By Verghese V Joseph –
The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization releasd a new Directory for Catechesis, providing guidelines for the Church’s mission of proclaiming the Gospel through catechesis and evangelization in Vatican on Thursday.
Those present at the event were HE Msgr. Rino Fisichella, President of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization; HE Msgr. Octavio Ruiz Arenas, Secretary of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization; HE Msgr. Franz-Peter Tebartz-van Elst, Delegate for Catechesis of the same Pontifical Council.
The publication of a Directory for Catechesis is a joyful event in the life of the Church. For those dedicated to the immense task of catechesis, it may be seen as a positive challenge because it makes them appreciate the dynamic nature of the catechetical movement, which has always had a significant presence in the life of the Christian community. The Directory for Catechesisis a document of the Holy See and entrusted to the entire Church. Much time and work has gone into its preparation, and its publication comes after a wide international consultation.
Facing New Challenges
Today the Church is facing a great challenge in the form of digital cultures. Focusing on a phenomenon that imposes itself as global requires that those who are responsible for the formation do not prevaricate. In contrast with the past, when culture was limited to the geographical context, digital culture is entwined with the ongoing globalization and even determines its development.
Today, an Italian edition was presented, however, translations are ready in Spanish, Portuguese, English, French, German and Polish. The Directoryis is directed in first place, to Bishops, the first catechists among the People of God because of their primary responsibility for the transmission of the faith. The responsibility for catechesis also extends to the Bishops’ Conferences with their respective Catechetical Commissions, which contribute to the elaboration of a hopefully national project aimed at supporting the work of the individual dioceses in this field.
However, those most directly involved in the use of the Directory, remain the priests, the deacons, the consecrated persons, and the millions of male and female lay catechists that, with generosity, hard work, and hope, offer daily their ministry in their various communities. The dedication, with which they labor, particularly in a time of cultural transition like the present, is the tangible sign of how the encounter with the Lord can transform a catechist into an authentic evangelizer.
New Progressive Thoughts
What was presented on Thursday was essentially the third catechetical Directory since the Second Vatican Council. The first of 1971, the General Catechetical Directory , and the second of 1997, the General Directory for Catechesis , have left their mark on these last fifty years in the history of catechesis. Not only have these texts had a primary role, but they have also been instrumental in helping catechesis to progress, not least by renewing its methodology and taking into account pedagogical considerations.
The need for a new Directory was born of the process of inculturation which characterizes catechesis in a particular way and which, especially today, demands a special focus.
Evangelical Aspect
There is, however, a more theological and ecclesial reason that has required the preparation of this Directory. The highlighting of the synodal dimension with regards to the recent Synods in the Church.
In 2005, the Synod on The Eucharist: Source and Summit of the Life and Mission of the Church ; in 2008, the one on The Word of God in the Life and Mission of the Church ; in 2015, the one on The Vocation and Mission of the Family in the Church and the Contemporary World ; and in 2018, the Synod on Young People, the Faith, and Vocational Discernment.
In all of these gatherings, the theme of evangelization and catechesis has emerged as can be verified from the documents that have followed them. Evangelization occupies the primary place in the life of the Church and in the everyday teaching of Pope Francis. It could not be otherwise. Evangelization is the task that the Risen Lord has entrusted his Church in order to be, in the time of every age, the faithful announcement of his Gospel.
The Directory unfolds by touching on various themes, which only refer to the underlying objective. A first dimension is mystagogy presented through two complementary elements: a renewed appraisal of the liturgical signs of Christian initiation, then, the progressive maturation of the formation process in which the entire community is involved. Mystagogy is a privileged route to follow, but it is not optional in the catechetical journey. Its obligatory nature derives from the fact that through it we are inserted more and more into the mystery that is believed and celebrated.
Another new feature of the Directoryis the link between evangelization and the catechumenate in its various meanings. There is urgency in carrying out a “pastoral conversion” in order to free catechesis from some chokeholds that prevent its effectiveness. The first such chokehold can be identified in the school model, according to which the catechesis of Christian Initiation is undertaken under a school paradigm.