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Bishop Edwin M. Conway “ Proclaim the Gospel” Before his Ascension Christ charged the church to “ Go into the
world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” Twenty centuries
later Pope Paul VI declared, “The church exists to evangelize”
and Pope John Paul II insisted that, “Catechesis is a moment,
a very remarkable one, in the whole process of evangelization.”
This is the opening statement of the vision document guiding the
work of the Special Task Force on Catechesis. You may recall the three-year long process of setting priorities
for the archdiocese. It was called the Decisions Process. One
of the first priorities was to look at the provision of Catholic
education in every area of the archdiocese. The final recommendation
flowing from that study called for a Special Task Force on Catechesis.
Cardinal George implemented that recommendation in February of
2000 with the charge, “to study the state of catechesis for adults,
youth and children in the parishes and schools of the Archdiocese
of Chicago and make recommendations to the cardinal for its continued
improvement.” The cardinal appointed “lead agents” (a management
team) to direct the task force. Its members are Father John Pollard,
Carole Eipers, Elaine Schuster, Jean Welter and myself. We spent
several months creating and designing a process and selecting
initial membership for the work groups feeding into the study,
as well as creating a vision statement to set our course and direction. The work groups and their chairs are: Policies – Father Robert
Kealy; Personnel – Eipers; Funding – Thomas Brennan; Content –
Sister Judy Dieterle; Demographics - Jimmy Lago; Models – Jan
Sisler; and Marketing – Michael Krivich. Currently, approximately
100 staff and volunteers of the agencies, parishes and schools
of the archdiocese are serving on the work groups. As the tasks
become more defined we will continue to add additional personnel
to the groups. The process of the task force has built in consultation and deliberation
as we develop the initial findings and recommendations of the
work groups. After this initial phase, hearings will be held at
the local vicariate level to test the findings and recommendations.
After this testing of the recommendations they will be refined
and shared with the cardinal. Presumably at that point an implementation
process will be put into place to carry forth the recommendations
as they are accepted. Several elements already are surfacing in the study. 1) The policies
of the archdiocese around catechesis already have a sound foundation.
2) The form and implementation of catechesis at the parish and
school levels are diverse in operation as well as in quality.
3) The staff at the Office for Catechesis and the Office of Catholic
Schools is well qualified and can act as a ready resource for
parishes, schools and the Task Force itself. 4) The bishops of
the United States are already in the process of issuing a list
of approved texts. 5) There are additional resources beyond staff
to help us. Some of these are: two previous studies and recommendations
flowing from the Office for Catechesis, the various documents
of the Holy See and the NCCB, such as the Catechism of the Catholic
Church, Dei Verbum, Evangelii Nuntiandi, General Directory for
Catechesis and the Catechetical Directory to mention just a few.
The most reassuring element arising from these initial discussions
is the enthusiasm of the participants for the study. They are
committed to produce quality recommendations that will strengthen
catechesis and assist the staff in our parishes and schools. The
members of the work groups have experience and interest in their
particular fields of concern. This interest matched with the realization
that at the children’s level of catechesis some 50 percent of
the students are not in a Catholic school setting or a catechetical
program have given energy to the groups to pursue their goals.
What can the pastoral staff, priests and parishioners do to aid
the study? At present the Special Task Force on Catechesis needs
your prayers. We are aware that catechesis is a process that is
guided by the Holy Spirit. We pray and need your prayers that
we will be consistently open to the direction of the Holy Spirit
as we seek ways to cooperate more fully with his inspiration.
As the work groups move to refine the data they are assembling,
they will need your input and your critique. Eventually we will
ask for your cooperation and openness in reviewing and supporting
or altering the recommendations that surface. We will also call
for openness for participation on the work groups as the process
becomes more focused and detailed. We ask you to read and become
familiar with the communications and the newsletter on the progress
of the Special Task Force on Catechesis. Lastly, we call upon
our brother and sister Catholics to be aware of and honor parish
staff and parishioners who have been engaged in this formational,
developmental, educational ministry of catechesis in the archdiocese. In raising the awareness of the American Church to catechesis the U.S. bishops’ most recent document concluded on a positive theme. “We live in an age of hope. This is not a groundless euphoria but a confidence that God continues to grace the church with challenges that urge us to reach deep within our lived experiences of Jesus to find the practical means to introduce a whole new generation into the knowledge of and encounter with the living Jesus Christ.” Hopefully the Special Task Force on Catechesis with your assistance will be able to guide the archdiocese in developing these practical means. Sincerely yours in Christ, Bishop Edwin M. Conway
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