USCCB - Catechesis in the Catholic Church

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Catechism Update
Summer 2001

Archbishop Buechlein's Report on Feasibility Study
On June 15, 2001, Archbishop Daniel Buechlein addressed the Body of Bishops in order to provide them with the Catechism Committee's report on the question of the feasibility of undertaking the development of a national catechetical series. The text of his address is presented here.

In March of 1995, in response to a varium submitted by a number of bishops, the Administrative Committee directed the Ad Hoc Committee to Oversee the Use of the Catechism to conduct a study on the feasibility of having the bishops undertake the development of a national catechism or catechetical series. In September of 1998, I made a preliminary report to the Administrative Committee. In that report, I detailed the steps the Ad Hoc Committee had followed in the study, some conclusions based on aspects of the study and also some general recommendations regarding future steps in the feasibility study. Basically, the members of the Ad Hoc Committee recommended delaying a decision on the question in order to allow more time in which to assess the impact of the conformity review process on the doctrinal content of catechetical texts and series, and also to measure the potential usefulness of an instrument or instruments which designate doctrinal topics for specific age groups or grade levels.

Since undertaking conformity reviews in 1996, the Ad Hoc Committee has conducted more than eighty such reviews. In the process of conducting these reviews, we have worked with many catechetical publishers and have, in essence, established an effective partnership with them in the production of catechetical materials whose doctrinal content conforms to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. From March of 1999 through March of 2000, we also conducted a consultation among bishops, diocesan offices, national organizations and catechetical publishers on the draft instrument of Doctrinal Elements for Elementary Grades Based on the Catechism of the Catholic Church. And we have continued to work on the development of a companion instrument for older adolescents. All these experiences have contributed to our feasibility study and have shaped the recommendations the Ad Hoc Committee is now prepared to make to you on the question of a national catechetical series.

However, before sharing with you the Ad Hoc Committee's recommendations concerning a national catechetical series, for the sake of the completeness of this report, first I will mention the national adult catechism. A national adult catechism was not an original focus of the feasibility study. The Ad Hoc Committee began looking at the feasibility and advisability of a national adult catechism in November of 1998. By early in 2000, the members of the Ad Hoc Committee had become convinced that a national adult catechism was feasible and advisable. Therefore, as you well know, in June of 2000 the Ad Hoc Committee proposed that the bishops of the United States undertake the development of a national adult catechism and that proposal was unanimously approved. The development of a draft text is now underway.

In regard to the remaining areas of the feasibility study, the Ad Hoc Committee now makes the following recommendations:

A national catechetical series on the elementary level is not advisable at this time. The conformity review process has, in effect, become a cooperative venture between the Ad Hoc Committee and publishers of catechetical materials that has resulted in several catechetical series that are used throughout the United States. The Ad Hoc Committee strongly recommends that the practice of conducting reviews on catechetical materials for conformity to the Catechism of the Catholic Church continue indefinitely, with the understanding that the effectiveness of conducting the conformity reviews will be evaluated on a regular basis.

The standard tool used in conformity reviews is the Protocol for Assessing the Conformity of Catechetical Materials with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a document approved by the Administrative Committee in 1997. We recommend that this document continue to serve as the standard for conformity reviews. However, our experience with using the Protocol has led us to recognize the need to further refine the Protocol. We intend to begin to work on refining the Protocol and eventually submitting a revised Protocol to the Administrative Committee for its approval.

We find that the present catechetical situation in this country on the secondary level is far from satisfactory. It is a source of concern and frustration to the Catechism Committee that, to date, the conformity review process has had relatively little effect on the catechetical materials used with a large portion of our high school age students. This is because, so far, few reviews have actually taken place on those materials. The conformity listing that appears in this month's issue of Catechism Update contains the names of forty-five texts or series that carry a declaration of conformity. Only seven of these forty-five entries concern material for the secondary level.
Some additional conformity reviews for high school materials have taken place but the results conveyed in reports from those reviews were ignored and the publishing houses involved made the choice to release materials that the Catechism Committee had found unacceptable for a declaration of conformity. These materials had been judged unacceptable because they reflected many of the ten doctrinal deficiencies we had reported finding in our earlier reviews.

While this seems to paint a bleak picture for secondary level catechetical materials, it is important to note that there are some positive signs. In 1998, one publisher of material for Catholic high schools made a commitment to develop one new book each year in cooperation with the Catechism Committee. They have adhered to that plan, and are doing a good job. In fact, the text they developed last year went through the conformity review process without a single required change - something that does not happen very often. Two other major high school publishers have indicated an intention either to develop new books or to revise existing texts in cooperation with the conformity review process. In fact, at present there are four high school texts under review and at least another seven or eight reviews expected to begin before the end of this year. Because of these indications, the Catechism Committee does not want to make a final recommendation now concerning catechetical materials for high school age students. However, the Committee wants to go on record as stating that the possibility exists that at some point in the future it might be advisable for the bishops to undertake the development of a national catechetical series for Catholic high schools and/or religious education programs for older adolescents.

A significant number of responses to the consultation on Doctrinal Elements for Elementary Grades suggested the development of national Religion curriculum guidelines. In a subsequent discussion between members of the Ad Hoc Committee and publishers of catechetical materials, there was evident support among the publishers for the development of national doctrinal curriculum guidelines. The Ad Hoc Committee recommends that when the new Bishops' Committee on Catechesis begins its work, the consideration of the development of national doctrinal curriculum guidelines be one of the first things they undertake.

National Adult Catechism Consultation Results
The members of the Editorial Oversight Board for the national adult catechism, as well as the members of the Catechism Committee, are grateful to the bishops and/or their designates who participated in the consultation on the proposed outline for the national adult catechism. Ninety responses were received and processed.

The consultation response form contained four parts. The first part asked the respondent for an overall evaluation of the proposed outline. The second part asked if there was agreement with the intention to address the text to young adults. Part three involved the largest section of the consultation form since it went through the outline chapter by chapter seeking reaction and suggestions for each chapter. The last part asked those consulted to suggest ideas for issues or items which do not appear in the outline.

The responses to the third and fourth parts of the consultation are too numerous to be able to summarize here. They have been collated, reviewed and processed by the writer and the bishops who are serving on the editorial board. However, it is possible to give a brief summary of the responses received to the first two questions in the consultation.

The first part of the consultation asked if the attached draft outline seemed sufficient to serve as a general framework for a national adult catechism for the United States. Seventy-three percent (73%) of the respondents said yes. For the twenty percent (20%) who answered no, various reasons motivated the response. Among the reasons were a concern that a national adult catechism would not allow for the full integration of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Other concerns were expressed about the length of the outline, as well as the language and terminology the outline reflected. Seven percent (7%) of the respondents chose not to answer this part.

The second part of the consultation asked if respondents agreed with the intention to address the national adult catechism to young adults. Thirty-three percent (33%) agreed with the stated intention. Sixty-one percent (61%) expressed the opinion that the text should be addressed to all adults. Two percent (2%) said no, while four percent (4%) chose not to respond to the question.

The development of a draft text for the national adult catechism has begun. When the draft text is completed, a second consultation will be held on that draft text.

National Adult Catechism
Consultation Response Summary
Summary of Responses for Questions 1 & 2:

Question 1. Overall evaluation of the proposed chapter outline

Does the attached draft outline seem sufficient to serve as a general framework for a national adult catechism for the United States?

Responses:

YES 63 (70%)
YES, but 3 (3%)
NO 18 (20%)
No Response 6 (7%)

Question 2. The Intended Audience

The plan is to address this book to young adult Catholics in the United States. Do you agree with this intention?

[The number of categories is greater here in order to show the number of responses which reflected a concern about the intended audience.]

Responses:

YES, for young adults 26 (30%)
YES, for young adults but also address all adults 27 (30%)
YES, but other concerns 3 (3%)
NO, address all adults 22 (24%)
NO, for other reasons 2 (2%)
Neither yes or no marked, but comments suggest all adults 6 (7%)
Neither yes or no marked, but comments suggest other concerns 4 (4%)

Notice to Bishops and Diocesan Religious Education Offices
Members of the Catechism Committee are gratified that so many diocesan offices look to the Conformity Listing in Catechism Update as they prepare lists of catechetical series, texts or programs recommended for use within their diocese.

In evaluating catechetical materials on the diocesan level, it is important to note in Conformity Listing entries what part or parts of a text, series or program carries a declaration of conformity. Normally, the declaration of conformity refers only to the student text. If the teacher or catechist manual have also been reviewed and been found to be in conformity, that fact is indicated in the applicable Conformity Listing entry. Other supplemental or ancillary materials offered by a publisher are normally not reviewed. In situations when a text, program or series is offered as a package that also contains items such as separate parent materials, audio tapes, video tapes, CDs or CD-ROMs, it might be advisable to evaluate these supplementary materials before recommending the entire program for use within the diocese.