"Why Catholic?" program - Renew International

[Auntie_A]

1. Who is the spiritual advisor … Is it a priest, and if so, does the priest follow the Pope and the teachings of the Church?

~~ the phoenix

My experience of RENEW was that it was sold to us like a can of shoe polish…everything was easy and nicely formatted but was there any Catholicism present? How was this church different from any other Christian denomination? It seemed very much “watered down”. Also, in our parish it felt like the blind leading the blind. Who was leading, teaching, making sure we were in the Truth?

It was all too comfortable, programmed and lightweight. I’d rather join a multi-level marketing company if I want this kind of handling. Give me catechism, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, rosary and, of course, the Mass. Do not send me through the polishing machine and rid me of my rough edges. Let God do that work. Call me what you will, I am being frank and honest. I do not like green eggs and ham and I do not like Renew.

 

[mlldrl]

My experience of RENEW was that it was sold to us like a can of shoe polish…everything was easy and nicely formatted but was there any Catholicism present?

What is the name of the program? Is it called RENEW? My parish is doing a Renew program called ‘Why Catholic?’ and it’s just reading and discussing the catechism.

M

 

[Joe_5859]

What is the name of the program? Is it called RENEW? My parish is doing a Renew program called ‘Why Catholic?’ and it’s just reading and discussing the catechism.

M

Why Catholic? is one of several programs put out by RENEW International. Their first program back in the 70’s was referred to simply as RENEW (of which they now have an updated equivalent: “RENEW: Spiritual Renewal for the 21st Centruy”). I often hear people refer to *any *of RENEW’s programs (even Why Catholic?) simply as RENEW since they are the one’s producing it. All of their various programs are forms of the same thing: establishing Small Christian Communities (SCC’s) within the parish.

 

[30miller]

Ourladyswarriors.org did a great ongoing week-by-week analysis of RENEW 2000 a few years ago. I think it is still available if you go to their website.
Our diocese foisted the RENEW 2000 program on us as well. I was talked into participating by a fellow parishoner (neither one of us knowing what we were getting into at the time). I participated for three 6-week sessions. It is definitely a new age version of our faith. E.g. at one point we pray Native Indian prayers (that don’t say anything overtly non-Catholic to be politically correct, I guess).
Anyway, 8 others and myself from various parishes in the diocese sent our bishop a detailed objection to the program. He didn’t respond to us.
I highly recommend AGAINST it. I would check if any program came from this group (out of Plainfield, NJ) and would be most sure that it is not entirely faithful.

 

[mary_bobo]

I just pulled up this discussion as our church will be starting “Why Catholic?” in October. Now I am turned off on the program before I even start. I am not in the mood for watered-down Catholicism and this is the feeling I am getting from reading these posts. Is there anything of value in the program that would make one want to participate?

 

[FCEGM]

I just pulled up this discussion as our church will be starting “Why Catholic?” in October. Now I am turned off on the program before I even start. I am not in the mood for watered-down Catholicism and this is the feeling I am getting from reading these posts. Is there anything of value in the program that would make one want to participate?

Mary, I had the same estimation of “Why Catholic?” as you - and still do; BUT I did participate and was blessed in joining with a small group of lovely people sincerely interested in their faith, though most lacked solid background in it. Without inserting myself too much into the discussions, I was able to help them with certain doctrines that came up, so that would be the value for you - and for those in your group whom you could help.

 

[30miller]

I just pulled up this discussion as our church will be starting “Why Catholic?” in October. Now I am turned off on the program before I even start. I am not in the mood for watered-down Catholicism and this is the feeling I am getting from reading these posts. Is there anything of value in the program that would make one want to participate?

I would only say that there are too many good, solidly Catholic resources available nowadays - in terms of TV (EWTN), books, websites, speakers, conferences, periodicals - both magazine and newspapers, etc. that I personally will never waste any more of my limited time on anything put out by the RENEW, INC organization. And I caution those that do to wade very carefully in that water and never underestimate the intelligence of that group as a whole. They are very clever.

 

[30miller]

Here’s a few facts directly from RENEW’s “Season 1 - God, A Community of Love”. One of the previous posters is correct when he said that RENEW promotes small christian COMMUNITIES - in fact RENEW relentless beats you down with it’s hardfisted use of the word “COMMUNITY” - to the exclusion of all words Catholic.

In this 48-page booklet for use in the first RENEW 2000 6-week program they actually use** the word Catholic 1 time**. The word Mary 1 time. The word Pope 0 times. The words Original Sin 0 times. The word Saint 0 times. The word CHURCH 7 times. But the word COMMUNITY 129 times.
This is a brainwashing technique that RENEW THEMSELVES refers to in their booklet on page 20 (alluding to others, of course, not themselves - very telling! A Freudian Slip if there ever was one) : Quote: “Do you know how they brainwash people? They repeat something over and over…”.
And the HOLY SPIRIT somehow became the SPIRIT in this booklet. (That was handy for the following SEASON 2 wherein RENEW had our small faith COMMUNITY open one week with a Native American prayer to their Spirit - a prayer which most of my group did not even pick up as an Indian prayer - even though it was explicitly printed there at the bottom). I didn’t participate in and devote a lot of time for the RENEW program to renew my Native American Indian Faith. I did it to renew my Catholic faith.
Is the word community a bad word in and of itself? Of course not. But it is when it’s clearly overplayed as a substitute for and to the exclusion of clearly Catholic words, as RENEW has done.
One would have thought RENEWING our faith meant to re-new, i.e. to revisit the faith we know and knew. Not at all. RENEW clearly and actively avoided essential words to our faith as shown above.
And I also must mention their use of INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE. For example on page 7 and I quote “Who is God? Does the way we name God and think about God affect how we relate to God and one another? In order to grow in our relationship with God, we need to examine our experience of God as Trinity - who is revealed to us in words of relationship. As the fruit of God’s…”. Get the idea. Everything they can do not to use the masculine pronoun. Inclusive Language, for those that don’t know, is an issue which The Vatican firmly has come down against with the AMERICAN Catholic Church on many topics - including the new Catechism. (Note - they do use the pronoun on a very limited basis when they have no way around it).
Once again I refer all to Ourladyswarriors.org website where they did a fantastic job on the RENEW group.

 

[DiZent]

We did RENEW at my parish around 1996. I thought it was a pretty good program for what it was, but it was not meant to be a study of scripture or cateshism. There was a lot of focus on social justice. The parish passed on RENEW 2000, but offered the Disciples in Mission program 2004-06 - out of which there are several groups still meeting regularly to pray, read the scriptures & prepare for Sunday’s Liturgy. This year, we will have Why Catholic, and I certainly will participate. There were several parishes that started Why Catholic last year - but we always seem to wait until the 2nd year to begin. Probably why RENEW 2000 was not presented – the objections were already obvious. Why Catholic appears to be solid, and Renew International seems to have “renewed” itself as an organization, distancing itself from the objectional groups that had a hand in RENEW 2000. Small groups can be very very helpful for those who want to grow in their faith, but t hey’re not for everyone.

 

[maryjk]

I just pulled up this discussion as our church will be starting “Why Catholic?” in October. Now I am turned off on the program before I even start. I am not in the mood for watered-down Catholicism and this is the feeling I am getting from reading these posts. Is there anything of value in the program that would make one want to participate?

We have had “Why Catholic” in our parish for a couple of years. There are four books, that are broken down into 8 sessions. Each session, for us lasted six weeks. We do a chapter each week. In small groups. Some small groups are better than others, it all depends on where each person is in their journey.

From the Introduction of “Life in Christ,”

Many Catholics have inherited the faith without knowing why they are Catholic. They have never been exposed to the solid faith formation provided by the Catechism of the Catholic Church. For that reason, Renew International has taken the four parts of the Catechism and had developed this series, Why Catholic! Journey throught the Catechism.

Each session explores the Catechism. Basically the Catechism has been broken down into 4 parts, each part covered by a book from Why Catholic. Yes, it is explained in layman’s terms. Yes, you could just read the Catechism. And yes, it is done in small communities.

But the words God, Christ, Holy Spirit, Mary, venial sin, mortal sin, the Church and other “Catholic” words are throughout the book. It is not the heavy handed “community” that others are saying. It may be heavy handed in their other materials, but Why Catholic, it truly Catholic.

 

[Joe_5859]

Mary, I had the same estimation of “Why Catholic?” as you - and still do; BUT I did participate and was blessed in joining with a small group of lovely people sincerely interested in their faith, though most lacked solid background in it. Without inserting myself too much into the discussions, I was able to help them with certain doctrines that came up, so that would be the value for you - and for those in your group whom you could help.

I think this is an excellent approach to the program. Why Catholic?, for better or worse, is as good as those who are involved. It can be beneficial with the right group of people provided at least one person has a general sense of things. As far as RENEW materials go, Why Catholic? is better than their other offerings, even though it is still limited. Yes, there are better resources out there one could use, but if your parish is already going with it and there’s nothing you can do to change it, I think it would be beneficial for people who are solid in their faith to get involved with it in order to help those who do not have as solid a foundation. Think of it as missionary work!

 

[john8791]

I have seen some pretty harsh criticism of the organization RENEW on the internet. I have not attended our parish’s “Why Catholic?” program but I understand it is this same RENEW organization that publishes the materials.

My wife’s former home parish (VERY orthodox!) in the Rockford diocese also offers a “Why Catholic?” program, so I am confused: Is it good or bad??

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

I have seen some pretty harsh criticism of the organization RENEW on the internet. I have not attended our parish’s “Why Catholic?” program but I understand it is this same RENEW organization that publishes the materials.

My wife’s former home parish (VERY orthodox!) in the Rockford diocese also offers a “Why Catholic?” program, so I am confused: Is it good or bad??

They seem to have cleaned up their act. However as with the other programs it does all depend on who is leading it more than the materials. even with good materials it is possible for a progran to go “off-track”.

 

[Joe_5859]

I have seen some pretty harsh criticism of the organization RENEW on the internet. I have not attended our parish’s “Why Catholic?” program but I understand it is this same RENEW organization that publishes the materials.

My wife’s former home parish (VERY orthodox!) in the Rockford diocese also offers a “Why Catholic?” program, so I am confused: Is it good or bad??

Of all of Renew’s programs, I would say that Why Catholic? is the best. Not that that’s saying all that much…

The program is just a walk through the Catechism. It really depends upon the group as to how good (or bad) it is. Many of the discussion questions are a bit subjective (“Describe a liturgy that was meaningful for you.”) I’m sure that appeals to some people, but I’m not a big fan. When I participated, my group spent more time discussing the text of the Catechism than answering the discussion questions provided, so it turned out fairly well.

The problem many have with Renew is their emphasis on Small Christian Communities (SCC). They place such an emphasis on these that some view it as a means to fragment and diminish the role of the parish (and ultimately the priest). I don’t believe that is their intent, but I can see how that could happen.

 

[Jon_in_Charlott]

I agree that the Why Catholic is a general study. We began with the first book last spring at my parish in Charlotte.

I believe the success of the program is dependant on the facilitators of the group sessions.

The group that I’ve been in have really enjoyed coming together as a group learning more from our Catechism. I know that a number of participants had not been active in any type of study and are truly appreciative of the Why Catholic series.

 

[Joe_5859]

I know this is an old thread, but Catholic Culture recently reviewed the Why Catholic? program on their website:

catholicculture.org/reviews/view.cfm?recnum=3605

They rate it a yellow = caution (not a green = great or red = danger!). Basically, they reiterate what many here have said: that the program is basically only as good as the facilitator. The review gets into more specifics and links to some articles on the “Small Christian Communities” phenomenon in general.

If anyone still has questions on the program, hopefully this will go further towards answering them.

 

[manualman]

We did the very first session of the Why Catholic program, but quit after that. Not because it was awful, but because it wasn’t a good use of our time overall.

First, let’s clarify. Why Catholic IS produced by the organization “Renew.” This does NOT make it the “same” as their other programs. Basically, there is a reading assignment in the catechism, some scripture reading and some conversation starter questions. My conclusion was: The parish paid HOW MUCH for this?!!

ALL, I repeat ALL of the good stuff in the program is in the virtually free catechism or Scriptures. Form your own group, decide how much you are going to read and discuss each week and save your parish a boatload of cash.

I saw nothing inherently harmful in the materials, but nothing that was value-added either. Why do we need to overpay consultants to read our catechisms?

 

[Catholic_Johnny]

Our military parish here in Korea was sort of force fed Why Catholic in 2009. It didn’t gain much traction and it was very, very expensive, especially for our small chapel congregation.

Why Catholic is NOT Christian education! People in this thread are referring to it as Catechesis, study, education, small group study, etc… WRONG. It is pitched as “faith sharing” and not education. “Faith sharing” as in how to communicate the personal experiences of faith in the small group setting as a way to hone skills in evangelizing others. That is the program’s intent. It is not designed to teach or instruct.

The emphasis on sharing personal experiences could be seen two ways. (1) As stated, it gets Catholics more comfortable with sharing their experiences of faith so that they can more readily share with others ‘why’ they are ‘Catholic.’ (2) It is a veneer for modernism/existentialism, an agnostic heresy condemned by Pope St. Pius X in Pascendi Dominici Gregis.

I think as others have shared here that a lot depends on the moderator/facilitator in the small group setting. Small groups can be powerful vehicles for edifying Christians as the settings promote intimacy and trust, and the sharing of charisms and graces (1 Cor. 12). However, with RENEW’s past record and steep price tag for its products and services, I would recommend a more reliably orthodox program. If Why Catholic is not education but uses the CCC, then why not just study the CCC?

Why Catholic does meet a need in addressing the reluctance of Catholics to share their faith. However, the emphasis on experience and not doctrine could lead in a direction that is a bit too broad minded. Just my thoughts.

I know this thread is old but this issue is fresh for us and it provided some really potent insights as I read through all the replies. Many thanks to those who weighed in!

Johnny

 

[danonwaveland]

Thanks, CJ, for your comments and for your service. You and all our armed forces are in our prayers.

God bless,
Dan

 

[DiZent]

My experience with Why Catholic was very positive. Though I completed the Baltimore Cathechism edition for children in the '60s, I honestly had not read the new Catechism except when I was referred to particular sections as a reference. Yes, it is ‘faith sharing’, not instruction. The small group model is not for everyone, but it has worked well for me.