CCD teacher

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Hello, I have a co-worker who is a self proclaimed atheist. His wife is a Catholic CCD teacher for middle schoolers. He tells me that he and his wife are in their second marriages. I also know that he has no interest in annulments or anything Catholic for that matter…he told me that he has never set foot in and never will set foot in a Catholic church. THeir marriage was done outside of the church with a Justice of Peace

My question is…should his wife be teaching CCD?
 
THurifer2 said:
Hello, I have a co-worker who is a self proclaimed atheist. His wife is a Catholic CCD teacher for middle schoolers. He tells me that he and his wife are in their second marriages. I also know that he has no interest in annulments or anything Catholic for that matter…he told me that he has never set foot in and never will set foot in a Catholic church. THeir marriage was done outside of the church with a Justice of Peace

My question is…should his wife be teaching CCD?
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If I were the Pastor or DRE at this parish, I would find someone else to teach the middle-schoolers. People who are in Lay ministries should be examples of Catholics in good standing with the Church.
 
No, she should not be in a position such as CCD teacher if she is currently living in adultery.
 
she is living in a permanent state of sin, if her first marriage was not anulled. Not the best message to give to youngsters that this is acceptable.
 
Any chance he is “yanking your chain”? If you believe it is true, I would suggest a call to the Pastor.
 
THurifer2 said:
My question is…should his wife be teaching CCD?
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Your opinion or my opinion on this is irrelevant since we’re not the ones with the authority to make the decision. Does her pastor think she should be teaching CCD?
 
Should be and are seem to be 2 different things. Our DRE is a divorced and remarried woman. I don’t believe any anulment was involved. Our CCD teachers seem to have too much going on to bother to show up for class, and they call 5 minutes before class starts to say they won’t be there. 4 teachers did that last week. So I can only guess what the quality of the material being presented when they do have class is like. Dh is ready to start homeschooling on RE.
 
SuscipeMeDomine said:
Your opinion or my opinion on this is irrelevant since we’re not the ones with the authority to make the decision. Does her pastor think she should be teaching CCD?
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Hmm…perhaps I should have worded the question better. How about this "…what is all of your opinion on this matter…even though it is irrevelant…?
 
THurifer2 said:
Hmm…perhaps I should have worded the question better. How about this "…what is all of your opinion on this matter…even though it is irrevelant…?
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My opinion is, unless it involves your parish and you have all the facts, mind your own business.

Jim
 
The General Directory for Catechsis (para. 156) states that the lifestyle of the catechist must not be an obstacle to the journey of faith of their students.

Certainly, we are all sinners and DRE’s are not required to be sinless. However, there is a difference between being a sinner and publicly living a sinful lifestyle. We all sin, but to live a sinful lifestyle is basically living in a perpetual sate of sin with no indication that the person sees anything wrong with what they’re doing. Divorce and remarriage certainly fits this description and would be just such an obstacle (as would things like conhabitation, public support of things contrary to Church teaching [such as gay marriage], etc.).

Many parishes and dioceses actually have written guidleines stating that DREs and catechists cannot be living lifestyles that contradict Church teaching. Thus, anything like this would be grounds for dismissal. You might try contacting your diocesan office of religious education to see if this is the case in your diocese.

Now, all this being said, perhaps this DRE had a conversion after her second marriage and wants her current husband to get an anullment, but he refuses to do so (because he is an atheist). In this case, she would definitely be in a very difficult situation. It’s hard to know for sure (unless she tells you).

In any case, it seems like it would warrant a a call or letter to the pastor. At this point, I probably wouldn’t start campaigning for her dismissal, but I would just phrase it as an FYI, in-case-you-didn’t-know kind of thing (because it could be that they simply don’t know).
 
The only thing I can say on the matter is my parish has a CCD program where all the teachers are volunteers. To get people to commit to preparing, showing up and teaching a class of 15-20 children is not an easy task. Especially with everyone being so busy these days. I don’t know that my pastor knows every Catachist or their family situation, I think he is happy to just get volunteers. I don’t know if there are any contracts to sign that would require acknowledgement of living a catholic lifestyle. The only requirement I am aware of is a child safety clearance. There are also NO TESTS given to students to allow them to move onto the next level or for any Sacrament.

I don’t know your friend or his wife or if she has an annulment from her first marriage. But I think in general there are CCD programs that suffer because of the way they are run (like my parish) and really who suffers the most are the children.

Whenever I hear someone say that catholics need to get out of the business of running schools because of the expense, I think the alternative of sending my kids to a CCD program is sad. I know religious education begins at home, but I am glad for catholic schools.
 
THurifer2 said:
Hello, I have a co-worker who is a self proclaimed atheist. His wife is a Catholic CCD teacher for middle schoolers. He tells me that he and his wife are in their second marriages. I also know that he has no interest in annulments or anything Catholic for that matter…he told me that he has never set foot in and never will set foot in a Catholic church. THeir marriage was done outside of the church with a Justice of Peace

My question is…should his wife be teaching CCD?
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that is a matter for the pastor to decide, who is in possession of all the facts about her spiritual state, not for any third party.

for me to make a statement about anyone “she is divorced and remarried and I don’t think she has an annulment” is what we mean by judging others, because I am not the person who is competent to judge, because I am not the person charged with care of her soul.
 
What are the requirements to being a CCD teacher or a RCIA leader? Is it volunteer basis as long as you are a Catholic in good standing or do you have to possess a Theology degree?
 
Carolinagirl411 said:
What are the requirements to being a CCD teacher or a RCIA leader? Is it volunteer basis as long as you are a Catholic in good standing or do you have to possess a Theology degree?
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we discuss these matters on the Evangelization forum, but each diocese has requirements for certification of CCD and Catholic school religion teachers, and there are national standards for certification of parish catechetical leaders, youth ministry etc. Check your diocesan website
 
puzzleannie said:
that is a matter for the pastor to decide, who is in possession of all the facts about her spiritual state, not for any third party.

for me to make a statement about anyone “she is divorced and remarried and I don’t think she has an annulment” is what we mean by judging others, because I am not the person who is competent to judge, because I am not the person charged with care of her soul.
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I phrased the question poorly initially sorry to confuse with poor wording. FACT my worker told me that they both have been married before. Fact his wife was married in the Catholic Church. Fact she has not ever had an annullment of any type with any previous marriage.

I use the word FACT because my coworker KNOWS what an anulment it and KNOWS his wife has never had one.
 
THurifer2 said:
Hello, I have a co-worker who is a self proclaimed atheist. His wife is a Catholic CCD teacher for middle schoolers. He tells me that he and his wife are in their second marriages. I also know that he has no interest in annulments or anything Catholic for that matter…he told me that he has never set foot in and never will set foot in a Catholic church. THeir marriage was done outside of the church with a Justice of Peace

My question is…should his wife be teaching CCD?
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Yes, of course she can as long as she is teaching correct Catholic teaching. Why couldn’t she?
 
puzzleannie said:
we discuss these matters on the Evangelization forum, but each diocese has requirements for certification of CCD and Catholic school religion teachers, and there are national standards for certification of parish catechetical leaders, youth ministry etc. Check your diocesan website
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I am working on a certification myself as our diocese has said that this will be mandatory at some point. I wonder know if this is going to happen. I haven’t heard anything.
 
anamchara said:
Code: 
                                                                                                      Why couldn't she?
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how could one reconcile the Directory citation below in with the above quoted question?
*
The General Directory for Catechsis (para. 156) states that the lifestyle of the catechist must not be an obstacle to the journey of faith of their students.*
 
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