President of the Pontifical Council for the Laity, Cardinal J. Francis Stafford, while in town to join in the celebration of the installation of our new archbishop, agreed to speak to The Pilot about important issues in the Church today. His words bring an insightful perspective on the crisis in the Church as well as laying out a path for renewing parish life.

The apostolic movements and ecclesial communities that Cardinal Stafford refers to — groups such as Communion and Liberation, the Community of St. Egidio, Cursillo, Focolare, the Neocatechumenate, Opus Dei and Regnum Christi — are not fully developed either here in the Archdiocese of Boston or in the United States as a whole.

John Paul II has said these groups are the “providential response” of the spirit to the need “for powerful proclamation and solid, in-depth Christian formation,” and Cardinal Stafford confirms that, in the wake of the crisis in the Church, “the means for renewal within the Church rests with the new communities.”

While lengthy, we hope those looking for answers and ways to move forward will be inspired by the cardinal’s comments. (see Cardinal Stafford's remarks)