PART FIVE

CATECHESIS ACCORDING TO

AGE LEVELS

NATURE AND PURPOSE 0F THIS PART

77 There are many methods and plans by which the Christian message is made to meet the various needs of men.

If missionary activity is considered, there is the method of evangelisation, and of the initiation of catechumens and neophytes.

If the physical and spiritual development of those who are to be taught is considered, there is catechesis according to age levels.

if the sociological and cultural conditions in which men live are considered, there is catechesis suited to various mental outlooks (catechesis for workers, for technicians, and SO on).

finally, if the various stances which those who have been baptised can take towards the faith are considered, there is catechesis for believers who desire to obtain a fuller and more profound knowledge of the faith, and there is a catechesis for those who still lack the very basics of the faith.

Each of these methods, which are interconnected and interdependent, obviously has its own value and importance.

National or regional catechetical directories will have the task of providing specific and definite norms in this whole area, in accord with concrete local conditions and needs.

Here, for the sake of an example, are presented only some general principles of a catechesis adapted to various age levels, to show the force and importance of such a catechesis.