Catechising in a changing world

Mar 15, 2024

Echoing the Faith - Dr Steven Selvaraju
Over the past decade, there has been increasing concerns about the lack of knowledge and understanding of the Catholic faith among the youth. Catholics are also worried as to why many young people do not come back to Church after receiving Confirmation: “After years of catechism, why are our young people not coming to Church?”, they ask. There are also some Catholics who feel that this “problem” is the result of the poor quality of catechesis that is being offered in the parish. As such, they are often ready to place the blame on those involved in the catechetical ministry, and especially the parish catechists.

Surely, I would be the first to admit that there are certain areas that have to be improved as to how catechesis is being carried out in the parish. However, placing the blame on a particular group of people actually demonstrates a serious lack of understanding as to who is primarily responsible for catechesis and the nature of catechesis itself. As I have mentioned several times in previous articles, catechesis is the responsibility of the entire Christian community, and also that catechesis is not something that happens only in the classroom.

Understanding the situation
Catholic theologians and commentators have underlined certain trends that are taking place in the world today that are affecting the teaching of the faith to the young. These developments cannot be ignored. These include, the corrosion of the image of God, breakdown of the family/marriage, decline of moral values, rise of religious fundamentalism, the rise of a sense of entitlement, the bioethics revolution, rise of a digital world and social media, rise of the gender ideology and many others.

Catholics, in general, and especially parents, look at these developments and other trends with great concern. They frequently ask, “Is catechesis provided in the parish helping our children to face these challenges? Is it helping them to grow as Christians? How can our children and youth be taught in such a way that makes a difference to their lives?” Why can’t catechists make the classes more engaging and exciting?” and so on. Certainly, these are important questions. However, there are no easy answers.

The responsibility of parents
Let me attempt to respond to these questions firstly, by pointing out a fundamental aspect in the ministry of catechesis, that is, the responsibility of parents in the faith formation of their children. According to the Church, among the main responsibilities of Catholic parents is to take seriously the call to become the primary faith educators of their children.

Here, it is essential for all parents to know that this responsibility is not given to them by the bishop or parish priest. It is a responsibility that they take upon themselves on their wedding day, when they promise “to accept children lovingly from God and to bring them up according to the law of Christ and His Church”. It is a promise they made before God and the community. Therefore, it is an obligation that they have to do their very best to fulfil.

In fact, it is through the Sacrament of Marriage that a man and a women receive “the grace and the ministry of the Christian education of their children…” (General Directory for Catechesis (GDC), 227). Parents, therefore, are the first proclaimers or heralds of the Gospel to their children. They are the first to hand on the faith to their children and educate them in it. How is this done? The Church says, “through the witness of their daily Christian life… lived in accordance with the Gospel” (Apostolicum Actuositatem, 11). Or as the Directory for Catechesis (DC) states, “… parents, with their daily example of life, have the most effective capacity to transmit the beauty of the faith to their children” (DC, 124).

In fact, it is from the moment of the child’s birth that faith formation begins. The GDC states that, “The first roots of the religious and moral life appear at the very beginning of human life. In the families of believers, the first months and years of life, which are of the greatest importance for the man’s [and woman’s] balance in the years to come, can already provide the right conditions for developing a Christian personality. From then onwards, the child “… absorbs into himself [or herself] as though through an “osmosis process”, the manner of acting and the attitudes of the members of the family.” (GCD, 78).

The family as the first setting for catechesis
As such, beginning with the parents, the family becomes “the first community called to announce the Gospel to the human person during growth and to bring him or her, through a progressive education and catechesis, to full human and Christian maturity” (Familaris Consortio, 2). The family provides the main and initial setting or “classroom” for a child’s faith formation, where the awakening of the sense of God, the first steps in prayer, education of the moral conscience, and formation in the Christian understanding of human love and sexuality, take place.

This is why the Church emphasises that, “Family catechesis precedes, accompanies and enriches all forms of catechesis” (Catechesi Tradendae, 68). As such, catechesis that takes place in the early years of a child’s life in the family lays the foundation for all other forms of catechesis. Therefore, the Church reminds parents to overcome the “mentality of delegation”, namely, leaving the responsibility of faith formation totally to others, especially the catechists in the parish (CD, 124). Parents cannot merely “drop-off” their children for catechism class and think that they have fulfilled their responsibility.

However, it is not enough for us to say that parents are responsible for the faith formation of their children and to leave it at that. Parents have to be accompanied and supported in this important task by the bishop, parish priests, parish catechists, godparents, grandparents, consecrated persons and all members of the community. In other words, as the Church says, “All of us are responsible”.

The key ideas of the article are presented in a simple illustrated format as below. The illustrations are my own. The images are from the MCS books.



(Dr Steven Selvaraju, STD, STL, holds a Doctorate in Theology with Specialisation in Catechetics and Youth Ministry from Pontifical Salesian University, Rome. He serves as Director of the Archdiocesan Catechetical Centre, Archdiocese of Kuala Lumpur.)