Pope John XXIII’s prayer for a new Pentecost “Renew your wonders in our time, as though for a new Pentecost, and grant that the holy Church, preserving unanimous and continuous prayer, together with Mary the Mother of Jesus, and also under the guidance of St. Peter, may increase the reign of the divine Savior, the reign of truth and justice, the reign of love and peace. Amen.”
Vatican II (1961-65) points to the presence of charisms in movements like the
Charismatic Renewal when it says “The Holy Spirit distributes special graces among the faithful of every rank. By these gifts He makes them able and ready to undertake the various tasks or offices advantageous for the renewal and the upbuilding of the Church. These charismatic gifts, whether they be the most outstanding or the simpler and widely diffused, are able to be received with thanksgiving and consolation, for they are exceedingly suitable and useful for the needs of the Church.”
The American Catholic Bishops committee on doctrine wrote in 1969 that theologically the movement has legitimate reasons of existence. It has a strong biblical basis. It would be difficult to inhibit the working of the Spirit which manifested itself so abundantly in the early Church.
In 1975 the American Bishops published another statement that quoted scriptural directives. “To the members of the movement, then, to the pastors and to all the faithful in Christ, we commend the words of Scripture which we take as our own guiding light: Do not stifle the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies. Test everything; retain what is good. Avoid semblance of evil (I Thessalonians 5:19-22). We encourage those who already belong and we support the positive and desirable directions of the charismatic renewal.”
In 1975 when 10,000 Catholic charismatics from countries all over the world gathered for the ninth international conference on the renewal, Pope Paul VI greeted them with these words: “the church and the world need more than ever that the miracle of Pentecost should continue in history… Nothing is more necessary than the witness of this spiritual renewal that we see the Holy Spirit evoking… How could this spiritual renewal not be good fortune for the Church and the world?”
Pope John Paul II had continuously recognized the importance of the charismatic renewal. In 1979 he spoke to the International Catholic Charismatic Renewal Service meeting in Rome: “I am convinced that this movement is a sign of the Spirit’s action…a very important component in the total renewal of the Church.”
In 1992 he addressed the international council again: “The Charismatic Renewal can play a significant role in promoting the much needed defense of Christian life in societies where secularism and materialism have weakened many people’s ability to respond to the spirit and to discern God’s loving call, Your contribution to the re-evangelization of society will be made in the first place by personal witness to the indwelling of the Spirit and by showing forth His presence through works of holiness and solidarity.”
In March 1997, the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops stated, “We believe the Catholic Charismatic Renewal is particularly called and gifted by God to be with the Church as it prepares for the Great Jubilee and for the challenges it faces as we enter the new millennium.”
Pope Benedict XVI: Addressing the International Charismatic Council in St. Peter’s Square on Pentecost Sunday, 2006 “the Holy Spirit, in giving life and freedom also gives unity… In his gifts, the Spirit is multifaceted-we see it here… He breathes where He wills… and it is precisely here that diversity and unity are inseparable. May you take part in the edification of the one body!”