Over the past century, the church has gone through periods of decline and confusion.
Throughout the church’s history in such times, movements have sprung up claiming to renew her life and mission.
In the 12th century, the Cathars and the Waldensians arose in response to corruption in the church, yet it was St Francis of Assisi and St Dominic who became genuine instruments of renewal.
Their orders endured because authentic charisms come from God. A merely human project may succeed for a time, but it cannot sustain true spiritual life.
A charism given by God may lose visible expression, but it does not die.
In our own time, as many once-strong religious orders have weakened, new self-proclaimed founders, foundresses, and reformers have again appeared.
The church has a duty to test their claims and discern whether their origins are human or divine.
Most people associate canon law with marriage annulments, church property, and questions of governance.
Less visible, however, is its role in discerning new groups that claim a supernatural origin.
Because young men and women may entrust their lives to such groups, those claims must be examined carefully and according to the strict criteria of canon law.
Canon law provides a necessary framework for protecting the faithful from deception.
In its updated Norms for Proceeding in the Discernment of Alleged Supernatural Phenomena of 17 May 2024, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith warned that believers can be misled by events presented as divine initiatives when they are in fact the result of imagination, novelty-seeking, fabrication, or deceit.
Although the document was updated in response to the need to assess the authenticity of alleged apparitions, the same concern applies when individuals claim divine inspiration for a work of renewal or reform.
As the document states, “God is always present in human history and never stops bestowing his gifts of grace upon us through the workings of the Holy Spirit, daily renewing our faith in Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world.
“It is the responsibility of the pastors of the Church to keep their faithful always attentive to this loving presence of the Most Holy Trinity in our midst, as it is also their duty to protect the faithful from all deception” (ibid.).
Public attention often focuses on the more dramatic abuses found in groups that claim inspiration from the Holy Spirit. Yet quieter forms of suffering can also exist in groups whose origin is merely human.
To hand over one’s life to another person’s private whims, however inadvertently, is a grave mistake. Living under a vow of obedience to something that is not truly of God can expose a person to deep psychological and spiritual harm.
A Vatican decree issued in June 2021 concerning the suppression of the Movimento Apostolico, a lay Catholic association founded in Italy in 1979, stated that there were no grounds for attributing a supernatural origin to the alleged phenomena from which the movement arose.
On the contrary, it found moral certainty that these were personal experiences of the foundress rather than the result of supernatural action.
This judgement shows the clarity and decisiveness rightly expected in a matter of such seriousness. Some may object that God’s ways are mysterious and therefore cannot be so clearly known.
Yet the church, formed by more than two thousand years of tradition under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, does have the authority to make such judgements. The Church is both charismatic and institutional.
As St Augustine reminds us, “He cannot have God as his Father who does not have the church as his mother.”
Canon law is valuable because it offers clear and practical principles for discerning new movements, including the following:
- A new institute in the church begins with a charism given by the Holy Spirit to an individual or group for the good of the church and in response to an unmet need.
- The charism, vision, and purpose of the group should be distinct from those of other institutes already present in the diocese or country.
- It should be grounded in the Gospel, in its values and spirit, and in the full teaching of the church, including the teaching of the councils.
- It should show a sound understanding of the world and its needs and have genuine relevance for the particular church.
- The group should be able to explain and assess its charism clearly, and the diocesan bishop and others who deal with the group should be able to do the same.
- Its governance structures should reflect the structures that are consistent with canon law.
In its evaluation of the Movimento Apostolico, the Vatican identified serious signs of division among members.
Division is a clear sign that a work is not from God.
It also found that the founding charism lacked originality and that the movement’s texts, formation, and preaching were marked by doctrinal shallowness.
The decree also noted institutional deficiencies, especially in governance and financial management.
It further identified practices that blurred the necessary distinction between the governance of the association and the conscience of its members.
In short, where a well-defined mission, humility, doctrinal seriousness, common sense, and spiritual health are absent, claims to authenticity should be treated with great caution, and the relevant authorities should intervene firmly.
Women’s vocations discernment dinner
Where: St Peter Chanel Parish Presbytery, 62 Kingsland Rd, Berala
When: Thursday 25 June at 6pm.
Who: Women between the ages of 20 and 40 interested in discerning a call to religious life.
Presenter: Kate Cleary speaking about the mission at The Farm in Galong. A hearty meal will be provided.
RSVP by Monday 22 June
E: Kate.cleary@galongfarm.org
M: 0404 112 428
Or contact Fr Josh Miechels: joshmiechels@gmail.com
W: https://www.thefarmingalong.com.au
