Standardized vs Flexible Teaching

[donanobis]

There is no standardized instruction in the Catholic Faith from Parish to Parish and Diocese to Diocese, in the United States. Each Parish and Diocese is free to follow their own preference. This may be a contributing factor to the formation of “cafeteria Catholics” and seems to lead to confusion when worshiping in another Parish. Not to overstep our bounds, we know, of course, the Bishop has the final say in his jurisdiction but just as an opinion poll, what is your opinion?

Would you prefer the Church be more standardized in the way she teaches and ministers so everyone basically receives the same instruction? ie; RCIA, Lay Ministry, Catechesis, First Communion, Confession, etc.
or does a more flexible Church with a lot of choices work better for you?
or are you indifferent about it either way?

 

[Langdell]

I could go either way. On the one hand, no parish should contradict the clear teaching of the Church. But at the same time, I would not want to see uniformity enforced in matters where the Church has not clearly spoken.

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[Dempsey1919]

I think the traditional method is best. The traditional method involves an extensive study of the catechism and in depth discussion with the parish priest. Ideally all instruction should be given by a priest, and not a layperson.

Personal instruction based around the catechism is the best way to go. I don’t think this has to be standardised or formal, but should be based around discussions and questions designed to help the catechumens learn the faith.

This is how I re-entered the Church. I did not go to RCIA but met privately with my priest every week. We worked through the Catechism and my priest answered my questions and gave me more information about specific topics that came up.

I learned A LOT during these informal discussions and I will be forever grateful to my priest for taking the time to teach me the faith.

 

[aspirant]

I believe that all instruction should be orthodox, but I do not believe it should be “uniform.” God made people different, and good instruction seeks to address each person inasmuch as possible.

 

[donanobis]

When my son made his first Holy Communion, he was (barely) taught how to receive in the hand.I left the teaching entirely up to the instructor in charge. I won’t go into a disaster that ensued because of improper instruction by the nun in charge but it would be suffice to say that an incident occurred that I believe was somewhat instrumental in his loss of faith today (not that there are not enough other reasons but it was a factor).

It happened at a time of his formation and the second time he received and was very traumatic to him, he cried his heart out.I still want to cry when I think of how hurt he was. It had to do with the manner it was received in the hand in another Parish and he was a thoroughly humiliated and traumatized 7 year old. What a way to start a life in the Eucharist! A firm *consistent *way of teaching how to receive in the hand may have saved a lot of heartache. How to’s are left up to the teacher, lay or religious, and are not taught in a consistent way. That is just one example that could be applied to confession, etc.

I am always more comfortable when I know what to expect and that doesn’t always happen in another parish.

 

[puzzleannie]

There is no standardized instruction in the Catholic Faith from Parish to Parish and Diocese to Diocese, in the United States. Each Parish and Diocese is free to follow their own preference. This may be a contributing factor to the formation of “cafeteria Catholics” and seems to lead to confusion when worshiping in another Parish. Not to overstep our bounds, we know, of course, the Bishop has the final say in his jurisdiction but just as an opinion poll, what is your opinion?

Would you prefer the Church be more standardized in the way she teaches and ministers so everyone basically receives the same instruction? ie; RCIA, Lay Ministry, Catechesis, First Communion, Confession, etc.
or does a more flexible Church with a lot of choices work better for you?
or are you indifferent about it either way?

yes there is a standard in the US it is the CCC, and the bishops have reviewed the RE textbooks and list those in conformity. each bishop has particular law for his diocese that among other things governs what must be covered in RE for children, especially sacramental preparation. Most dioceses adapt national standards from the various professional organizations, others set their own, usually delegating this task to the Office of Catechetics. Since the catechetical documents of the Church, including CT Catechesi Tradendi and the General Directory for Catechesis both insist that pedagogy methods and means should be adapted to the needs of the learner, a standardized curriculum to the point of insisting on the content for each week probably would not work well. If you mean general standards, the major publishers are pretty much in agreement on content to be presented in a spiral curriculum format (which means all 4 pillars of the catechism are emphasized over the course of the syllabus).

Not sure exactly where you are going with this discussion.

 

[puzzleannie]

When my son made his first Holy Communion, he was (barely) taught how to receive in the hand.I left the teaching entirely up to the instructor in charge. I .

this is no. 1 in all standards I have seen which is also in the catechetical documents, that the parent is the primary educator in the faith of the child, and the parish programs exist to assist, not replace, the parent in this role. Of all aspects we fail to communicate to parents, this is the most important and IMO the most neglected, as this parent, who was not so instructed, can attest.

In defense of the catechist in question, and of all catechists of children who failed to get part or all of the message, just because we present teaching and practice in a given class does not mean all the children will receive it, for a host of reasons. They are not present on a given class, or are not paying attention due to various reasons, or are not able to process the instruction, or and this sadly is most common, are being taught in a vacuum because the families are not practicing the faith at home nor brining them to Mass.

I can only repeat, like a broken record, there are gifted catechists, bored catechists, badly formed catechists, and rookie catechists, most are volunteers who are doing their best. If you are unhappy with the state of catechesis in your parish and fail to become involved you are part of the problem. that is the editorial broad “we” not the specific accusatory we, but pray about it.

 

[aspirant]

When my son made his first Holy Communion, he was (barely) taught how to receive in the hand… I won’t go into a disaster that ensued because of improper instruction by the nun in charge…

Maybe I shouldn’t be so curious, but what’s the wrong way to receive in the hand? What disaster could ensue from someone placing something on another person’s hand?

 

[donanobis]

I can only repeat, like a broken record, there are gifted catechists, bored catechists, badly formed catechists, and rookie catechists, most are volunteers who are doing their best. If you are unhappy with the state of catechesis in your parish and fail to become involved you are part of the problem. that is the editorial broad “we” not the specific accusatory we, but pray about it.

I am sure you are doing the very best you can with your students and have the best of intentions, just as I, as a parent did in placing my child in that CCD class (19 years ago-1991?).
dona