The U. S. Bishops' Liaison Committee
Affirms the Renewal in the Church

The U. S. Bishops Teach

A Pastoral Statement on the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, March 1984

"We wish those in the charismatic renewal to know that we make our own the view of Yves Congar: 'The charismatic renewal is a grace for the Church.' We assure those in the charismatic renewal of the support they enjoy from the bishops of the United States, and we encourage them in their efforts to renew the life of the Church."  (§ 39)

Grace for the New Springtime, March 1997

"On the occasion of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal's thirtieth anniversary . . . we, the U.S. Bishops' Ad Hoc Committee on the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, . . . likewise 'encourage them in their efforts to renew the life of the Church.'  (Quoted from the above Pastoral)

"Specifically on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal in the United States, we desire to affirm the positive impact this move of the Spirit has had in the lives of millions of people and through them on the life of the Church. . . . In this statement, we want not only to affirm the good fruit of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal but also the grace which is at the heart of the Renewal, namely, baptism in the Holy Spirit, or the fuller release of the Holy Spirit, as some would prefer.

"It is our conviction that baptism in the Holy Spirit, understood as the reawakening in Christian experience of the presence and action of the Holy Spirit given in Christian initiation, and manifested in a broad range of charisms, including those closely associated with the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, is part of normal Christian life. . . . We encourage the whole Church to look into and embrace baptism in the Holy Spirit 'as the power of personal and communal transformation with all the graces and charisms needed for the upbuilding of the Church and for our mission in the world.  (Fanning the Flame, p. 27)

"Pope John Paul II states that this ‘new springtime of Christian life will be revealed by the Great Jubilee if Christians are docile to the action of the Holy Spirit’ (§ 18). . . . In the spirit of our Holy Father John Paul II, we say again, with great thanksgiving and enthusiasm, that in the Catholic Charismatic Renewal and in the grace of the baptism in the Holy Spirit we see God’s outpouring of a new Pentecost. This is a blessing for the Church and the world as we near the celebration of the Lord's 2000 th birthday and the beginning of the Third Millennium of Christianity."