ABSTRACT
The subject-matter of this chapter is the complex, multifaceted relationships between the ecclesiastical hierarchy and NMCs. As I already hinted in Chapter 2, the recurrent theme characterizing these relationships is the way in which, and the extent to which, such initiatives are legitimized by the Church. The term legitimacy is used here to cover a range of possible options: from full, official recognition of initiatives encouraged by the hierarchy to the tacit, and at times grudging, tolerance of borderline initiatives which, for various reasons of prudence, the hierarchy does not explicitly condemn.
