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Catechism Update
Summer 2000
Updates From The Chairman
I take this opportunity to share with you several developments which touch upon the work and the responsibilities of the Ad Hoc Committee to Oversee the Use of the Catechism.
Second edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church
As of May 31, 2000, there are in circulation almost 150,000 copies of the English version of the second edition of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I also understand that by later this year, a complete copy of this second edition of the Catechism will be posted on the Conference's web site. Work continues on the preparation of a Spanish language version of the second edition of the Catechism for use in the United States. It is expected that the Spanish language version will go to print this summer and be available in the fall.
Feasibility study of a national catechism or catechetical series
In the fall of 1994, following the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, many bishops of the Conference signed a varium asking for a study of the possibility of developing a national catechism or catechetical series. In March 1995, the Administrative Committee responded to this varium by directing the Catechism Committee to initiate a feasibility study on the possibility of undertaking the development of a national catechism or catechetical series. Members of the Catechism Committee began this study immediately, giving initial consideration to existing catechetical texts and series. In 1999, the feasibility study was expanded to include the possibility of a national adult catechism. Updates on each aspect of the feasibility study follow.
On June 15, I reported to the General Assembly that the Catechism Committee had reached the point of recommending to the bishops that they undertake the development of a national adult catechism for the United States. I shared with those present that, as a result of a report from an inter-committee task force which helped the Catechism Committee study this topic, the members of the Catechism Committee came to recognize that undertaking the development of a national adult catechism for our country is not only feasible but also advisable. In an effort to determine the level of general support for such an undertaking among the bishops of our country, I presented a proposal that such a project be undertaken. The bishops responded positively to the proposal and voted to undertake the development of a national adult catechism. After some discussion, the bishops also voted to entrust oversight for the development of a draft text to our committee, understanding that we will act in regular consultation with appropriate Conference committees and the full body of bishops. During the next several months, the Catechism Committee will determine a specific plan of action to begin the process of creating a draft text.
Doctrinal Elements Instruments
The members of the Catechism Committee and I are grateful to all those who participated in the consultation on Doctrinal Elements for Elementary Grades Based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church. We are still reviewing and discussing the responses we received from bishops, diocesan offices and publishers. Many offered comprehensive opinions on the usefulness of the instrument as it now stands. Others suggested ways that it could be made more useful. Some of these latter responses requested the creation of a document or instrument which would be more comprehensive in scope than is possible at present under the scope of the Catechism Committee's charge.
A number of the responses expressed concerns about various aspects of the instrument. Among concerns cited are: the amount of doctrinal material designated to be covered at the various grade levels; the age appropriateness of the content and language of instrument; and the grade placement of specific doctrinal teachings. This consultation has served an important role in the feasibility study we have been conducting. The work of developing Doctrinal Elements for Elementary Grades and evaluating it based on the responses we received, and the ongoing process of developing a companion instrument, Doctrinal Elements for Adolescent Catechesis, are helping to shape the recommendations we will make in our report to the bishops on the question of the feasibility of a national catechetical series.
The last three issues of Catechism Update have carried articles correlating Ecclesia in America and the Catechism. This final segment focuses on Chapter V, The Path To Solidarity and Chapter VI, The Mission of the Church in America Today: The New Evangelization. As is the case with all such correlations, this is not intended to be exhaustive. The selections from both documents were chosen to be representative of the message and teaching contained in each.
Ecclesia in America "Solidarity is thus the fruit of the communion which is grounded in the mystery of the triune God, and in the Son of God who took flesh and died for all. It is expressed in Christian love which seeks the good of others, especially of those most in need." For the particular Churches of the American continent, this is the source of a commitment to reciprocal solidarity and the sharing of the spiritual gifts and material goods with which God has blessed them, fostering in individuals a readiness to work where they are needed. (#52)
Catechism of the Catholic Church
The ultimate end of the whole divine economy is the entry of God's creatures into the perfect unity of the Blessed Trinity. But even now we are called to be a dwelling for the Most Holy Trinity: "If a man loves me," says the Lord, "he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him." (¶260)
There is a solidarity among all creatures arising from the fact that all have the same Creator and are all ordered to his glory. (¶344)An important place in the Church's social doctrine belongs to the right to dignified labor. Consequently, given the high rates of unemployment found in numerous countries in America and the harsh conditions in which many industrial and rural workers find themselves, "it is necessary to value work as a factor of the fulfillment and dignity of the human person. It is the ethical responsibility of an organized society to promote and support a culture of work". (#54) Unemployment almost always wounds its victim's dignity and threatens the equilibrium of his life. Besides the harm done to him personally, it entails many risks for his family. (¶2436) Her [the Church's] moral vision in this area "rests on the threefold cornerstone of human dignity, solidarity and subsidiarity." The globalized economy must be analyzed in the light of the principles of social justice, respecting the preferential option for the poor who must be allowed to take their place in such an economy, and the requirements of the international common good. For "the Church's social doctrine is a moral vision which aims to encourage government, institutions and private organizations to shape a future consonant with the dignity of every person. Within this perspective it is possible to examine questions of external debt, internal political corruption and discrimination both within and between nations." (#55) Human interdependence is increasing and gradually spreading throughout the world. The unity of the human family, embracing people who enjoy equal natural dignity, implies a universal common good. This good calls for an organization of the community of nations able to "provide for the different needs of men; this will involve the sphere of social life to which belong questions of food, hygiene, education,... and certain situations arising here and there, as for example ... alleviating the miseries of refugees dispersed throughout the world, and assisting migrants and their families." (¶1911) It is appropriate to recall that the foundation on which all human rights rest is the dignity of the person. "God's masterpiece, man, is made in the divine image and likeness. Jesus took on our human nature, except for sin; he advanced and defended the dignity of every human person, without exception; he died that all might be free. The Gospel shows us how Christ insisted on the centrality of the human person in the natural order (cf. Lk 12:22-29) and in the social and religious orders, even against the claims of the Law (cf. Mk 2:27): defending men, women (cf. Jn 8:11) and even children (cf. Mt. 19:13-15), who in his time and culture occupied an inferior place in society. The human being's dignity as a child of God is the source of human rights and of corresponding duties." For this reason, "every offense against the dignity of man is an offense against God himself, in whose image man is made". (#57) Of all visible creatures only man is "able to know and love his creator." He is "the only creature on earth that God has willed for its own sake," and he alone is called to share, by knowledge and love, in God's own life. It was for this end that he was created, and this is the fundamental reason for his dignity. (¶356)
Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as "an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law." (¶1849)The basic tasks for which Jesus sends out his disciples is the proclamation of the Good News, that is, evangelization (cf. Mk 16:16-18). Consequently, "to evangelize is the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her most profound identity." As I have said on other occasions, the new and unique situation in which the world and the Church find themselves at the threshold of the Third Millennium, and the urgent needs which result, mean that the mission of evangelization today calls for a new program which can be defined overall as a "new evangelization".... In accepting this mission, everyone should keep in mind that the vital core of the new evangelization must be a clear and unequivocal proclamation of the person of Jesus Christ, that is, the preaching of his name, his teaching, his life, his promises and the Kingdom which he has gained for us by his Paschal Mystery. (#66) "Although in ways known to himself God can lead those who, through no fault of their own, are ignorant of the Gospel, to that faith without which it is impossible to please him, the Church still has the obligation and also the sacred right to evangelize all men." (¶848)
By virtue of their prophetic mission, lay people "are called to be witnesses to Christ in all circumstances and at the very heart of the community of mankind" (¶942)An encounter with the Lord brings about a profound transformation in all who do not close themselves off from him. The first impulse coming from this transformation is to communicate to others the richness discovered in the experience of the encounter. This does not mean simply teaching what we have come to know but also, like the Samaritan woman, enabling others to encounter Jesus personally: "Come and see" (Jn 4:29). The result will be the same as that which took place in the heart of the Samaritans, who said to the woman: "It is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Saviour of the world" (Jn 4:42). The Church, which draws her life from the permanent and mysterious presence of her Risen Lord, has as the core of her mission a duty "to lead all people to encounter Christ." (#68) Those who with God's help have welcomed Christ's call and freely responded to it are urged on by love of Christ to proclaim the Good News everywhere in the world. This treasure, received from the apostles, has been faithfully guarded by their successors. All Christ's faithful are called to hand it on from generation to generation, by professing the faith, by living it in fraternal sharing, and by celebrating it in liturgy and prayer. (¶3) My Predecessor Paul VI widely remarked that "the split between the Gospel and culture is undoubtedly the drama or our time". Hence the Synod Fathers rightly felt that "the new evangelization calls for a clearly conceived, serious and well organized effort to evangelize culture". The Son of God, by taking upon himself our human nature, became incarnate within a particular people, even through his redemptive death brought salvation to all people, of every culture, race and condition. The gift of his Spirit and his love are meant for each and every people and culture, in order to bring them all into unity after the example of the perfect unity existing in the Triune God. For this to happen, it is necessary to inculturate preaching in such a way that the Gospel is proclaimed in the language and in the culture of its hearers. At the same time, however, it must not be forgotten that the Paschal Mystery of Christ, the supreme manifestation of the infinite God within the finitude of history, is the only valid point of reference for all humanity on its pilgrimage in search of authentic unity and true peace. (#70) Far from diminishing our concern to develop this earth, the expectancy of a new earth should spur us on, for it is here that the body of a new human family grows, foreshadowing in some way the age which is to come. That is why, although we must be careful to distinguish earthly progress clearly from the increase of the kingdom of Christ, such progress is of vital concern to the kingdom of God, insofar as it can contribute to the better ordering of human society." (¶1049)
"When we have spread on earth the fruits of our nature and our enterprise ... according to the command of the Lord and in his Spirit, we will find them once again, cleansed this time from the stain of sin, illuminated and transfigured, when Christ presents to his Father an eternal and universal kingdom." God will then be "all in all" in eternal life. (¶1050)Jesus Christ entrusted to his Church the mission of evangelizing all nations: "Go therefore and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Mt 28:19-20). There must always be a dynamic awareness of the universality of the evangelizing mission which the Church has received, as there has been consistently throughout the history of the pilgrim People of God in America. Evangelization is most urgent among those on this continent who do not yet know the name of Jesus, the only name given to men and women that they may be saved (cf. Acts 4:12). Unfortunately, the name of Jesus is unknown to a vast part of humanity and in many sectors of American society. It is enough to think of the indigenous peoples not yet Christianized or of the presence of non-Christian religions such as Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism, especially among immigrants from Asia. This obliges the Church in America to be involved in the mission ad gentes. The program of a new evangelization on the American continent, to which many pastoral project are directed, cannot be restricted to revitalizing the faith of regular believers, but must strive as well to proclaim Christ where he is not know. (#74) "Having been divinely sent to the nations that she might be `the universal sacrament of salvation,' the Church, in obedience to the command of her founder and because it is demanded by her own essential universality, strives to preach the Gospel to all men": "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and Lo, I am with you always, until the close of the age." (¶849)
The Lord's missionary mandate is ultimately grounded in the eternal love of the Most Holy Trinity: "The Church on earth is by her nature missionary since, according to the plan of the Father, she has as her origin the mission of the Son and the Holy Spirit." The ultimate purpose of mission is none other than to make men share in the communion between the Father and the Son in their Spirit of love. (¶850)