise charism given to the person of the founder in specific circumstances and ways."
Pope John Paul II's Speech to the Ecclessial Movements and New Communities in St. Peter's Square on May 27, 1998
"The passage from the original charism to the movement happens through the mysterious attraction that the founder holds for all those who become involved in his spiritual experience. In this way movements officially recognized by ecclesiastical authority offer themselves as forms of self-fulfilment and as reflections of the one Church."
Bishops Meeting after the 1st World Congress
Bishop Stanislaw Rylko, Opening talk of the Seminar
"In communicating a movement's charism, its founder has an irreplaceable role. John Paul II explains it in this way: 'The passage from the original charism to the movement happens through the mysterious attraction that the founder holds for all those who become involved in his spiritual experience'. The founder is the pivot of the life of every movement, because he/she is the bearer of the original chrism from which it is born and through which it lives. As the founder gradually discovers the various dimensions of the charism, he/she indicates the goals to be reached and defines methods and organizational structures. From the founder's special position springs his/her spiritual paternity/maternity and the authority - unique of its kind - that he/she exerts over the movement's members." page 29
1st World Congress Publications
The following two Publications are available from the Pontifical Council for the Laity
"Movements in the Church", Publication 2 of the "Laity Today" Collection. Proceedings of the World Congress of the Ecclesial Movements, Rome, 27-29 May 1998, Vatican City 1999. 10 Euros, Available in English and Italian only.
"The Ecclesial Movements in the Pastoral Concern of the Bishops", Publication 4 of the "Laity Today" Collection. Vatican City 2000, 10 Euros, Available in English, Spanish, French, and Italian
These books can be ordered through the Pontifical Council for the Laity below
2nd World Congress, May 31 - June 2, 2006
The Beauty of Being a Christian and the Joy of Communicating it
Pope Benedict sends a Message to the Participants on May 22, 2006, a week before the Congress begins./div>
"May Jesus' exhortation ceaselessly re-echo in your hearts: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven" (Mt 5: 16). Bring Christ's light to all the social and cultural milieus in which you live. Missionary zeal is proof of a radical experience of ever renewed fidelity to one's charism that surpasses any kind of weary or selfish withdrawal."
Pope Benedict XVI Homily at the Prayer Vigil on the Solemnity of Pentecost
June 3, 2006, St. Peters Square
"He (Pope John Paul II) described your Associations (Movements) and Communities on many occasions as "providential", especially because the Sanctifying Spirit makes use of them to reawaken faith in so many Christian hearts and to reveal to them the vocation they have received with Baptism. He also helps them to be witnesses of hope filled with that fire of love which is bestowed upon us precisely by the Holy Spirit."
Seminar for Bishops, May 15-17, 2008
I ask you to approach movements with a great deal of love
Study Seminar on the Pastoral Care of Ecclessial Movements and New communities.
Pope Benedict XVI Address to the Bishops and Representatives of Movements, May 17, 2008
"The Ecclesial Movements and New Communities are one of the most important innovations inspired by the Holy Spirit in the Church for the implementation of the Second Vatican Council."
2nd World Congress Publications
"The Beauty of Being a Christian. Movements in the Church" Publication 11 of the Laity Today" Collection. Proceedings of the Second World Congress of the Ecclesial Movements and New Communities, Rocca di Papa, 31 May - 2 June 2006. Libreria editrice Vaticana 2007. 15 Euros, Available in English, Spanish, French and Italian.
Soon to be Published: "I ask you to approach movements with a great deal of love", Seminar for Bishops, Rocca di Papa (Rome) 15-17 May 2008.