VATICAN CITY (AFP) – Pope Benedict XVI has issued a reprimand to an evangelical Catholic lay movement which was praised by his predecessors John Paul II and Paul VI, warning it to fall into line with Church liturgical norms.

A letter reported by specialist Catholic media from Nigerian Cardinal Francis Arinze, head of the Congregation for Divine Worship, demands that the Neocatechumenal Way movement, which claims thousands of followers, change its practices.

The Neocatechumenal Way, launched in the Madrid slums in 1964 by Kiko Arguello and Carmen Hernandez, celebrates mass on Saturdays instead of Sundays, and communion is administered to the faithful seated around a table.

In addition, lay members of the congregation are allowed to preach during the service, while the priest plays a relatively minor role.

The Vatican’s letter says members of the Neocatechumenate should celebrate mass on Sunday during the normal parish liturgy at least once a month, that all the prescribed prayers should be followed, that a priest or deacon deliver the homily, and that communion be administered while standing or genuflecting.

The Vatican has given the Neocatechumenate two years to bring its practice on communion in line with the norms, while allowing lay people to continue to deliver reflections at the mass, as long as they are brief and not confused with the homily.

The Vatican gave “experimental” approval to the Neocatechumenal Way’s statutes for a period of five years from 2002, stressing in a decree the enthusiasm of Pope John Paul II for its work.

But the new pope is less keen on lay movements, and particularly those that seek to introduce innovations into Church practices.

The Neocatechumenal Way, which has its own seminaries, has faced criticism that it resembles a separate sect.

On its own website, the movement claims to have communities in 105 countries, mainly in Europe and the Americas, more than 700 ordained priests and hundreds more undergoing training.