Rabbi Carl M. Perkins 
Cantor Gast�n Bogomolni 
Bruce D. Berns, President
 



Neo-Catechumenal-what? 




May 6, 2015


 

Dear Friends,


 

"Neo-Catechumenal-what?"


Yes, that was my response when I first heard about the "Neo-Catechumenal Way."  I hadn't heard of it - and I'm sure that many readers of this letter could say the same.


 

The Neo-Catechumenal Way is a kind of renewal or revival movement within the Roman Catholic Church.  It was founded in the 1960s by a charismatic Spanish artist and musician named Kiko Arguello. 


 


 


 

The Neo-Catechumenals have founded and developed small, ongoing groups for spiritual renewal in thousands of Roman Catholic churches world-wide.  If these groups were in synagogues, we might call them by the Hebrew word, "havurot"-but they're more intensive than most havurot. If you're a member of a Neo-Catechumenal group, you meet with the other members of your group every Wednesday and Saturday evening.  You study the psalms and you focus a lot of attention on helping yourself and others in your group develop a deeper relationship with God. 


 

One key feature of the Neo-Catechumenal Way (and this is why it was brought to my attention) is its understanding of the importance of deepening the relationship between Roman Catholicism and the Jewish People. It understands Judaism to be at the very root of Catholicism, and so feels a special responsibility to reach out to and to nurture relationships with Jews.


 

A few months ago, Father Tony Medeiros, the Rector of the Redemptoris Mater Seminary in Chestnut Hill, came to meet with me in my office. He is a Neo-Catechumenal Way leader, and he had a proposition for me: namely, to join him in Israel for an historic gathering of bishops, cardinals and rabbis. 


 

What can I say? I found Father Medeiros to be very persuasive, and I agreed to participate.  I'm glad I did. I am one of about 120 rabbis and dozens of Catholic leaders (including several from the Boston area) who have gathered at the Neo-Catechumenal Way retreat center in Israel.  The center is called Domus Galilaeae, or "Beit HaGalil," the House of the Galilee.  Located on the Hill of the Beatitudes, Domus Galilaeae has striking vistas of the Sea of Galilee.


 


 

It's been fascinating to meet and speak with religious leaders from around the world.  Last night at dinner, for example, I got the chance to speak with the Cardinal of Vienna, Austria, Christoph Cardinal Shoenborn:


 


 


 

And today, I was part of a group that Cardinal Schoenborn facilitated:


 


 


 

Today we also heard a wonderful address by the brilliant and eloquent Orthodox pluralist and theologian, Rabbi Irving ("Yitz") Greenberg:


 


 


 

Both yesterday and today have been filled with other encounters and unexpectedly moving experiences.  For example, yesterday morning, a 200-person orchestra and chorus performed for us an original piece of music composed by Kiko. The piece, a requiem to the Six Million, was performed by musicians who were flown in from all over Europe (mainly Italy). Describing it doesn't quite do justice to it; suffice it to say that it was moving to hear this particular piece performed with this particular audience.


 


 


 

One of the highlights of the piece is the recitation of the El Malei Rachamim by Cantor Chaim Adler of the Great Synagogue in Jerusalem.  I don't think I expected to be as moved as I was to hear this chanted in such a "mixed" crowd.


 


 

Why did I decide to go on this trip? It's really quite simple.  I am mindful that this year marks the fiftieth anniversary of Vatican II and the document known as Nostra Aetate, which revolutionized relations between the Catholic Church and the Jewish people.  Rabbi Gil Rosenthal, the director of the National Council of Synagogues who has recently joined our congregation, describes that event as a "Copernican revolution" in what was, for almost two thousand years, a highly contentious relationship of fear, distrust, and contempt.  Much, much progress has been made, yet much more work needs to be done.  I am grateful for the former, and eager to play a role in the latter.  I would like to make a contribution, however modest, to further mutual understanding and respect between Catholics and Jews. Attending this gathering is, I believe, an important step in the right direction.


 


 

I look forward to speaking with you more about this gathering when I get back home in Needham.  In the meantime, be well!


 


 

Sincerely,


 

 


 
Rabbi Carl M. Perkins



Temple Aliyah | 1664 Central Avenue | Needham, MA 02492
Phone: 781-444-8522 | www.templealiyah.com