Chemin Neuf

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The community Chemin Neuf [ʃəmɛ̃ nœf] ( French : 'New Way') is a community within the Catholic Church with an ecumenical vocation. It has around 2,000 members in 30 countries.

Origin and Distribution

Chemin-Neuf prayer on World Youth Day 2005

The community emerged in 1973 from a prayer group in Lyon . Its founder is the Jesuit priest Laurent Fabre (* 1940).

In Germany, the community, recognized as a public association of believers, has been working since 1992 and is also a registered association under civil law. The community has been leading the Herz-Jesu-Kirche in Berlin-Prenzlauer Berg since 1994 . Since 2000 she has been working in the Catholic parish of St. Adalbert in Berlin-Mitte, where she set up an ecumenical center.

The community has also lived in the Berlin-Lankwitz monastery since 2006 , where it operates a Christian student residence. Chemin Neuf has been working in Bonn since summer 2007, serving the Catholic University Community (KHG) at St. Remigius . 25 student residences are operated in major cities around the world. Students in particular appreciate this intercultural competence and are looking for international experience in social projects.

In August 2016, the founder Laurent Fabre handed over the leadership of the community. The General Chapter elected the French priest and social scientist François Michon as its new leader.

aims

A major concern of Chemin Neuf is the unity and reconciliation of Christians. In the community's student dormitories, young people can have interdenominational experiences. There are also various pastoral offers, especially for young adults, couples and families. The members of Chemin Neuf come from different walks of life: as priests, celibate sisters and married couples, they work together in groups. The members of the community also have different denominational backgrounds (Catholic, Orthodox , Anglican , Reformed , Evangelical-Lutheran or Free Church ). You see yourself as part of the Charismatic Renewal. Other goals of the community are evangelism and peace in the world.

Chemin Neuf organizes retreats, retreats and silent exercises across Germany, which are aimed in particular at young adults, couples and families.

In 2012 Chemin Neuf received the Ecumenical Prize from the Berlin Brandenburg Ecumenical Council.

The guiding principle of the organization is the saying of Pope John Paul II : "It is important that from now on we strive to do everything together that we can do together."

Ecclesiastical and civil-legal recognition

Chemin Neuf was recognized in 1973 by Cardinal Alexandre-Charles Renard , Archbishop of Lyon , and in 1984 an association of believers under his successor, Cardinal Albert Decourtray . This canonical status allows the community to teach the Christian faith on behalf of the church and to promote public worship (Canon 301.1 CIC ). On June 24, 1992, Cardinal Decourtray established the Chemin Neuf Institute as a clerical institute of diocesan law for priests and candidates for the priesthood of the community. On September 14, 2009, the Institute Chemin Neuf was recognized by Cardinal Franc Rodé in the Vatican as a clerical religious institute under papal law.

The Chemin Neuf community was recognized by the French state as a religious congregation (Prime Minister's Decree of 23 July 1993). In 2009 the Chemin Neuf Community received papal recognition as an ordinary community within the Catholic Church.

controversy

In the 1990s, a number of Christian communities in France were accused of practicing sect-like practices and brainwashing , including Chemin Neuf. In 1998, the French anti-sect organization CCMM ( Center contre les manipulations mentales ; German: 'Zentrum gegen mental Manipulationsen' ) Chemin Neuf in their "Sektenlexikon".

The former Archbishop of Lyon Jean Balland (1934–1998) and the then sect representative of the French Bishops' Conference Jean Vernette (1929–2002) rejected the accusations, as did the Chemin Neuf founder Laurent Fabre.

The entry in the sect lexicon has since been deleted.

Web links

Commons : Communauté du Chemin Neuf  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f Brochure of the Chemin Neuf Community, p. 2, accessed on June 5, 2018 (PDF)
  2. ^ Literature by and about Fabre, Laurent in the catalog of the German National Library
  3. ^ Website of St. Adalbert Church
  4. ↑ Annelen Hölzner-Bautsch: 100 Years of Mater Dolorosa Church - History of the Catholic Community in Berlin-Lankwitz - 1912 to 2012. Editor: Katholische Pfarrgemeinde Mater Dolorosa, self-published, Berlin (2012), p. 343 ff. 100 Years of Mater Dolorosa Church - History of the Catholic Community in Berlin-Lankwitz - 1912 to 2012 , Mater Dolorosa Berlin-Lankwitz, accessed on April 24, 2013
  5. ↑ Anett Kirchner: Monastic life in the village center In: Der Tagesspiegel from April 12, 2018, accessed on June 5, 2018.
  6. ↑ Self-portrayal of the Heart of Jesus in Berlin, Prenzlauer Berg
  7. ↑ New head of Chemin Neuf elected , accessed on June 5, 2018.
  8. ↑ Offers for young adults In: chemin-neuf.de , accessed on June 5, 2018.
  9. ↑ Offers for couples and families In: chemin-neuf.de , accessed on June 5, 2018.
  10. ↑ Ecumenical Council Berlin Brandenburg: Ecumenical Prize
  11. ^ Speech by John Paul II to the Association of Swiss Free Churches . June 14, 1984, Vatican website.
  12. ↑ Thierry Baffoy, Antoine Delestre, Jean-Paul Sauzet: Les Naufragés de l'Esprit. Des sectes dans l'Église catholique . Le Seuil editions, 1996.
  13. ↑ Annick Drogou: Le dico des sectes . Editions Milan, 1998.
  14. ↑ a b Les charismatiques sont-ils sectaires? (PDF; 362 kB) Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace . June 26, 1996. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved on August 14, 2009.
  15. ↑ Jean Vernette: L'Eglise catholique et les sectes ( RTF ; 94 kB) Conférence des évêques de France . January 15, 2001. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved on August 14, 2009.