CATECHISTS:

THEIR ROLE AND FORMATION

by

Mr. Sylvester A.B. Koroma

 

 

“It is for me a great pleasure, to be invited to speak in the presence of the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, the Cardinals and Bishops of the Synod, on the topic: Catechists: their Role and Formation.

I most cordially thank the Holy Father for appointing me, a catechist, as an Auditor at this Special Assembly for Africa of the Synod of Bishops. It is indeed an honour, not only to me personally, but to all the catechists in the Catholic Church in Africa. I am sure this will serve as a source of encouragement to all the catechists.

 

 

THE MANDATE OF CHRIST AND THE CATECHIST

 

Before Christ ascended to His Father, he gave his Apostles a final command: “Go therefore make disciples of all nations ... and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you” (Mi. 28:19). This last command of our Lord marks the beginning of the catechetical mandate assigned to the whole Church. From this it results that every member of Christ's faithful is called to a direct involvement in catechizing. Therefore the title, “CATECHIST”, is for all of us, as Catechesi Tradendae has said, each according to his or her position in the particular Church. An are catechists, but the responsibilities of a Bishop, priest or religious catechist are different from those of a lay catechist. As a lay catechist, my talk will only be on Lay Catechists.

The Second Vatican Council’s document, Ad Gentes, no. 2, states that “the Church on earth is by its very nature missionary”. To fulfil its missionary mandate, she recruits men and women designated as “powerful collaborators” of the priestly order, indispensable helpers, carrying out tasks which involve ever new and greater burdens. These collaborators, known as Catechists, carry out the following tasks:

v    they preside over the prayers of their local communities, teach Christian doctrine and attend to community development projects;

v    they gather their people in Church for divine worship on Sundays, admonish the lukewarm and the indifferent, settle family and village disputes and assist missionaries in important situations in the parishes;

v    they act as travelling preachers and interpreters;

v    they look after local outstations, hold services of the Word of God;

v    they visit and take care of the sick and baptize the dying in case of necessity;

v    they help in the organization of Small Christian Communities (S.C.C.).

Because one individual cannot perform all these functions, we find three main types of catechist:

1.         The Catechist as Community Leader and Animator

2.         The Catechist as Liturgist

3.         The Catechist as Teacher of Religion.

 

1.         The Catechist as Community Leader and Animator

 

This type of catechist is found in every parish and his apostolate is fundamental in communities, both in towns and villages or out‑stations, where there is no priest. In his capacity as a community leader or animator, he helps the community, through words and attitudes, to face problems and difficulties in life, as for example, old age and death. He promotes human relationships and helps the members of the community develop the habit of listening to each another, of learning to trust each other and working with each other in the planning and the development of projects.

He helps in solving problems of alcoholism, bribery, tribalism, nepotism etc. through his sense of righteousness, social justice and morality.

He stimulates the sharing of ideas and experiences, as in local politics, according to the gospel principles, and organizes people to work together as the People of Christ.

He shows himself a man of faith and prayer, an organizer of the people, and in this manner he carries the Good News to members and non‑members alike.

 

2.         The Catechist as Liturgist

This type of catechist is a local Church leader and works more in the area of liturgy and closely with the priest or, as in most cases, alone in the absence of a priest:

v    he is the liturgical animator and Sunday school teacher;

v    he prepares hymns to be sung by the choir, or by the people, if there is no choir;

v    he helps the faithful to a greater understanding of the meaning of the sacraments;

v    he conducts classes for catechumens, prepares children for first Holy Communion and also those to be confirmed.

 

3.         The Catechist as Teacher of Religion

This type of catechist functions mainly in schools where his role is one of the most effective instruments in the work of evangelization in Africa as a whole. The climate in the schools today makes his role both a difficult and important one. For it is important that young boys and girls be given an integral vision of life, which includes faith, while still at school.

Concerning the importance of schools and the role of religion teachers in the field of evangelization, the Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, expressed his fervent desire in Catechesi Tradendae:

“I express the fervent wish that in response to the very clear right of the human person and of the family, and out of respect for every one’s religious freedom all Catholic pupils may be enabled to advance in their spiritual formation with the aid of religious instructions dependent on the Church, but which, according to the circumstances of different countries, can be offered either by the school or in the setting of the school or again within the framework of an agreement with the public authorities regarding school time tables, if catechism takes place in the parish or another pastoral centre. In fact, even in places where objective difficulties exist, it should be possible to arrange school time tables in such a way as to enable Catholics to deepen their faith and religious experiences with qualified teachers, whether priests or lay people”.

The catechist‑teacher therefore renders great help to the Church’s educational aims and objectives. He tries to create within the school community an atmosphere that is enlivened by the Gospel, spirit of charity, freedom and trust. He helps the adolescents to develop their personalities and to grow to maturity and self fulfilment.

 

 

FORMATION OF CATECHISTS

 

As regards the formation of catechists, efforts have been made to answer the requests of the Second Vatican Council, of the Holy Father in Catechesi Tradendae and of Bishops of Africa and other continents calling for special Centres and Institutes for the formation of catechists, and that these be given assiduous attention by Bishops.

In response to these appeals, centres for the formation of catechists have been opened at various levels, including the international, for example, the catechetical centre in Kenema Diocese (Sierra Leone) and the Institute of Missionary Catechism in Castel Gandolfo, which offer quality training to catechists from all over the world, especially from Africa. Catechists are grateful to the Congregation for the Evangelisation of Peoples for the development of catechists in general and those of the African continent in particular. May I seize this opportunity to appeal to the Congregation not to restrict the admission of student catechists only the unmarried. Married people tend to be more stable in this profession.

 

 

ON‑GOING FORMATION

 

All the above‑mentioned structures will be useless if there is no continual programme for training or updating catechists. It is important that the catechist be aware of the times and current with the difficulties which people fact in our continent, so as to be able to sympathize with them and guide them in the truth.

The catechist is closer to the people than the priest and has a better knowledge of what the people are saying and thinking. He has to be able to answer some of their questions and interpret them in the light of the Gospel. Hence a follow‑up programme is as important for the catechist as the initial training. Training and on‑going formation courses will not be worthwhile if:

a) the manner in which catechists are selected today is not given greater consideration;

b) the catechists themselves are not ready to learn or up‑date themselves so as to be always skilled in doing their work;

c) there are no sufficient pedagogical materials for themselves and for their pupils (especially for teachers in school). In this connection it is to be noted that a bible costs 18.000 lire in Rome, which is about the salary of a trained teacher in Sierra Leone.

 

 

PROBLEMS OF CATECHISTS

 

Having discussed the role of catechists and their formation, I wish to mention some of the problems and difficulties that catechists encounter in their work of evangelization in Africa. These are:

1.         Many people in Africa look down upon catechetical work, considering it a low class work fitted only for drop‑outs or people with low education. Therefore many parents, including Catholics, do not encourage their children who have completed secondary education to become catechists. Some of the youth call it a “Yes, Father job”.

2.         The Second Vatican Council document, Ad Gentes, clearly states that, and I quote: “for those who dedicate themselves entirely to this work, a decent standard of living and social security should be provided through a just salary”. From the interventions on this floor, it is clear that you, our African bishops, are determined to remedy the situation where catechists’ salaries cannot feed and train their families, much less provide for the future.

3.         Since the catechist has the role of assisting the parish priest in the work of evangelisation, it is fitting that a cordial relationship exist between them, because they should work as a team. It is a pity that this does not always happen with some priests.

4.         Catechists, especially those working in distant villages, feel the need of regular personal contacts with someone who is interested in their work, for example, the Bishop, the Vicar General, the parish priest or his co‑worker, or anybody else interested in the catechist’s work. But sometimes this contact is completely absent.

 

 

PROPOSALS

 

At this point, I would like to humbly make some proposals for serious consideration.

1.         That attention be given to those who work as voluntary catechists, so that they might not behave as the frog, one leg on the land and the other in the water, not to seek catechist work in order to have easy access to a scholarship for further studies after which they forget catechist work altogether.

2.         That the Bishops appoint someone responsible mainly for catechists in the whole Diocese and not only the parish priest, who often has his own priorities which are other than catechetical work, and who might be transferred to another parish.

3.         That catechists be employed full time, so as to enable them be permanent. And they should have good living conditions, such as house allowance, health care insurance, pension scheme, etc.

4.         That catechists be paid a salary sufficient also for the education fees of their children.

5.         That Associations of Catechists be formed at diocesan, national as well as international levels within Africa. These associations will help to contribute much to the general understanding of catechists and of their role in the Church, and also serve to support their morale in times of adversity, and give them a sense of leadership in carry out the work they are expected to do.