Priest denounces closure on YouTube for pressures of the neocatechumenal road

Fr. Eugenio Fernández Herrera, formed in a seminar of the Neocatecumental road, denounced internal pressures in this ecclesial movement to close Your YouTube channel With more than 160,000 followers.

In apparent response to this accusation, the Neocatecumenal road published a statement in which it denounced the “uncontrolled reproduction” of materials of its catechetical itinerary.

“Some have improperly disseminated these contents, altering them or preventing their free and adequate free use,” said the statement.

Ferrio Fernández is originally from Santander (Spain), but conducted his ecclesiastical studies at the Redemptoris Mater Seminary of the Archdiocese of Bogotá (Colombia), a country where he develops his pastoral activity.

During his homily of the Mass On Monday, the priest said that for a year he has been “silent” that he considered a “persecution.”

“The Neocatecumenal road has sought a trick to block the YouTube channel,” said the presbyter, who says he has received a notification of the video platform in which he has been warned that the channel will be deactivated in six days.

P. Fernández has published more than 2,000 videos, homilies, songs, etc., on YouTube, as explained in the homily on Monday. That same day he also referred to the situation in his Instagram and Facebook accounts.

In Instagram He directly accused the neocatecumenal path of blocking the channel. “Someone is chasing us and they have done everything, everything possible so that we do not evangelize on social networks. It hurts to say it, it hurts in my soul what I am going to say, but I have to say it. Who is making this channel block is the neocatecumenal path, the charism to which I belong, the charism that I love, that I want so much, that it does so much good to me, that it has done so much to me so much good Me, ”he said.

According to their version, “by egos and by envy they block, they denounce the channel as it has your own content. Because I talk about the road, because I upload songs made, sung by me of the road, some songs that do not have copyright, among other things, because I upload talks, many inspired by what I have received on the neocatechumenal path.”

The priest reported on the other hand that his secondary channel, Knowing Father Eugenioremain open and that, in addition, has opened a New channel on the platform where homilies and songs have already begun to publish and has put under the intercession of San Carlo Acutis.

“We are trying to see if YouTube returns the channel, but it seems that it will be very difficult. Persecution, brothers,” he added.

Neocatecumenal Road Responses

The Neocatecumenal road published a communication in which it reaffirms that its nature is that of “a Catholic formation itinerary implemented in the dioceses through free services (cf. art. 4 of the statute of the neocatecumenal road), approved by the Holy See”.

He added that “the celebrative meetings of the community use various materials (songs, liturgical elements and paintings), the result of the creativity of Kiko Argüello and Carmen Hernández, who, without profit, have made them free of charge of brothers and parishes, for liturgical use.”

The Neocatecumenal path denounced that there has been an “uncontrolled reproduction of these social networks” in recent years that made it necessary to “register the authorship of Kiko’s works to guarantee their free use by the brothers and defend their authenticity and natural purpose.”

Not to mention the facts denounced by Father Fernández, “some have unduly disseminated these contents, altering them or preventing their free and adequate free use,” so a Diocesan Foundation called “Artistic Work Kiko Argüello” has been created to “preserve the authenticity, purpose and use of such works.”

On the other hand, the text states that “Kiko’s liturgical songs are registered in the SIAE (Italian society of authors and editors)” and emphasizes that “it has always been the desire of the initiators of the road that catechesis are taught in person, with the method of oral tradition and that they are not shared on social networks, since they have their reason for being in the catechetical and liturgical celebration.”

The Neocatecumenal road has more than 20,000 communities distributed in more than 1,300 dioceses and has trained more than 3,000 priests in the Diocesan Missionary Seminars Redemportoris Mater, which are under the authority of the corresponding bishop.