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A Review of 'SHARE the GOOD NEWS' and a Vision for Authentic

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A Review of 'SHARE the GOOD NEWS' and a Vision for Authentic A Review of ‘SHARE THE GOOD NEWS’ And A Vision for Authentic Catechetical Renewal Éanna Johnson PhD - December 2014 A Review of ‘SHARE THE GOOD NEWS’ & A Vision for Authentic Catechetical Renewal in Ireland Éanna Johnson PhD – December 2014 CONTENTS Page INTRODUCTION 3 BACKGROUND 4 ‘SHARE THE GOOD NEWS’: NATIONAL DIRECTORY FOR CATECHESIS 8 A VISION FOR AUTHENTIC CATECHETICAL RENEWAL IN IRELAND 17 2 INTRODUCTION Share the Good News (SGN) is the National Directory for Catechesis in Ireland1, which was prepared by the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference at the request of the Vatican and publicly launched in January 2011. The Church recommends the preparation of National Catechetical Directories, which should set out norms and criteria for adequate and appropriate catechesis at local level, and which may include an analysis of the situation in relation to catechesis and a programme of action. Each National Directory should be faithful to the Church’s guidance and teaching, especially the General Directory for Catechesis 1997 2 and the Catechism of the Catholic Church 3, the principal standards of reference for pedagogy/methodology and content. Catholic catechesis in Ireland has been unsatisfactory since the mid-1970s. The past generation and a half of young people have been largely lost to the Faith – deficient and defective RE programmes in our Catholic schools have been an obstacle to adequate knowledge and formation, encouraging a ‘horizontal’ or secularised understanding of the Faith, amenable rather than a counter-witness to the growing secularisation of society. This Review of Share the Good News by Dr Éanna Johnson follows on from his involvement in the Directory project since it was announced in 2005. He responded to the initial invitation to make submissions, and in 2006 he was one of those invited by the National Catechetical Office in Maynooth to study and comment on the Directory’s first Draft. In 2009 he studied and submitted comments on the 4th Draft. Some good aspects in the 1st and 4th drafts were to be commended, but it was also necessary to draw attention to several key problems, which unfortunately persisted right through to the final document: analysis of the existing catechetical situation in Ireland was superficial, past failures were endorsed and extended, while Catholic catechesis (the whole purpose of the Directory) was marginalised and supplanted by a secularised version of ‘Religious Education’. Preparation of a National Directory for Catechesis should have led to much-needed catechetical reform and renewal, but instead Share the Good News represents a setback, a golden opportunity wasted, inviting further internal secularisation of the Church. Positive elements in SGN and its approval by the Irish Bishops and the Vatican, may give the impression that the document is satisfactory, or at least can be used selectively. However, SGN is so intrinsically problematic that it is better set aside. Authentic renewal of Catholic catechesis in Ireland remains an urgent need, which will be extremely difficult and challenging, seeking to reverse the failures of the past forty years, but with the help of God all things are possible (Phil.4:13). Motivated by a love of Christ and his Church, especially the little ones who hunger for the Truth, Dr Éanna Johnson would like to share a vision for catechetical renewal in Ireland, fully faithful to the Church’s Magisterium on catechesis and modelled on the fullness of the special gift to Ireland which is the Vision of Knock. 1 Irish Episcopal Conference. Share the Good News. Dublin: Veritas Publications, 2010. 2 Congregation for the Clergy, General Directory for Catechesis, 1997. 3 Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Catechism of the Catholic Church. London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1994, 1999. 3 BACKGROUND Vatican Council II & Catechesis The Catechism of the Council of Trent 4 was composed by decree of that Council, and published in 1566, and served as the principal standard of reference for catechesis in the Catholic Church for over four centuries. During this time Catholic catechesis focused on teaching orthodox Catholic doctrine in a carefully structured manner, linked with a varied devotional life – Mass, the Sacraments, traditional prayers, missions, retreats, pilgrimages and other devotions. This ‘catechetical-devotional’ model was largely effective in handing on the Faith and forming Catholics in commitment to God and his Church, strong in faith and moral behaviour. 5 The documents of the Second Vatican Council provided rich resources for renewal and development of catechesis – Pope Paul VI considered the Second Vatican Council itself to be ‘the great catechism of modern times’.6 At the Second Vatican Council some of the Bishops favoured composition of a new Catechism to succeed the Catechism of Trent, but instead the Council prescribed that ‘a directory be compiled for the catechetical instruction of the Christian people in which the fundamental principles of this instruction and its organization will be dealt with and the preparation of books relating to it’7. Blessings that Flowed from Vatican Council II As the Second Vatican Council ended in 1965 the Catholic Church in general was brimming with optimism about the future of the Faith, and many blessings followed for catechesis. Responding to the wishes of the Council Fathers the General Catechetical Directory 8 (GCD- 1971) was published in 1971, providing excellent guidance in the conduct of Catholic catechesis, taking full account of the Second Vatican Council, and incorporating the best of prior catechetical developments, such as the biblical and kerygmatic movements, which favoured greater emphasis on Scripture and the history of salvation in Christ. In the following decades many more Church documents were published providing excellent resources for Catholic catechesis, especially: Evangelii Nuntiandi – On Evangelisation in the Modern World 9 in 1975, Catechesi Tradendae – On Catechesis in Our Time in 1979, the remarkable Catechism of the Catholic Church 10 (which succeeds the Catechism of the Council of Trent) in 1992, and in 1997 the General Directory for Catechesis 11 (a comprehensive updating of the earlier Directory of 1971). Responding to the Church’s guidance there have been many excellent developments and initiatives in Catholic catechesis around the world. The most important standards of reference today for Catholic catechesis are Sacred Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) and the General Directory for Catechesis (GDC-1997) – the CCC expresses the content, what should be taught in catechesis, while the GDC-1997 expresses how catechesis should be carried out, the pedagogy (educational strategy), methodology and organisation. 4 J.Donovan DD (translator). Catechism of the Council of Trent. London: Baronius Press, 2006. 5 George Weigel. Evangelical Catholicism – Deep Reform in the 21st-Century Church. New York: Basic Books, 2013. 11-17. 6 John Paul II. Catechesi Tradendae – On Catechesis in Our Time. 1979. 2. 7 Second Vatican Council. Decree of the Pastoral Office of Bishops, Christus Dominus, 1965. 44. 8 Congregation for the Clergy, General Catechetical Directory, 1971. 9 Pope Paul VI. Evangelii Nuntiandi – On Evangelisation in the Modern World, 1975. 10 Libreria Editrice Vaticana. Catechism of the Catholic Church. London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1994, 1999. 11 Congregation for the Clergy, General Directory for Catechesis, 1997. 4 Paradox of Setbacks in Catechesis post-Vatican II While the graces and blessings of God were poured out in abundance at and after the Second Vatican Council, the Evil One – the Father of Lies and Spirit of Darkness – was also very active, seeking to destroy the work of the Holy Spirit – the Spirit of Truth and Light. Pope Paul VI noted serious doctrinal problems, and said that the smoke of Satan had entered the Church. In relation to catechesis, alongside good developments in Catholic catechesis which have been noted above, there were also widespread problems of the utmost gravity. In the Netherlands, without waiting for the guidance of the General Catechetical Directory 1971, a new catechism for adults was published in 1966, generally known as the ‘Dutch Catechism’ 12. In response to complaints, mostly from laity, Pope Paul VI appointed a Commission of Cardinals, which praised the Catechism’s good features, but also noted many deficiencies requiring correction. The text of the Dutch Catechism was never corrected, and it went on to be a significant and enduring negative influence in international catechetical circles, especially in the developed world13. A number of Church documents drew attention to these serious problems in Catholic catechesis. The General Catechetical Directory 1971 warned of potential problems14, while Catechesi Tradendae 1979 deplored actual problems that were taking place.15 Tragically, these early warnings were widely ignored, such that the same sort of deficiencies and problems were noted in 1997 by the General Directory for Catechesis 16, and in 1997 and 2003 by a Committee set up by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to examine catechetical texts for conformance to the CCC. 17 The problems noted in Catholic catechesis are not so much false statements contrary to the teaching of the Church, but rather deficiencies, inadequacies and confusions, resulting from omissions, imbalances and an overall ‘horizontalist’ perspective (secular, this-world-only, neglecting the spiritual and eternal). The problems are not limited to some aspects
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