I want to give my opinion on the Charismatic movement and its relationship, or lack thereof, with traditional Catholicism:
There seems to be two opposing sides on this thread. I am of the position that the Charismatic movement is not traditionally Catholic nor part of Catholic tradition. I believe, according to my research, that the Charismatic movement was truly born among those who separated themselves from the Catholic Church and generally rejected the efficacy of the Sacraments. Even the more conservative protestant denominations reject this movement as something foreign to the Gospel.
What is now called the “Charismatic movement” has a traceable beginning in the 60’s - at least in terms of Catholic participation. If we look back throughout Church history (Catholic History) we find no such practices among the Popes, doctors of the Church or Saints. At no time do we find such practices endorsed by the Church. Now those who disagree with me will often claim that this practice was apostolic in origin and fell out of use/was forgot about/suppressed during latter years (almost 2000!) and was revived in the 60’s. Well I would respond by saying that no such movement /practices of the sort are found among the Church Fathers and the earliest Church documents. Whatsmore, this movement is not a revival/renewal since it never existed, nor was endorsed by the Church. This movement was highjacked from Pentecostalism in the 60’s by a few more liberal Catholics. Even the Charismatic supporters themselves admit that it was “revived” in the 60’s.
Now, to support their arguments for the authenticity of the movement, people often mention Pentecost and the gifts received by the Apostles and some of the saints. However these too show nothing but contrast between traditional Catholicism and the Charismatic movement.
Speaking in tongues is not given by God lightly. Now when the Apostles preached a sermon, the Holy Ghost aided them so that each person in the crowd heard it in his own tongue. Also, many of the saints preached to others in different countries, who heard the words in their own language also. This is a true demonstration of the remarkably rare miraculous aid given to the Apostles and some saints for their missions and the spread of the Gospel to all nations. It obviously consists of being able to speak and be understood by others in their own tongue. Other manifestations of speaking in tongues have been associated with the demonic and preternatural. Monsignor Ronald Knox commented that: “To speak in tongues you had never learned was and is a recognized symptom in alleged cases of diabolic possession."
Now the so-called gift of tongues seen in the Charismatic movement stands in stark contrast to the genuine gift. I have seen Charismatic events/masses/celebrations. I have video footage of priests talking literally gibberish while standing at the altar and laymen making noises which 50 years ago would have seen them admitted as an inmate to a lunatic asylum. This is not a joke, nor is it just “bad examples” I am seeing. It is across the board (and no, I do not have to have attended every single one to make this claim). The language is no “tongue” at all and infact is generally unable to be translated. It serves no purpose, for there are not native gibberish speakers whom the Holy Ghost would be trying to reach. Also, it seems they feel that the Holy Ghost speaks through many people at once, and the nonsense which comes out of their mouths is shouted over one another. It is a useless nonsensical waste of time which serves the Church and the Holy Ghost no purpose that I know of. I do not think that the majority of the time it is even demonic in origin, for the demons are usually want to make themselves understood and can speak in a real language with relative competence. Had someone at one of these meetings stood up and spoke for a while in Arabic or Greek without having known or having learned the language, then we could say they spoke in tongues - but we do not conclude that is was the Holy ghost, since it would be peculiar indeed for the Holy Ghost to inspire someone to do this in a country which does not understand the language.
The “resting in the Spirit’, ‘slain in the Spirit’ or 'overpowering of the Spirit - terms Cardinal Suenens used in one of his books, is likewise unreconcilable with traditional Catholicism. It is simply unknown and not practiced by the saints. It usually consists of falling backwards while engaged in a prayer or healing service - according to Card. Suenens and the footage I have seen. Its purpose has yet to be explained. For me, it seems a ridiculous phenomenon which goes hand in hand with the so-called gift of tongues. I seen one video where the candidate could not so easily be “slain by the spirit” as willingly as the others, only to witness the one imparting the gift to return and use more force to “encourage” them to accept the gift. I genuinely see nothing Catholic about this, nor did I ever hear of the saints or apostles making people fall to the ground, except when they were, by the power of God, struck dead in punishment.
I do not mean to offend anyone who is involved with this movement, but I really do not think it compatible with Catholicism. Now I don’t care if Mother Theresa or anyone else did a Charismatic dance while being slain and speaking in tongues simultaneously (I would never accuse her of doing such) I find no grounds for reconciling it with Catholicism. Also, I think those who try and use saints such as Padre Pio as example of saints who would approve of the movement need to read more about these saints and their writings. I can imagine Padre Pios reaction to seeing some of these events. Anyway - that’s my opinion, don’t bite my head off!