Catholic
Education
An
overview of catechesis
Last year as part of its annual Catholic educational issue,
NCR invited Dr. Leonard DeFiore, president of the National Catholic
Educational Association, to contribute a guest perspective. This year
NCR invited Daniel Mulhall, representative for Catechesis and
Multicultural Concerns for the U.S. bishops, to offer his views on the state of
American catechesis.
By DANIEL S.
MULHALL
To understand catechetical ministry
today, one need look no further than to the regional, diocesan or national
catechetical congresses held each year in the United States. Be it 50
catechists in a rural diocese coming together for an in-service or the more
than 20,000 folks who gather each year from around the nation for three days of
talks, worship and fellowship at the Los Angeles Religious Education Congress,
each group offers insight into the state of the enterprise.
The first thing that strikes people meeting with catechists is
their vitality. Theyre eager to learn about their faith, hungry for
opportunities to grow spiritually and delighted to be with other
catechists.
Unfortunately, there are not enough of them. Even the best
catechetical programs today are handicapped by one essential missing element:
adults willing to catechize.
Rare is the parish program whose director of religious education
does not have at least one missing childrens catechist come Labor Day --
the weekend before most classes begin.
Reasons abound to explain the shortage: Both parents working
outside the home, the pressure on single-parent families and a general lack of
adult education in the parish are a few of the reasons most often mentioned.
(These same factors affect when and where catechetical sessions are held,
leading to more family-centered lessons and summer-camp type activities.)
Catholic schools are similarly challenged to place well-formed
catechists in the classroom; the growth in the school-age population and the
increasing demand for teachers by the public school sector only exacerbate the
current problem.
Parishes often are forced to settle for having a willing
adolescent teach younger age groups, or for having a drafted parent
struggle to teach the class. In the case of the adolescent, there is enthusiasm
but possibly little experience or training. With the drafted adult,
there is often experience without either enthusiasm or formation. Neither
situation is conducive to evangelization.
Catechetical formation programs also face the immediate challenge
of a rapidly growing school-age population. According to the U.S. Department of
Education, there are more children in grades K-12 today than at any other time
in U.S. history -- more even than in the baby boom generation.
These numbers are expected to rise for the next 20 years.
Catechists needed for all groups
As a result, parishes will need even more well-prepared catechists
to care for the children who will enroll in the programs for the first time.
(The demand for competent catechists prepared to work with adolescents and
adults will continue to grow just as quickly.)
In addition, this population growth is spurred by a wave of
immigrants who speak Spanish, Vietnamese, Mandarin, Polish and Portuguese, to
name just a few. Catechists will have to be found and prepared to work with
these people in their own languages and cultures.
The next thing one notices at a catechetical conference is that
most of the participants are women. Across the country, at least 85 percent of
all catechists are female. Most parish and diocesan directors of religious
education are also female. While most catechists are between the ages of 30 and
50, there are a surprising number of older and younger catechists.
That being said, its important to add that there is a
growing concern about the next wave of catechetical leaders. Most parish and
diocesan directors of religious education have been in the ministry for more
than 15 years, and only a few new people enter the field each year. Recruiting
and preparing a new generation of leaders is another task that will require our
attention early in the next millennium.
Conferences also make it clear that catechists come from every
race and culture. The growing African-, Hispanic-, and Asian-American Catholic
communities are adding large numbers of their own catechists to the mix. This
pattern is most noticeable in major U.S. cities and along the coasts, but it is
also becoming more common in the heartland.
The changing face of the catechist is another challenge for
diocesan and parish formation programs. A one-size-fits-all formation program
no longer will meet the needs of all of these groups, if it ever did. Although
programs individually tailored for different ages and cultures would seem
appropriate, practically it cant be done, given the limited resources at
the parish and diocesan levels. However, the leaders of these programs can
become more aware of the various needs of the people who seek formation and
adapt wherever possible to age or cultural requirements.
Publishers who produce religious instruction materials face their
own challenges. It is not enough that their materials receive an imprimatur,
are shown to be in conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church
and find approbation by diocesan curriculum review committees. These materials
also must be sensitive to culture and race and be usable by even the most
poorly prepared catechist.
Materials for all ages
This is a daunting task, but the dozen or so U.S. companies that
publish catechetical materials seem to reach this goal quite well. A walk
around any conference exhibit hall shows a variety of materials for all age
levels -- text and resource books, catechist manuals, videos and CD-ROMS.
Catechetical publishing in the United States is based upon a free
market system. The publishers produce materials that they think will sell. They
bear the cost of publication and reap the profits (or losses) of the sales.
There are a variety of public and private companies who produce catechetical
materials in this country. Several of these companies are owned by major
secular publishing houses (McGraw-Hill, Harcourt General), others by religious
communities (Jesuits, Daughters of St. Paul, Christian Brothers), and others by
private individuals and families.
Publishers are a major source of funding for many of the
catechetical conferences that are held in the United States, either through
sponsorship of speakers or provision of food for the meetings. Their motives
are not quite altruistic; their sponsorship promotes name recognition, brand
loyalty and gives them an opportunity to showcase their new products to a
captive audience.
Because publishers depend on the marketplace for their revenues,
most of the catechetical materials are published in English. Until recently,
publishers have been unwilling to publish in Spanish because they could not
sell enough books to make their desired profit. As the Hispanic population
grows, more Spanish language materials are being sold, and so more publishers
are producing Spanish language products -- not enough to satisfy the requests
of Hispanic catechists, but much more than before.
This market-driven approach to catechetical publishing also
explains the nearly complete absence of materials for other cultural and ethnic
groups. Publishing materials for such relatively small groups makes wonderful
pastoral -- but little economic -- sense.
African-American and Native American catechists justifiably
complain about the lack of materials appropriate for use in their communities.
Even when publishers attempt to tell the faith stories and traditions of these
groups, they find it difficult to get the cultural nuances just right.
Asian-American Catholic communities often import materials from their home
countries, just as immigrant groups in the past regularly have done. Not only
is this costly and time-consuming, these materials -- though in the right
language and culturally appropriate -- do not address the major issues of the
immigrant here.
While publishers cannot be expected to produce materials at a
loss, they must be encouraged to make greater efforts to be sensitive to all
the races and cultures who use their materials. It is not enough to have a
member of an ethnic community listed on the writing team, to publish pictures
of ethnic communities or to tell ethnic stories -- although each of these is an
appropriate step. Texts also must be sensitive to how various cultures think
and act, what they value and how they worship.
Textbook publishers alone are not responsible for inculturating
the faith in a society, but they certainly have the ability to have a
far-reaching impact. The church in the United States has turned to the
publishing community for many years to help meet its catechetical needs.
Although at times strained, the relationship between the church and publishers
is a good one, and all parties are working together to address these growing
concerns.
One also notices at catechetical conferences the involvement of
priests and bishops. Parishes with strong programs receive a great deal of
attention from their pastors. A common sight at conferences is groups of
catechists engaged in spirited conversation with their pastors, and they are
obviously having a good time. Of course, every pastor cant be present at
every meeting, but the enthusiasm and support for catechesis (or lack thereof)
is certainly clear whether pastors are physically present or not.
As the person primarily responsible for catechesis and catechists,
the bishops enthusiasm sets the tone for his diocese. At the recent Los
Angeles Congress, Bishop Gerald Barnes of the San Bernardino diocese spent
hours each day in the diocesan booth talking with catechists, greeting people
by name and receiving hugs and smiles. The catechists from San Bernardino were
excited and affirmed by the bishops presence, and they showed it. Other
bishops engender similar responses when they meet with catechists and affirm
them in their ministry.
Catechetical ministry is about to undergo great renewal. There are
challenges to face and obstacles to overcome, but the Catechism of the
Catholic Church and the General Directory for Catechesis offer
extraordinary guidance and direction. Ultimately, the task lies with several
people -- the catechetical leader, the parish catechist, the person in the pew
-- to recognize that all are called to proclaim Christs death and
resurrection, and to live so that others desire to follow his way.
National Catholic Reporter, March 26,
1999
|