Cathal BarryCathal Barry takes a look at the new Catechism
Adult faith formation in Ireland is set for a major shakeup following the long awaited approval of the country’s first ever adult catechism, The Irish Catholic reported recently.
The Vatican has approved the new tool aimed at helping Irish Catholics to better understand their faith.
The Irish Catholic Catechism for Adults was given the go ahead by Irish bishops in December 2012 and subsequently received the official recognitio of the Holy See.
The result of several years’ work, publishers Veritas have heralded this catechism as “a call to a renewal of faith at a time when some people may be questioning whether the good news of Jesus Christ applies to them”.
They claim the Irish Catholic Catechism for Adults presents Irish Catholics with “a renewed opportunity to study, reflect on and live by the faith we profess in the Creed, celebrate in the Sacraments, live in the Christian moral life and deepen through prayer”.
This new catechetical resource is evidently a direct response to St John Paul’s call in 1992 for individual countries to devise their own catechisms, taking into account their own specific cultural contexts.
Reference text
On 11 October 1992, the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, St John Paul II offered the entire Church the Catechism of the Catholic Church as a ‘reference text’ for a catechesis.
A catechism is an authoritative statement of the teachings of the Catholic faith. It is the ‘go-to’ resource for any serious query about what Catholics believe, how Catholics pray and the different details of Catholic life.
In his Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum which introduces the universal Catechism of the Catholic Church, the then Pope insisted the universal catechism was not just an exposition of Catholic doctrine, suggesting Rome’s original “might be, as it were, a point of reference for the catechisms or compendiums that are prepared in various regions”.
“It is meant to encourage and assist in the writing of new local catechisms, which take into account various situations and cultures, while carefully preserving the unity of faith and fidelity to catholic doctrine,” the late Pontiff said.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church is arranged in four parts: ‘The Profession of Faith’; ‘The Celebration of the Christian Mystery’; ‘Life in Christ’; and ‘Christian Prayer’. Its content is faithful to Apostolic Tradition, Scripture and the Magisterium. It incorporates the heritage of the doctors, fathers and saints of the Church. At the same time, it illuminates, with the light of faith, contemporary situations, problems and questions.
While the Catechism is addressed to a number of audiences – bishops, priests, teachers, writers – it is meant for all the faithful who wish to deepen their knowledge of the Catholic faith. Further, it is offered to every person who wants to know what the Catholic Church teaches.
Permission
The new Irish catechism was adapted for the Irish Church from the United States Catechism for Adults, which was developed by the Ad Hoc Committee to Oversee the Use of the Catechism of the Catholic Church of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
The Irish Bishops examined the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults when it was published in 2006. They decided that a similar catechism would be suitable for Ireland and sought permission from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to produce a version for the Irish Church. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops agreed, and this publication is the result.
This edition for the Irish Church was developed by the Council for Catechetics of the Irish Episcopal Conference. Designed to complement the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it is adapted for an Irish audience and written in accessible, easy-to-understand language. It is essentially a resource to facilitate adult faith development, as prioritised by the National Directory for Catechesis, Share the Good News.
Speaking to The Irish Catholic, Veritas Director Maura Hyland said the new catechism is “much more readable and ultimately more accessible” for adults interested in engaging more with their faith.
Noting that the universal Catechism of the Catholic Church is an authoritative statement of the teachings of the Catholic faith, Mrs Hyland claimed this edition “seeks to situate those teachings in the context of culture and people lives through stories, suggested reflections and recommended prayer”.
“It is the ideal resource for adult faith formation and for people who are already committed to their faith but seeking a better understanding of how it applies to their lives,” she said.
Catechetical Specialist, Elaine Mahon said the new Irish Catholic Catechism for Adults “presents the faith in a language that is easy to understand and applies the teachings of the Church to the lived experience of Irish people”.
She noted the accompanying study guide is the “ideal companion to the text”. “It draws out the key teachings from the Catechism and offers further discussion and reflection points,” she said.
It is divided into four parts:
Part 1: The Creed – The Faith Professed
Part 2: The Sacraments – The Faith Celebrated
Part 3: Christian Morality – The Faith Lived
Part 4: Prayer– The Faith Prayed
The structure of each chapter is as follows:
1. Stories or Lessons of Faith
The preface and most of the chapters start with stories of Catholics, many from Ireland. Most of these narratives are biographical sketches of Irish saints or other outstanding Catholics who represent the variety of witnesses to the Catholic way of life.
These stories provide glimpses of how Catholics participated in Ireland’s history and culture. Those chosen for these examples are Catholics whose lives or actions illustrate a particular Church teaching.
2. Teaching: Its Foundation and Application
In each chapter, the introductory story is followed by a presentation of a particular teaching. This foundational teaching provides expositions on aspects of the Creed, the Sacraments, the Commandments and prayer.
3. Sidebars
The doctrinal section in each chapter is followed by a sidebar composed of three questions with answers taken from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This is one of several ways in which the reader is drawn to explore the extensive resources of the universal catechism. Throughout the text, other sidebars on various topics appear where appropriate.
4. Relationship of Catholic Teaching to the Culture
The next section in each chapter returns to the theme of relating Church teaching for an Irish society. There are many issues to address, such as human dignity, fairness, respect, solidarity and justice. Each chapter contains a reflection on how its teaching can apply to Irish culture.
Sometimes there are positive elements; at other times, challenges are to be met. Issues such as disbelief, relativism, subjectivism and differences about morality highlight conflicts between Church teachings and the present culture.
The purpose of this section in each chapter is to point to the way in which the Church proclaims salvation to the culture, based on confidence in the validity and relevance of Catholic teaching.
5. Questions for Discussion
Following the section of each chapter that addresses aspects of faith as applied to Irish culture are questions that allow the readers to explore personal and communal ways of internalising the teaching of the Church.
6. Doctrinal Statements
Following both a story of faith and a concise review of the Church’s teaching and its relation to the culture, each chapter contains a review of points of doctrine covered in the chapter.
7. Meditation and Prayer
As far as possible, this catechism is meant to draw the reader into a prayerful attitude before God. Every chapter concludes with a meditation drawn from a saint or spiritual writer.
A formal prayer is presented at this point in each chapter.
It is usually drawn from the Church’s liturgy or from traditional prayers of the Church so that the reader may become more familiar with the prayer life of the universal Church.
There is also a collection of some traditional Catholic prayers in the appendix.
Who is this new catechism
for?
The Irish Catholic Catechism for Adults is for adults who wish to renew or learn more about their faith, including:
l Parish Study Groups
l Liturgy Committees
l Retreat Groups
l Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) groups
l Those interested in personal study.
It also provides information about the Catholic faith to other interested readers.
In an open letter introducing this new catechism, the four archbishops of Ireland convey their desire that the document, for Catholics and others, “might inspire and console, stimulate and encourage, nourish and satisfy the heart and soul as well as the mind”.
The Irish Catholic Catechism for Adults, they claim, “presents life and faith together, sets the teachings of Jesus in an encounter with daily life, invites us to judge what we ought to do about our faith, and gives us the encouragement and information we need to return to daily life in a more Christian way”.
Similarly, in the introduction, the authors express their hope that this catechism “will be an aid and a guide for deepening faith”.
“It may serve as a resource for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) and for the ongoing catechesis of adults.
“It will also be of interest to those who wish to become acquainted with Catholicism.”
Finally, it is noted that this catechism “can serve as an invitation for all the faithful to continue growing in the understanding of Jesus Christ and his saving love for all people”.
A wide range of extra resources, including web links, videos and suggested programmes of study
for group sessions are available online at
www.irishcatechism.ie
What exactly is the Catechism?
If the most important book of the Church is the Sacred Scripture, in second place comes the Catechism. In the Catechismyou find the reliable knowledge about the faith of the Catholic Church, accumulated during more than 2000 years – in precise formulations approved by the Church.
‘The big one’
The over 800 pages long, hefty Catechism of the Catholic Church(CCC) which came out in the eighties and nineties of the last century, has been written on request of Pope John Paul II and a world Synod of Bishops. Significant contribution to this work has been made by the then Prefect of the Congregation of the Faith, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, and later Cardinal of Vienna, Christoph Schönborn. This book was primarily addressed to bishops, priests and teachers of the faith.
‘The smaller one’
From the ‘Great Catechism’ in 2005 the Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Churchemerged – an only 300 pages long, highly abridged version of the ‘CCC’. This compendium is meant for adults and families. The compendium is written in a question and answer format.
‘The younger one’
In order to allow teenagers and young adults in particular to gain an easier access to the knowledge of the faith of the Catholic Church, in the years from 2006 to 2011 the YOUCAT emerged from the great ‘CCC’ and the Compendium. This book also has been written in a question and answer format.