{"id":31575,"date":"2017-10-14T11:17:36","date_gmt":"2017-10-14T03:17:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aranzazushrine.ph\/home\/?p=31575"},"modified":"2017-10-14T11:17:36","modified_gmt":"2017-10-14T03:17:36","slug":"silver-anniversary-making-the-catechism-shine-in-the-21st-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aranzazushrine.ph\/index.php\/2017\/10\/14\/silver-anniversary-making-the-catechism-shine-in-the-21st-century\/","title":{"rendered":"Silver anniversary: Making the catechism shine in the 21st century"},"content":{"rendered":"[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″ admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”off” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”on” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” src=”http:\/\/aranzazushrine.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/vatican_silveranniv.jpg” \/][et_pb_text admin_label=”Image Caption” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” text_font=”Arial||||” text_font_size=”12″ text_line_height=”1.3em” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_padding=”||30px|”]\n

Pope Francis prays with participants at an encounter marking the 25th anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church at the Vatican Oct. 11. The death penalty is \u201ccontrary to the Gospel,\u201d the pope said in a speech at the meeting. PAUL HARING\/CNS<\/strong><\/p>\n[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]\n

VATICAN\u2014 As the church marks the 25th anniversary of the publication of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, promoting it as a means of teaching the truth about faith remains a challenge and a priority.<\/p>\n

Since its publication in 1992, the catechism has been translated into 50 languages, including Swahili, Japanese and Gaelic, and it is also available in Braille, video and digital editions.<\/p>\n

Nevertheless, in today\u2019s digital age, when people have limitless access to information with the click of a mouse or the swipe of an app, opinions and even \u201cfake news\u201d can either inform or misinform Catholics on the principles of the Catholic faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cSociety is changing in a very massive way, and it\u2019s much more difficult to reach people,\u201d especially in the digital age, Katharina Karl, professor of pastoral theology and religious education at the Philosophical-Theological University in Muenster, Germany, told Catholic News Service Oct. 11.<\/p>\n

This ongoing challenge was what prompted the Catholic Church a quarter of a century ago to create a go-to reference that synthesized church teaching and serve as a guide for the faithful.<\/p>\n

The idea of a compendium of Catholic doctrine was one of the fruits of the 1985 Synod of Bishops marking the 20th anniversary of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council.<\/p>\n

After requests from participants for a point of reference \u201cfor the catechisms or compendiums that are prepared in various regions,\u201d St. John Paul II accepted their proposal, \u201cconsidering it as fully responding to a real need, both of the universal church and of the particular churches.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe presentation of doctrine must be biblical and liturgical. It must be sound doctrine suited to the present life of Christians,\u201d St. John Paul wrote in his Apostolic Constitution \u201cFidei Depositum\u201d (\u201cThe Deposit of Faith\u201d) Oct. 11, 1992.<\/p>\n

Entrusting this task to 12 cardinals and bishops, St. John Paul chose Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the future Pope Benedict XVI, to lead the commission responsible for the drafting of the catechism.<\/p>\n

While the need for a text that clearly explained the church\u2019s teachings was welcomed, some criticized it for being too static or dogmatic and not in line with the spirit of the Second Vatican Council.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was said that the catechism failed to take into account the theological developments of the last century, particularly exegetical developments; it was not ecumenical; it was not dialogical\u201d as it made affirmations as established beyond dispute, Cardinal Ratzinger said Oct. 9, 2002, during an address commemorating the catechism\u2019s 10th anniversary.<\/p>\n

The future Pope Benedict responded to those opinions by seeking to explain \u201cwhat a catechism is and what is its specific literary genre,\u201d as well as its proper purpose and doctrinal relevance.<\/p>\n

The catechism is \u201ca proclamation of faith,\u201d of witness, for the teaching of the faith, he said. It presents a \u201cgiven that precedes us,\u201d but whose doctrinal formulation develops in the church, he said.<\/p>\n

After his papal election, Pope Benedict continued to urge Catholics to use the Catechism of the Catholic Church as a handbook to rediscover the truths of faith and a deeper knowledge of church teaching.<\/p>\n

\u201cRead the Catechism of the Catholic Church and rediscover the beauty of being Christian, of being church, of living as part of the great \u2018we\u2019 that Jesus formed around him to evangelize the world,\u201d Pope Benedict said in 2012.<\/p>\n

In his speech marking the 25th anniversary of the Catechism of the Catholic Church Oct. 11, Pope Francis said the catechism is not only an important tool for believers to understand the faith, but also provides concrete answers to new challenges.<\/p>\n

Just as the challenges people face evolve, so does the Christian response since \u201cthe word of God cannot be preserved in mothballs as if it were an old blanket to protect against insects,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In fact, \u201cthe word of God is a dynamic reality that is always living, that progresses and grows, because it is stretched toward a fulfillment that men and women cannot stop,\u201d Pope Francis said.<\/p>\n

Austrian Cardinal Christoph Schonborn of Vienna, who served with then-Cardinal Ratzinger as co-editor of the catechism, told Vatican Radio Oct. 12 that while the development of church teaching evolves over time, the church and the Gospel don\u2019t change.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must change. This catechism is only 25 years old. The previous one \u2014 the Council of Trent \u2014 lasted 400 years. Therefore, I hope this catechism is at the beginning of its work for the church,\u201d Cardinal Schonborn said.<\/p>\n

Despite the catechism\u2019s accessibility and continuing development, \u201cthere is still a lot to do,\u201d Karl told Catholic News Service.<\/p>\n

In her Oct. 11 talk, Karl emphasized the need for Catholics to have a formed conscience \u2014 rooted in the teachings of the catechism \u2014 that will allow for a \u201cdialogue with God.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe catechesis today needs to create a space for people to enter into dialogue with themselves in the first place. It\u2019s something they need to be taught in such a way that in the end it may become a dialogue with God,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Expanding on her speech, Karl told CNS that before catechizing, the church should embark on a \u201cpre-journey with people\u201d and reach out to them, given that, in today\u2019s digital world, many people no longer socialize face-to-face or \u201cgo to catechism classes automatically.\u201d<\/p>\n

The use of Twitter by one group of Catholics from around the world who use the social network to pray together is one of many examples of how the church can use social media to engage people and \u201cbring the catechism to them,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the sign of the times is to be creative,\u201d Karl told CNS.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe church is already going toward that path, but I think it\u2019s a chance to enter the digital world not as something foreign to us but as something native to our times,\u201d she said.\u00a0Junno Arocho Esteves\/Catholic News Service<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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In fact, \u201cthe word of God is a dynamic reality that is always living, that progresses & grows, because it is stretched toward a fulfillment that men & women cannot stop,\u201d Pope Francis said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":31576,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31575","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-vatican-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8Ootw-8dh","jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/aranzazushrine.ph\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/vatican_silveranniv.jpg?fit=1000%2C694&ssl=1","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aranzazushrine.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aranzazushrine.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aranzazushrine.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aranzazushrine.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aranzazushrine.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=31575"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/aranzazushrine.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":31578,"href":"https:\/\/aranzazushrine.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/31575\/revisions\/31578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aranzazushrine.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/31576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aranzazushrine.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=31575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aranzazushrine.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=31575"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aranzazushrine.ph\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=31575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}