The Official “Mind of the Church” on Catechesis: Where Are We Now and What Are Our Horizons?

서지정보

· 발행기관 : 신학과사상학회
· 수록지 정보 : 가톨릭신학과사상 / 76호 / 192 ~ 226페이지
· 저자명 : Thomas H. Groome

초록

This essay aims to present the “mind of the Church” concerning catechetical education (religious education AND catechesis), looking at the horizons offered by the General Directory for Catechesis (1998) as a response to the post-modern society and culture. From the days of the early Church up until the 1500s, catechetical education was facilitated by the socio-cultural background that embraced religious values. People were able to grow in faith through liturgy and community life, without the need for a formal catechism. But a question-and-answer form of catechesis began to emerge with the Council of Trent (1545-1563), which incited a counter-movement that sought to depart from such method and promote a more participative pedagogy grounded in real-life experience. The “Mu-nich Method” and the vision of Vatican II are examples of this contempor-ary shift, which look to engage the faithful in a more active and dynamic form of education.
The need for such paradigm has increased since the Council, as we are living in a world deeply rooted in “exclusive humanism”; this discourages religious values and forms socio-cultural conditions that pose immense challenges for catechesis. The General Directory for Catechesis is a wit-ness to the Church’s “mind” regarding catechetical ministry and evangeli-zation in this post-modern society. The guiding principles laid out in the document reveal the Church’s position on the nature and purpose of cate-chesis, as well as the content, pedagogy, and participants of catechetical education. These testify that the Church envisions a holistic education that informs, forms, and transforms the faithful on their life-long journey as disciples of Jesus Christ. This means that catechesis must encompass the cognitive, affective, and behavioral dimensions to integrate the people’s lives and Christian faith into a living faith. In short, the Church is calling for an integral formation toward holistic faith. The paper will follow by proposing ten principles that may help put these principles into practice, so that the “mind of the Church” may come to see light to illumine the darkness of this day.

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