New book explores models for lay catechesis in India
Bangalore, India, 11 March 2014: “Called to be a Catechist,” a book recently released
by the Indian Catechetical Association, discusses the role of the laity in faith education
in the country.
The book collects the talks delivered at the association’s
17th annual conference, held last year in Patna, and is edited by Fr. Gilbert Choondal,
a Salesian priest.
“The papers explore the dimensions of a catechist, including
historical, religious, pedagogical, and Oriental models, as well as discussing the
challenges of being a catechists today,” Fr. Choondal told CNA March 7.
He
said the book’s title indicates that “to be a catechist” is a “basic Christian vocation,”
and the mission of all the baptized.
“The papers provide a new emphasis on
the identity, role, and formation of catechists,” he explained.
Fr. Choondal
described how the Church has placed a renewed emphasis on lay catechists since the
Second Vatican Council, with numerous magisterial documents underlining the importance
and training of catechists.
“The Church in India has failed to train our laity
or to equip them to be skilled catechism teachers,” he observed. “When I see Sunday
catechesis dominated by catechists who are religious or seminarians, I feel that the
Church has yet to grow.”
He added that while there are in some places numerous
lay catechists, they often remain “faceless ministers of the Church” and are not sufficiently
recognized or promoted in many parts of India.
Among the challenges facing
Indian catechists, he noted first that of coordinating their training, at both regional
and local levels.
“Another serious problem facing Indian catechesis is isolated
catechetical content,” Fr. Choondal reflected. “In this present times, especially
in all the major towns and cities, we face all three ritual churches living side by
side.”
There are three major ritual churches which exist in India: the Latin
Church; the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church; and the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church.
Fr. Choondal stressed that catechists in India do not have enough knowledge of
the rites which are not their own, even though the three Churches are all Catholic
and in communion with one another and are ultimately under the Pope.
“We need
to have inter-ritual training of catechists and inter-ritual catechism textbooks so
that we don’t live with ignorance about the Catholic faith,” he said. “Called to
be a Catechist” will serve as a guide to the modern challenges faced by catechists
in India, and is published by Kristu Jyoti Publications in Bangalore, the capital
of Karnataka state. It is priced at 150 rupees, or about $2.50.
Fr. Choondal
is chief editor of the Word and Worship Commission of the National Biblical and Catechetical
Liturgical Center, an official organ of the Indian bishops’ conference.Source: CNA