U.S. Catholic charismatic leaders announce ecumenically-oriented evangelization initiative

Members of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal International Service (CHARIS) in the United States have announced the launch of a new, ecumenically-oriented organization, Evangelize America, that aims to reignite the Catholic charismatic renewal from the grassroots.

The initiative was announced May 30 following an audience Pope Leo XIV held with members of CHARIS in which he expressed encouragement for their apostolate.

Deacon Darrell Wentworth, who serves as a deacon in the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, and will serve as the inaugural president and CEO of Evangelize America, explained to EWTN News that the charismatic renewal has always been tied to ecumenism.

“Our fight is not with flesh and blood. It is not with our Protestant brothers and sisters or Christians of other traditions. Our fight is with the enemy — the powers and principalities causing the divisions,” he observed.

Wentworth described initiatives such as Evangelize America as a response to the call from recent popes to encourage the new evangelization.

“We are responding to John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and specifically Pope Francis, when he told the Catholic fraternity communities to baptize everyone in the Holy Spirit and to devise strategies to bring Christians together,” Wentworth said.

As to the name Evangelize America, Wentworth said it is inspired by John Paul IIʼs apostolic exhortations to the continents of the world. John Paul II wrote Ecclesia in America, Ecclesia in Asia, Ecclesia in Africa, and Ecclesia in Europe.

The strategy of the Twelve

According to Wentworth, Evangelize America will consist of setting up intentional small groups modeled after the Twelve Apostles.

“A group of 12 will consist of a priest, a deacon and his wife, seven lay members taking on the seven tasks that influence culture, one charismatic Catholic focused on pursuing full communion and healing animosity between local Christian denominations, and one Pentecostal,” Wentworth said.

Encouragement from Pope Leo

Leo XIV held an audience at the Vaticanʼs Paul VI Hall with members of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal on May 30. This was his first meeting with them since his election as pope, and, like Wentworth, he referred to previous popes in the development of the charismatic movement.

“My venerable predecessors recognized this development as a great gift to the Church,” Leo said in his remarks. “I, too, wish to foster the relationship of mutual respect, closeness, and support between the See of Peter and the great family of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.”

Wentworth praised the popeʼs remarks as confirmation to continue their work.

“It is not a new vision. It is the vision of the Holy Spirit that dates back to the year 33,” Wentworth noted. “Pope Leo shows us that this is what the charismatic movement is all about: help everyone to experience the power of the Holy Spirit and fall in love with God the Father instead of all the material things present in society.”

Carlos Campo, a Protestant who serves as president and CEO of the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., was also part of the U.S. delegation that was present at the audience. He expressed hope that Evangelize America would help mobilize the Catholic Church in the U.S. to proclaim the Gospel in new ways.

“I believe this is something that will change marriages, families, and communities and has the opportunity to change our nation,” Campo said.

Source: https://www.ewtnnews.com/vatican/us-catholic-charismatic-leaders-announce-launch-of-evangelize-usa