BACK IN HISTORY…
TEXT OF THE DECLARATION of the Annual Celebration
of the National Catechetical Week
The crucial importance of catechesis for the whole
life of the Church has so often been underlined.
John Paul II says that the Church depends essentially
on catechesis not only for her geographical extension
and numerical increase, but even more her inner growth
and correspondence with God’s plan (cf. CT
13)
The recently concluded Extraordinary Synod of Bishops
considers catechesis as essential to the promotion
of the knowledge and application of the Council, both
in its letter and in its spirit. That is so because
the principal cause of the difficulties in the acceptance
of Vatican II is “a partial and selective reading
of the Council, as well as a superficial interpretation
of its doctrine in one sense or another” (Final
Relation, N. 4). Hence the urgent need of the Church
today is catechesis by which the wealth of doctrine
and energies contained in the various documents of
Vatican II and developed in the various post Conciliar
instructions are integrally and systematically understood,
effectively assimilated, firmly reaffirmed and faithfully
lived.
There are other reasons evident in our immediate
surrounding. One of the most serious obstacles to effective
catechesis is the attitude of many parents to rely
almost exclusively on the priests, catechists and religious
educators for the education in faith of their children.
These catechetical ministers, while trained to serve
in the ministry of catechesis, are however meant to
assist the principal catechists of the children, namely,
the parents. This unilateral renunciation of catechetical
duty on the part of parents grounds many unfortunate
consequences: parents are ill-equipped to catechize,
insufficient religious formation of our adults, difficulty
of maintaining an organized catechetical initiatives,
etc. Every ecclesial community, by the inherent demands
of the faith it holds, is called upon to become a catechized
and catechizing community. For this we need a systematic
and integrated catechesis.
Finally another reason. It has been going on for
quite sometime now. Only we have not adverted to it
seriously enough. There was a time when the Catholic
Church was the only dominant proponent of values and
ways of life. This is not true anymore today. The voice
of our Church is today only one of the many formators
of values. Our advocacy of the primacy of the spirit
is blunted at every corner by the well-advertised materialism
and hedonism.
Our Gospel view of man society is openly challenged
by every means by Marxist ideology. Our inability to
attend more closely to the formation in faith of our
faithful is taken advantage of by non-Catholic Christian
and non-Christian groups. The gradual increase in the
membership of these groups in the past two decades
indicate, in no uncertain terms, a growing breach in
our general membership. We need, for longer term effects,
to strengthen the faith of our faithful, guide it to
maturity in faith and thus withstand the cold wind
of errors. We need, in fine, an effective, systematic
and integrated catechesis.
Therefore, convinced that catechesis is intimately
bound up with the whole Church’s life and reiterating
our commitment to the primacy of catechesis in our
pastoral concern, we declare the week within which
the feast of St. Pius X occurs as the CATECHETICAL
WEEK for the Philippines . A Catechetical Week has
already become an established tradition in many of
our dioceses. The positive results reaped from such
initiative encourage us to extend to the whole nation
this laudable practice. A sufficiently long, well-planned
and coordinated activity, in every diocese and parish,
under the effective coordination and support of the
competent catechetical offices, both national and local,
will insure for our faithful immense spiritual benefits.
The words of the Holy Father ground our Declaration: “The
more the Church, whether on the local or the universal
level, gives catechesis priority over other works and
undertakings… the more she finds in catechesis
a strengthening of her internal life as a community
of believers and of her external activity as a missionary
Church” (CT 15).
We humbly invoke upon all our catechists throughout
the land the abiding love and protection of her who
is both our Model of catechists and Mother of catechesis.
Given this 9 th day of July in the year of Our Lord
1986.
Betania Retreat House, Tagaytay City
RICARDO CARDINAL VIDAL
President Catholic Bishops’ Conference
of the Philippines
(Ref. Docete, special issue for the year 1986,
p.1)
|
