Any suggestions you might have for this reader would be much appreciated! Mine are below.
I have been on the RCIA team now for about 7 years. With each attendance at conferences on RCIA, with new dictates about how things should be done, I find our leaders are moving further and further from imparting any real catechesis regarding the true teachings of the Roman Catholic Church and are busy having group “feeling discussions”. How can anyone know how they feel about the teachings of the church if they don’t know what they are? How can people make a statement of commitment if they don’t know what they are committing to? Feeling God’s presence is important. Growing in prayer both in community and in private is important, and the Holy Spirit will do it’s work in this area, and yes, we are to have a personal relationship with Jesus (which many who come to us have, but without knowing anything about the Church and it’s teachings), but CATECHESIS is the basis of a true decision about faithfulness to the teachings of OUR CHURCH, not just any church. It seems that too many people are getting there masters and ph.d.’s and thus must keep busy writing trivia. When I became a Catholic, if this group feeling-sharing stuff had been the main emphasis, I would have walked away. I wanted to know what the ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH stood for in the face of the world in which I found myself living, and did it hold up the TRUTH. The dangerous stuff I hear from some of our RCIA leaders is in controversy with the magisterium, holds up individual conscience as more important than submission to the truth of the Church. It is very upsetting and I find myself fighting against a ‘they are educated’ mentality. But what about the source of their education? We know that the enemy is within. Any suggestions. I must admit, I don’t even trust my Bishops to do what needs to be done because I know the agendas of the head of the Diocese Education Department, and the agendas of the teaching nuns, especially the ones that go from church to church giving programs (not necessarily the resident sisters.)
Forgive me, this is a very difficult subject, and painful to me personally. Again, any suggestions?
Thank you and God Bless you.
Last night I had some friends over, a married couple, Bryan and Alexandra. Alexandra was raised in the Catholic Church, Bryan is a convert from the Baptist church. I convinced him to write about his experience with RCIA when he was in the program two years ago. While I don’t think his education on the faith was as bad as what you are describing, I know some of his experiences were negative because activities and discussions were heavy on the personal feelings of the catechumens. I’ll let you know when that is posted. It will be on her blog (http://oremus.blogspot.com) rather than mine. Alix has a great blog if you haven’t seen it.
I totally understand your dilemma – people should not be imposing their view of Catholicism on converts. No doubt they think they are doing good work, and I agree that in most cases you won’t know the fruits of that work for some time to come. Perhaps it will turn out better than it seems now, perhaps worse. The fact is you and I are in complete agreement – teachers should teach the faith – the whole faith and not some mamby-pamby version of it. It’s ok to discuss feelings but they have to be done in the context of the program. I have a priest friend who says he welcomes discussions on matters of faith (and feelings) because you can’t come to an understanding without discussion. Dictating rules of faith does not work. Even so, the truth of some of the church teachings, particularly on sexual morality and human reproduction can be hard for some converts to accept. The way to understanding much of what the church teaches is that our very being is a gift from God – our whole being. If we look at our existence as separate gifts we lose that crucial context.
I think the other concept that is missing in most catechesis is that of universal Truth. Truth is what the Church teaches. It does not limit God or the ways of God, it helps us understand them. I hear from many Protestant friends of mine say “you can’t put God in a box.” Just because Truth is put forth in the Magisterium doesn’t mean we are limiting God. In fact we are drawn closer to Him in our understanding.
I wonder if important aspects of the faith such as the origin of Scripture and the roll of the Church Fathers is discussed in RCIA. Apostolic succession is another important aspect of the true Church of Christ.
Too often we put the teachings of the Church in a modern context or a subjective context. We read the Scripture and immediately say “What does this mean to me?” instead of understand the historical context,
from the times during which the passages where written throughout Church history to the present. We can’t overlook that. We should see the world through the Scripture and the history of the Church, we should not look at the Scripture through the lense of only our present time and limited experience.
I don’t understand how anyone can bring converts to the Church without discussing the above concepts and reminding catechumens of Christ’s promise that “the gates of Hell would not prevail against it.” (Matthew
16:18) How are the current scandals being addressed in RCIA?
I will think about this more and post some practical advice. One thing that has helped me immensely is reading books on Catholic apologetics. When you understand the Catholic faith with respect to other Christian faiths that can help meet some of these catechumens where they are. It’s important not only to communicate what the Church teaches but also why. I’ll post some good resources later.