Prof. Stuart C. Bate OMI

Early in his pontificate Pope John Paul II wrote these words:

I am anxious to give thanks in the Church's name to all of you, lay teachers of catechesis in the parishes, the men and the still more numerous women throughout the world who are devoting yourselves to the religious education of many generations…How many of us have received from people like you our first notions of catechism and our preparation for the sacrament of Penance, for our first Communion and Confirmation! (CT 66).

The often hidden and unsung service of catechesis is, in fact, at the centre of the mission of the Church. It is here that a mighty army of God’s people, those who are the salt of the earth, make their Christian contribution which helps to transform all of us. Catechists have been called ‘specialists, direct witnesses and irreplaceable evangelisers who…represent the basic strength of Christian communities especially in the young churches’ (RM 46). It is a strength the Church needs, since, in an increasingly multifaceted yet interconnected world, the effective communication of the faith is becoming a more complex issue. This is exacerbating the need for a sound and adequate formation of catechists on all levels in the Church. The ‘formation of catechists in the deep riches of the faith.’ is a ‘primary task’ of catechesis and formation is one of the essential elements that allow catechesis to ‘express its vitality and be efficacious’ (GDC 33).

The Holy Father reminds us that ‘at the heart of catechesis we find in essence, a person, the person of Jesus of Nazareth’ (CT 5). As we follow Jesus along the way, the Holy Spirit continually opens us to his presence and he gently forms us to ‘reflect and fully enjoy’ the image of God in which we have been created (Cf Adult...11; RM 46). The catechetical endeavour must always reflect the relationship we have with Jesus. It should help all of us to deepen our understanding and expression of that relationship.

Formation is a process that encompasses all the dimensions of life. In fact it is part of the life long project of the Christian community as it follows Jesus. Now following Jesus does not merely mean slavishly copying his life. It means making his choice of life our own, starting from our own potential and in the place we find ourselves. This is why formation has to be rooted in a human context and why the local church has to take responsibility for it. It is a demand of the incarnation: a saviour who loved us so much to dwell amongst us as one of us (Jn 3:16; 1:14). The incarnation of the Word in Jesus is a guarantee that the body of Christ is a living body of all those born ‘through water and the Spirit (Jn 3:17). Formation touches human life lived in community, redeemed by Christ and walking in the Spirit. The General Directory for Catechesis speaks of this as ‘journeying towards perfection’ in which the ‘baptized, moved always by the Spirit, nourished by the sacraments, by prayer and by the practise of charity, and assisted by multiple forms of ongoing education in the faith, seeks to realize the desire of Christ: "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect". This is the call to the fullness of perfection which is addressed to all the baptized’ (GDC 56).

The formation of catechists is the responsibility of local churches (Cf GDC 232; Adult... 80). This responsibility is one of a series of tasks confided to the local church in ensuring the adequate pastoral care of catechists. Others include the promotion of vocations for catechesis, encouraging specialisations amongst catechists and providing animators of catechetics on diocesan, regional and parish level. Bishops are asked to seek to improve the quality and depth of the local church’s catechetical activity by trying to make sure that some catechists are employed on a fulltime basis. Besides these responsibilities for pastoral endeavour, local churches need to ensure that catechists are properly cared for. This means setting up mechanisms that ‘attend to the personal and spiritual needs of catechists as well as to the group of catechists as such’. These tasks are often confided to parish priests where the catechists work (GDC 233).

Whilst all Christians are called to be responsible for catechesis, some are specially called and trained to more active service as catechists. Such catechists are agents of the local church. In order to be recognised as a catechist, a person must complete a programme of formation and receive an ecclesial mandate for this service (GDC 221). The bishop gives this mandate since bishops are: ‘beyond all others the ones primarily responsible for catechesis, the catechists par excellence’ (CT 63). In the same way the bishop is fundamentally responsible for ensuring the effective formation of catechists. This includes the development of programmes of formation as well as ensuring that they take into account local cultural and social conditions.

The task of developing and running formation programmes is often confided to specialists within the local Church or in the parish though the responsibility for overall direction always remains with the bishop. Those who conduct formation programmes, formators, should therefore be recognised as representatives of the bishop. This relationship means that mutuality of respect and commitment is important. The bishop does not relinquish his responsibility for the programme in delegating it to others. Similarly, formators use their own gifts and talents in bringing the formation process to fruition but should not just undertake formation as a personal endeavour or mission. This helps to foster a system of mutual accountability between those providing formation in a local church or ecclesial region and the ecclesiastical authorities. Consequently regular contact between ecclesiastical authorities and organisers of formation programmes is essential. In such gatherings, formators should report on the formation programme initiated by them, and the formators expect also, on the side of the bishop, appropriate comments, which will facilitate the practical implementation of the programme (Cf GDC 223).

Not everyone is able to take on the role of catechist in the community. In particular, the Christian community should take care in discerning those people who have the human and spiritual qualities appropriate to this service. Adult maturity and active faith are essential in those who wish to catechise others. This is because human maturity and spiritual commitment are the essential foundations upon which Christian formation is built. Consequently catechists should be chosen from those who have an adult faith and who live this faith within the context of the ecclesial community to which they are committed (Adult... 71-72). The first way in which catechists will catechise is in the witness of a committed Christian life in the community. Indeed, the essence of the formation of catechists is ‘identical with that of the adult Christian’ (Adult... 78).

The specific enterprise of the formation of catechists comprises many dimensions. I shall limit myself to a brief mention of a few principal ones.

In baptism all Christians receive a vocation to communicate the faith in which they have been received. This call is strengthened in confirmation. During an Ad limina visit of the bishops of the United States in 1998, the Holy Father requested them to ‘encourage catechists to see their work as a vocation: as a privileged share in the mission of handing on the faith and accounting for the hope that is in us’ (in Hoyos 1998). Indeed, as a result of their relationship with Jesus, many lay people experience a call to special catechetical service in the Church and may wish to commit themselves more fully as catechists. One aspect of formation should seek to deepen this relationship to the Lord so that the nature of the call can be clarified. In this way it can be more fully expressed in the chosen commitment to the missionary activity of catechesis. This will surely lead to a better internalisation of some of the other aspects of formation such as the initial training in skills and knowledge required for catechetical service and the ongoing deepening of the vocation in subsequent updating (GDC 231).

The purpose of formation is to enhance the ability of catechists to communicate the Good News of salvation and the teaching of the Church (GDC 235-6). Communication is not merely the articulation of ideas and teaching. It also implies that that the message is heard, received and accepted in the way that was intended. That is why true communication includes the construction of human relationship and communities. Communion is at the basis of communication. Effective communication also implies that catechists have to be leaders and animators and not merely participants. Formation must endeavour to helping trainees develop leadership values and skills. Now, leadership is not merely the imposition of the will upon people but rather it is the ability to instil confidence in a group so that they come to trust the catechist’s vision and ability to lead them in the way of the Lord. Catechists must also be animators with the capacity to empower others within the community. Animators help people recognise God’s presence within them and encourage them to zealous participation in the life of the church. These examples demonstrate that the communication of the Christian message is a complex reality with spiritual, doctrinal, anthropological and methodological dimensions and they help us understand why programmes of catechist formation must deal with each of these (Hoyos 1998).

At the centre of formation is the Holy Spirit the one who will ‘continue in the world, through the Church, the work of the Good news of salvation’ (DeV 3). He is teacher of ‘all things and will remind you of all that I said to you’ (DeV 4). For this reason, spiritual formation is essential to the development of catechists, since they are called to be people of the Spirit able through prayer and devotion to discern his presence and bring his fruits into interpersonal relationships, social commitment, teaching, and the celebration of Christian life in the liturgy. The goal of spiritual formation is to ‘reinforce conviction, open new prospectives and encourage perseverance in prayer and in the duties of following Christ’ (GDC 71).

Real formation must always contain an intellectual and theoretical component, for catechists must be able to present the truths of faith in a way that can be convincing and comprehensive. This component is particularly important in helping catechists respond to the intellectual challenges which threaten Christianity today (Adult... 79; GDC 240). The focus should be on the word of God and on theology, which helps to systematically develop particular Christian themes showing their coherence. The Catechism for the Catholic Church provides a valuable research tool for much of this work. Besides theological formation, it is increasingly important to provide catechists with a sound intellectual formation in the humanities particularly psychology and social science. These disciplines, presented in a practical way, can be helpful in developing adequate approaches to both the inculturation of the faith and the development of pastoral responses to the social issues of our time like AIDS and poverty (GDC 242).

Formation programmes should pay attention to methodology. In the first place programmes should be systematic. Clear goals should be articulated for the programme as a whole and for the component modules. In this way a holistic approach to formation will be more clearly assured. Formation programmes should not just be a series of academic courses. The mission of catechists is a practical, pastoral service in the Church and for that reason a significant part of their formation should focus on equipping them with skills and practical training to do their work. Bishop are obliged to ensure ‘that catechists are adequately prepared for their task’ which demands, inter alia, that they possess ‘both a practical and theoretical knowledge of the laws of psychology and educational method’ (GDC 223). Formation of catechists must take into account the specific groups of people who are catechised and provide training in the differences in approach, for example, to children, adolescents and adults. Catechesis of teenagers, for example, is somewhat different to that of younger children. Adolescents are moving through the journey from childhood to adulthood. Issues of autonomy become more important in this phase and the role of the catechist needs to reflect less of the metaphor of the teacher and more of that of the mentor. Many African cultures demand that youth go through powerful rituals of initiation at this time. Catechetical programmes that do not take into account, for example, the socio-cultural context of the participants, can run into difficulties or be dismissed by those being catechised.

‘The sower knows that the seed falls on specific soils and that it must absorb all the elements that enable it to bear fruit’ (GDC 20). The site of catechesis is a human community imbued in a world of culture. Consequently the issue of inculturation is always present in catechesis whether or not it is recognised. For this reason, the inculturation of formation is always a necessary component of catechists’ formation. This means that formators and directors of formation programmes must take into account the social milieu from which the catechists come and in which they will work. This could mean some form of insertion in the social milieu and its reality as part of the practical or fieldwork dimension of catechetical formation. In this way a workshop style reflection on these experiences could be part of the practical acquisition of effective social and cultural catechetical skills. This kind of sharing by catechists and trainee catechists around issues emerging from the daily life of the Christian community can be a powerful tool on helping catechists learn how to deal with matters within a local ecclesial context.

In Africa many centres for pastoral training have been set up which incorporate locally adapted formation programmes. In Zimbabwe a study is underway to provide suggestions for more effective programmes for catechetical formation. Here too is a sign that catechesis is a work that is never ended. It is part of the Mission given by Jesus to make disciples and in which he is with us ‘to the end of the age’ (Mt 28:20).

Adult Catechesis in the Christian Community. Some Principles and Guidelines. International Council for Catechesis (COINCAT). St Paul Publications, 1990.

CCC The Catechism of the Catholic Church.

CT Catechesi Tradendae. Apostolic Exhortation of John Paul II, 16 October 1979.

DeV Dominum et vivificantem Encyclical letter of the supreme pontiff, John Paul II, on the Holy Spirit in the life of the Church and the World. May 18, 1986.

GDC General Directory For Catechesis. Congregation For The Clergy, Vatican City, 1997.

Hoyos, D Castrillon. The Role of Priests in Catechesis. November 15, 1998.

R M Redemptoris Missio Encyclical Letter of Pope John Paul II, on the Permanent Validity of the Church's Missionary Mandate, December 8 1990.

Stuart C Bate OMI

Johannesburg

December 2003