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Mannyfit75
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I have a question for all Catholics, and those converting to the faith. Do you think RCIA needs to be reformed?
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Br.Rich_SFO
Guest
NO, It needs to be properly understood and properly implemented in each parish consistently.
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puzzleannie
Guest
no it does not need to be reformed, it needs to be properly implemented
if you are speaking of the Rites, they are fine, they just need to be celebrated properly as the rubrics dictate (like all other liturgical rites)
if you are speaking of preparation for the Rites, it needs to be done properly, in line with what the Rites themselves call for, in conformity with doctrine and magesterial authority, and in obedience to canon law. this can be said of all catechesis.
if you are speaking of the Rites, they are fine, they just need to be celebrated properly as the rubrics dictate (like all other liturgical rites)
if you are speaking of preparation for the Rites, it needs to be done properly, in line with what the Rites themselves call for, in conformity with doctrine and magesterial authority, and in obedience to canon law. this can be said of all catechesis.
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kell0618
Guest
At our parish, the RCIA program uses the Catechism as the foundation for learning and all of the people on the team who facilitate the program are very devout Catholics who adhere to the deposit of faith. Not all RCIA programs are equal and there is a definite need for faithful Catholics to step up and join the ministry instead of comfortably watching from the recliner.
I notice that the people who often complain the most in regard to Church ministry are also the same people who volunteer the least. At least this is my own personal experience. 
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Sr_Sally
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RCIA at my present parish is wonderful. At several other parishes I’ve attended over the years it has been good, but maybe not wonderful. RCIA servers a very diverse group of people and shouldn’t be exactly the same everywhere. But as Kell said, devout, orthodox Catholics need to be sure they are part of the solution insetad of just being part of the complaint.
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jammer44
Guest
I think that the format for delivering the instruction for RCIA could certainly be reformed. I think this is something that Catholics can learn from us Protestants in looking at the successes of some of our programs like Alpha. I’m not saying to copy Alpha, but there are teaching techniques that Alpha uses that really make a difference in helping people understand the material.
For example, if, in my dream world I were running RCIA it would happen like this:
Anyway, just my thoughts.
For example, if, in my dream world I were running RCIA it would happen like this:
- You begin with gathering for some prayer time (teaching the prayers of the church)
- You then spend time at your table discussing the readings for the coming week, using a couple of guiding questions.
- There is a short teaching time, 25 minutes or so, possibly including multimedia of some sort.
- The rest of the time is spent in small groups of 2-4 people (candidates with sponsors) talking about the topic for the week and sharing with each other.
- Everyone comes back together for an ending prayer time and some final Q&A.
Anyway, just my thoughts.
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wifeandmomoftwo
Guest
Nope it works really well in our parish…the RCIA class is one on one with the Parish Priest.
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Mannyfit75
Guest
The RCIA here focuses on the Liturgy. I think it needs to focus the entire Catechism, which covers everything. I know one of the officers complained of lack of teaching on the Sacraments. Oh, yes, there is RCIA in Iraq.
To me, RCIA needs to use the Catechism of the Catholic Catholic and the Compendium, and US Bishop Catechism. They give the teachings of the CC in its entirety… it’s not parts.
RCIA students hunger for information. If RCIA does not cover the Catechism, you are cheating those who want to become in full communion with the Catholic Church.
To me, RCIA needs to use the Catechism of the Catholic Catholic and the Compendium, and US Bishop Catechism. They give the teachings of the CC in its entirety… it’s not parts.
RCIA students hunger for information. If RCIA does not cover the Catechism, you are cheating those who want to become in full communion with the Catholic Church.
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Pug
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I’d like to see it actually implemented before deciding it needs to be reformed. I don’t think you are asking about the rites themselves? I think you mean how the experience is for a person who goes to a parish and is put in the “RCIA program”. Our RCIA lectures are based on the CCC itself. The outline that I am supposed to follow when I give a presentation is just taken from those dark headings in the CCC.
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jmcrae
Guest
I have issues with RCIA, and I’m tempted to say that we should just scrap it and replace it with adult Catechesis, without all the mucking about with the Mass.
I think if we keep it (and it looks like it’s here to stay) there should be a requirement that volunteers who lead RCIA be properly trained in it - at minimum, they should be required to read the Blue Book (the book of the Rites) and be tested on the contents of it (and pass the test with at least an 80%), before being allowed to lead a group. They should also be given solid, orthodox Catechetical materials to work with, training on how to work with adult learners, and be given the name of someone who can mentor them if they have questions.
I think obstacles to the proper use of RCIA are that the priest hasn’t got the time to know what’s going on - he considers things like the Rite of Acceptance, the Rite of Welcome, and the Rite of Sending to be impositions on his time - and if the Scrutinies are taking place outside of Year A, he’ll do the prayers, but not the readings, because the readings are not compatible with the readings of the Mass on those days, and he sees his priority as being the congregation (which is doing Year B or Year C, as the case may be); not the members of the RCIA. He says that he hasn’t got time to set up a special Mass for the RCIA, and why bother, since they don’t receive Holy Communion, anyway? (I think he has a good point, quite frankly. Why can’t the Scrutinies be set up so that they fit in with the Church year as-is?)
Everything that is optional usually goes completely by the wayside, or else it gets shortened and stripped down until they might as well not have bothered, because nobody’s got the time or the money to do it up right - for example, I’ve never seen crucifixes or Bibles given out at the Rite of Welcome or the Rite of Acceptance. There is also an option to give Baptismal candles to the Candidates to mark their First Confession (because normally they would have been baptized in a tradition that doesn’t give out Baptismal candles), but I’ve never seen that happen, either.
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puzzleannie
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your response is precisely the type of response I was expecting when I first posted. you are making the mistake of judging the entire RCIA process, rites and all, by your limited experience. actually the steps you suggest are indeed the norm in many or most places, there are provisions for proper training of volunteers, conduct of the rites and so forth. The fact that the norms are not followed in some places does not imply that RCIA should be scrapped, it implies the norms should be followed.
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Mannyfit75
Guest
I have a question though, I know most of you converts went to the process of RCIA. Did you actually learn everything or did you have to find out more Catechesis on your own. The processed I believe is up to a year in time for the Easter.
If there was some parts of RCIA that was left out. I think there should be reform. Not get ride of RCIA. I think changing the contents needs to be change if some teaching is lacking.
If there was some parts of RCIA that was left out. I think there should be reform. Not get ride of RCIA. I think changing the contents needs to be change if some teaching is lacking.
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Br.Rich_SFO
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Then it’s NOT RCIA. It’s private Instruction.Nope it works really well in our parish…the RCIA class is one on one with the Parish Priest.
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wifeandmomoftwo
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Sorry I thought we where talking about the instruction part of RCIA. ANd yes it is private instruction, Father likes to make sure that if your gonna join the church you actually understand all about it…ya know be well grounded
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jmcrae
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Yes, except that if the norms are followed, it is disruptive to the Mass. How do people follow the rubrics of the Mass and the norms of the RCIA, simultaneously? Something has to give. In our case, it’s the RCIA that gives.
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puzzleannie
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the catechesis for RCIA is not a graduate theology course and it is not necessary to learn the entire CCC inside and out in order to be ready for sacramental initiation. It is necessary to understand the sacramental economy, enough to request these sacraments from the Church, and to know the elements of the Creed in order to make an informed profession of faith, the third thing necessary is to acknowledge that the Church has the God-given authority to interpret scripture and define doctrine.
It is impossible to do more than introduce the elemental doctrines in a year or even two, whether with children, youth or adults. Adult life-long Catholics, even those who have had solid Catholic RE throughout their school and college years, don’t necessarily have that depth of knowledge and understanding, and should be seeking life-long learning and formation. RCIA (or sacramental prep for children and youth for confirmation) is not graduation, it is boot camp, the introduction, not the culmination, of Christian education.
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jmcrae
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RCIA is supposed to be a community experience. They have various Rites that are supposed to take place during Mass, and then they meet as a group, with a group of lay parishioners who “journey with them” in their process of becoming Catholic.Sorry I thought we where talking about the instruction part of RCIA. ANd yes it is private instruction, Father likes to make sure that if your gonna join the church you actually understand all about it…ya know be well grounded
I think that head knowledge of the teachings of the Church is really important, but there is also the cultural aspect - lifestyle, personal faith, etc. - that has to be “caught” - it can’t really be taught, and for this, you really do need to have the community. You can probably learn the Catechism in about four months or so, and it doesn’t take that long to develop the habit of weekly Mass attendance and to learn all the prayers, but it really does take a long time to “get” things like the Rosary, devotions to Mary, and so on - and that’s if you’re exposed to people who do these things as part of their lives. If the only person they ever meet is the priest, they may never pick up on these habits, or start to try to imitate them, because obviously the priest isn’t going to let them follow him into the Rectory or watch him say his prayers - but if they have someone in their RCIA group who also belongs to a Rosary group, then they would be invited to that, and be exposed to that in a way that is very friendly and welcoming.
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wifeandmomoftwo
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Yup had those…
Yup we had the community part…just that our community encompassed the whole parish not just RCIA folks.
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Well actually our Priest does initiate these types of things…but besides the point the whole parish plays a role in RCIA, not just a select group.
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jmcrae
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Good. Every Sunday? Or just the bare minimum of "have-to"s?
I don’t even know what that means. How can the whole parish be involved? Is it a really small parish where everyone knows everyone else? Does every single member of the parish take turns doing a talk? Or how does that work?
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Pug
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There was way to much for me to process in the time period given. I had no structure to hang all that information on. It took me years to figure a lot of it out. It would have helped me a lot if someone has given me a list of things that are not true, and that I might have lurking in the back of my mind as wrong assumptions. This would have allowed me to confront them and discard them. Then I could have had a clearer process in my mind for knowing what it was that they were trying to tell me. It turned out that my whole way of looking at “truth” was out of whack. I wish I had figured that fact out years earlier. Anyway, I still don’t know all the facts, and I often study my faith. I do not shirk that duty. It is clear it will take me a lifetime. Also, I tend to forget stuff as I learn more. I sometimes wonder if there is some critical mass of knowledge, and if I add more, some stuff just leaks out to make room for it.
The other annoying thing was that I was left with no way to further my knowledge after the RCIA was over. I just had the bible and the handouts that they had given me (I did RICA before the CCC existed). I ended up doing what I had been taught to do when I wanted information. I went to the local library and checked out a book. And no, no one had explained an imprimatur to me. I wish they had.
I did go to parish events, though, to further my knowledge. The first Lenten series of classes I attended was on the enneagram, and how to use it in my spiritual life. Enough said.
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