After a priest was removed from The Basilica of San Albino, groups and billboards have been popping up around town to come to his defense and to list more concerns against the Las Cruces Diocese.
A group called the Voice of the Laity has been holding public meetings and gatherings around the Las Cruces Diocese, calling for more transparency about the Neocatechumenal Way and for Father Christopher Williams to be returned to his parish. It is the latest chapter in a years-long dispute between the group and the diocese, which the Voice of the Laity has consistently criticized for its inclusion of the Neocatechumenal Way.
The Neocatechumenal Way, or the Way, is a Catholic movement founded in Spain in the 1960s. It organizes members into small groups within their local parishes for years of intensive religious instruction meant to help adults rediscover and live in their faith.
KRWG Public Media spoke with members of the Voice of the Laity, but the members asked that their names not be used.
According to one member, their complaints stem from how different the services are. When people in the Neocatechumenal Way meet, it is not in a sanctuary but typically in another room in the building. There, readings from the Bible are done differently, only around 20 people are present, and artwork and music created by the founder of the Way are often included.
"For me it was a completely different experience to our Roman Mass. We Catholics are very reverent of the Eucharist. For us, it is important we show it through our kneeling, bowing and all that and that's something I couldn't see in this service," the member said.
Complaints from the Voice of the Laity have been ongoing for years, centered on how the diocese advertises the Way and on the transparency of the movement's finances.
The Diocese of Las Cruces disputes the idea that the Way is not transparent in either its teaching or its finances. Deacon Jim Winder said the movement does not involve many expenses.
"There is really not a lot of expense involved in people meeting in small groups, they are able to use the church and there is not a lot more cost involved in that. If they say they are going to take a trip somewhere or something like that then they will pass the hat and have donations with it so they are self-funded," Dn. Winder said.
Winder also said the Way has no theological differences from other forms of worship in the Catholic Church and is approved by the Vatican. He said the main purpose is extra education in small groups for those who want it.
"There is a Neocatechumenal Mass that is held on Saturdays. It in no way supplants the regular Mass. This is a supplemental mass that is intended to help the group of people that are going through these programs. We use the same Roman Missal as in the mass. There are just a few things that the church allows to be done differently," Dn. Winder said.
As the dispute escalated, the group says the diocese took action against them directly. Originally, they were named Voice of the Catholic Faithful, but they say a penal precept was issued to force their name to change.
"It says that if we don't change our name, we are going to be banned from our ministries for two years. At that point we hired a canon lawyer," a member said.
The conflict reached its current flashpoint this spring. On March 22, an announcement was read at the Basilica of San Albino stating that due to allegations the bishop had received, he had to take action and remove Father Christopher Williams from the parish. On May 8, a letter from the diocese explained that the allegations related to the theft of diocesan financial documents in September 2025.
According to the letter, during the course of a lawsuit against a former employee, the diocese alleges it learned that Father Williams directed members of the staff and people involved in the Voice of the Laity to take financial documents from the diocese.
That lawsuit was later voluntarily dismissed by the diocese, which said the suit had aimed to stop the employee from passing the documents along — something the diocese said had already happened. No criminal or civil charges have been brought against Father Williams, though he does face a canonical process.
The Voice of the Laity kept it short when addressing the allegations of financial theft.
"Father Christopher has been accused unjustly. That is the only thing I can say for now. The diocese knows how the whole situation happened and everything. As we reported in one of our letters on Facebook, they choose to punish Father Christopher perhaps because he was one of the ones who knew about the problems a group like the Neocatechumenal Way could cause in our diocese," a member said.
In a Facebook post after the allegations became public, the Voice of the Laity said those involved "believed they were acting under protections commonly associated with whistleblower activity and sought to bring transparency to serious matters that many faithful had questioned for years." The post continued: "Those involved were not attempting to harm the Church but to seek accountability for concerns that had repeatedly been ignored or left unanswered."
