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Some responsibilities proper to the
catechetical ministry
Analysis of the situation and its needs
279. The particular Church,
in organizing its catechetical activity, must have as its point of departure an
analysis of the situation. "The object of this investigation is
multiple: included are examination of pastoral action and analysis of the
religious situation as well as of the sociological, cultural, and economic
conditions, to the extent that these facts of collective life can greatly
influence the success of evangelization". (317) This is nothing
other than becoming aware of reality from the point of view of catechesis and
its needs.
More concretely:
– there must be a clear awareness, in "examining
pastoral action", of the state of catechesis: how, in fact, it is
situated in the process of evangelization; a distinct balance between the
various catechetical sectors (children, adolescents, young people, adults); the
co-ordination of catechesis with Christian education in the family, in schools
and elsewhere; its internal quality; the contents imparted and the methodology
used; the characteristics of catechists and their formation;
– an "analysis of the religious
situation" of the Diocese includes three closely related levels: the sense
of the sacred, that is those human experiences, which, because of their
depth, tend to open to mystery; the religious sense, the concrete ways
in which a particular people conceives of and communicates with God; and the situation
of the faith, in the light of the various types of believer; in connection
with these levels, it also investigates the moral situation as lived,
inquiring into its emerging values and evident ambiguities or counter values.
– "socio-cultural analysis",
about which much has already been said in relation to the human sciences in the
formation of catechists, (318) is also necessary because catechumens
and those being catechized must be prepared to constitute a Christian presence
in society.
280. The analysis of the
situation, from these various perspectives, "should also convince those
who work in the ministry of the word that, so far as pastoral action is
concerned, human situations are ambivalent. Therefore, workers in the service
of the Gospel should learn to note the many possibilities that are opening up
for their action in new and diverse circumstances... For always possible is a
process of change which can make clear the way to the Faith".
(319)
This analysis is a primary working
instrument, of an informational nature, offered by the catechetical service to
pastors and catechists.
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