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General and particular tasks of adult
catechesis
(61)
175. So as to respond to the
more profound needs of our time, adult catechesis must systematically propose
the Christian faith in its entirety and in its authenticity, in accordance with
the Church's understanding. It must give priority to the proclamation of
salvation, drawing attention to the many difficulties, doubts,
misunderstandings, prejudices and objections of today. It must introduce adults
to a faith-filled reading of Sacred Scripture and the practice of prayer. A
fundamental service to adult catechesis is given by the Catechism of the
Catholic Church and by those adult catechisms based on it by the particular
Churches. In particular, the tasks of adult catechesis are:
– to promote formation and development of
life in the Risen Christ by adequate means: pedagogy of the sacrements,
retreats, spiritual direction...
– to educate toward a correct evaluation
of the socio-cultural changes of our societies in the light of faith: thus
the Christian community is assisted in discerning true values in our civilization,
as well as its dangers, and in adopting appropriate attitudes;
– to clarify current religious and moral
questions, that is, those questions which are encountered by the men and
women of our time: for example, public and private morality with regard to
social questions and the education of future generations;
– to clarify the relationship between
temporal actions and ecclesial action, by demonstrating mutual distinctions
and implications and thus due interaction; to this end, the social doctrine of
the Church is an integral part of adult catechesis;
– to develop the rational foundations of
the faith: that the right understanding of the faith and of the truths to
be believed are in conformity with the demands of reason and the Gospel is
always relevant; it is therefore necessary to promote effectively the pastoral
aim of Christian thought and culture: this helps to overcome certain forms of
fundamentalism as well as subjective and arbitrary interpretations;
– to encourage adults to assume
responsibility for the Church's mission and to be able to give Christian
witness in society:
The adult is assisted to discover, evaluate
and activate what he has received by nature and grace, both in the Christian
community and by living in human society; in this way, he will be able to
overcome the dangers of standardization and of anonymity which are particularly
dominant in some societies of today and which lead to loss of identity and lack
of appreciation for the resources and qualities of the individual.
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