My husband wants to become Catholic and I am so happy about this. I have attended RCIA meetings with friends and family before and was not very impressed. I have been Catholic all my life and taught CCD classes in the past. My question is this: Is there any way the Church would allow me to teach my husband at home?
Yes, of course, you can teach your husband the Catholic faith at home. The only question is what requirements your parish and/or diocese has for the education of those being received into the Church. I recommend that you and your husband make an appointment with your pastor to find out your parish’s procedure. It may be that your pastor could be willing to allow you to teach your husband and then he would assess your husband’s readiness for reception into the Church at the end of the course. On the other hand, your pastor may feel that it is important for your husband to attend RCIA. If so, you can supplement your husband’s Catholic education at home while he completes the parish RCIA program.
I sympathize with your concerns about the RCIA program, but its value goes beyond education into the Catholic faith. It can introduce your husband to your local Catholic community and give him a point of entrance into your local parish and its people and programs. If the educational value of the RCIA program is lacking, you can use your catechetical training to supplement it, but there is no “home supplement” to becoming involved in parish life. Attending the RCIA program is one means by which you and your husband can become involved in your parish together.
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