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Teaching the teachers By Michelle Martin The more than 2,000 Catholic school teachers and catechists who
assembled Sept. 22 and 23 formed a praiseworthy army of lay apostles,
said Father John E. Pollard, director of the archdioceses Department
of Evangelization and Catechesis. The teachers attended the annual Chicago Catechetical Conference
at the Rosemont Convention Center for a chance to reconnect, revitalize
and be catechized themselves. Cardinal George led off the conference speakers, losing no time
in reminding them that their job is not only to teach, but to
explain the church and its teachings to believers and non-believers
alike. What you teach and what I teach has some impact on where people
will spend eternity, said Cardinal George. The truth that makes
us free from personal sin also frees us from errors. In an address entitled A New Apologetics for a New Evangelization,
the cardinal spoke of the two groups most likely to question Catholic
faith and teachingfundamentalists and secularists. The Catholic
obligation, he said, is to love Scripture more than the fundamentalists
and to love the world more than the secularists. The new apologetics must focus on dialogue rather than defensiveness,
Cardinal George said, because the world has truly become globala
fact perhaps embraced more by the young people the catechists
teach than by the teachers themselves. There is a new human self-consciousness, he said. This is a
new moment in the human race. The cardinals address helped set the tone for participants, who
crowded into doorways and sat on the floor in the aisles to listen. I thought it was fabulous, said Elizabeth Mikula, a catechist
at Sacred Heart Parish in Palos Hills. It was a powerful, powerful
talk, because we dont have to apologize for what we believe,
but we have to talk about it. Sometimes thats something we as
Catholics dont do as much as we should. Mikula attended with fellow Sacred Heart catechists Bill Thometz
and Vita Latore, all of whom wanted to get more ideas for ways
to teach their religious education classes, and look at the materials
on display in the lecture hall. I teach eighth-graders, and Im always looking for something
new, Latore said. Presenters covered topics from using the Internet to teach religion
to using stories and music in all classes, especially religion.
For many Catholic school teachers, Friday was an institute day,
while many attended on their own on Saturday. For catechists,
the conference provided an opportunity to learn about the art
of teaching religion and to get credit towards archdiocesan certification. Father Robert Barron, a theology professor at Mundelein Seminary,
keynoted the second day of the conference with his address on
Going Beyond a Beige Catholicism. In addition to the workshops, participants could browse exhibits
from publishers and vendors to see books and other products, and
watch demonstrations of liturgical music and dance. Lauren Martin, a teacher at St. Ambrose School on the South Side,
said she enjoyed what was available, but she would have liked
to see more workshops geared to preschool teachers and more African-American
presenters. Those are the children Im teaching, she said. Martin said she was particularly looking forward to workshops
on racism and on African and African-American saints. Maria Norman and Catalina Juvado-Cobo, both from the Hispanic
ministry at St. Cecilia Parish in Mount Prospect, especially liked
the way the conference worked to welcome Hispanic participants,
holding some workshops in Spanish and welcoming the contributions
of people of all cultures. The church is opening the doors, Norman said. Father Andrew Greeley, a novelist and sociologist, said in his
workshop that the Catholic Church in the United States needs to
open its doors to beautyespecially the beauty of Catholic tradition. The beauty of the Catholic heritage, flawed as it is, attracts,
enchants and will not let people go, no matter how hard they try
to escape it, said Greeley, adding that people who believe they
have left the church only think they have lapsed. Teachers and catechists should expose their students to the beauty
in the church and in the world because beauty illumines Gods
grace and beauty transforms people, providing real moments of
conversion. That doesnt mean that Catholics should not know their doctrine
and be able to explain it, Greeley said. Of course Catholics should know their doctrines and be able to
respond to questions about them, Greeley said. But they should
also experience the beauty of those doctrines. Cathye Murray, principal of Queen of Apostles School in Riverdale,
said the annual conference helps Catholic educators see the beauty
of what they do. Its always good, she said. It helps you recharge your batteries.
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