Sacred Tradition hands on in its integrity the Word of God which Our Lord Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit have entrusted to the Apostles. Sacred Scripture is the Word of God committed to writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The Magisterium provides the authentic interpretation of the Word of God in the Church. These are the principal sources of catechesis.

There are also subsidiary sources of catechesis which have developed:

1. from the meditation upon the Word of God by the People of God, under the guidance of the Magisterium
2. from the celebration of the Sacred Liturgy, in which the Word of God is proclaimed
3. from the Christian witness of the saints over the Church’s almost 2,000 years of history
4. from theological research which helps the faithful to deepen their understanding of the faith
5. from the religious and moral principles which take root in society and culture.

Criteria for Presenting Catechesis
The criteria for the presentation of the Word of God are closely related to one another because they flow from the same source, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

First of all, the message must be centered on Our Lord Jesus Christ who not only transmits the Word of God but actually is the Word of God Incarnate. All catechesis must lead to a deeper knowledge of and closer adherence to the person of Our Lord Jesus. Likewise, Christ is the center of the story of salvation which catechesis strives to present. Because Christ is the center of catechesis, the catechist must be certain to present always what Christ “teaches about God, man, happiness, the moral life, death, etc. without in any way changing his thought” (General Directory for Catechesis, 98d). The Gospels, therefore, must be at the heart of catechesis.

Our Lord Jesus Christ is the Divine Son of God. Catechesis centered on Christ is therefore centered on the Holy Trinity. Knowledge and love of Christ is at the same time knowledge and love of God the Father who sent Him into the world and of God the Holy Spirit by Whom He was anointed and with Whom God the Father and He anointed every believer. Catechesis teaches about the most intimate life of God and leads the catechized to a profession of faith in God, liberating him or her for obedience to God’s will. Knowledge of the life of the Holy Trinity also teaches us that we, made in the image and likeness of Christ, are called to be brothers and sisters of one another as sons and daughters of God in God the Son.

Catechesis conveys the message of freedom from sin and joy in the grace which God the Father gives us to do what is right and good during the days of our earthly journey and to be with Him in His heavenly Kingdom in the life which is to come. It is the proclamation of the justice of God by which consciences are rightly formed and the hope of eternal life is nourished.

The message of freedom from sin in catechesis is also a “message of liberation,” directed to the poor with the same sensitivity of the Master Himself. The teaching of the Gospel leads one to be always attentive to those who suffer poverty, hunger or other painful experiences. Catechesis prepares the catechized to work toward the liberation of one’s neighbor; it inspires in the catechized “a preferential option for the poor,” which reaches out to the whole Church. Liberation must not be understood as solely economic or political or social or doctrinal, but of the whole man, including his relationship with God. (Ibid., no. 104)

Catechesis is ecclesial, that is it takes place within the Church. “Catechesis is nothing other than the process of transmitting the Gospel, as the Christian community has received it, understands it, celebrates it, lives it and communicates it in many ways” (Ibid., No. 105). The faith which is transmitted through catechesis is the faith of all the saints: the Apostles, martyrs, great teachers of the faith and missionaries. It is the one faith and by its transmission fosters the unity of all believers.

Catechesis respects the historical character of the mystery of salvation. Catechesis must be biblical in order to present salvation history. Doctrinal catechesis, presenting the Creed and Christian morality, must be attentive to the history of salvation which is written each day in the life of believers. Likewise, too, the presentation of the sacraments should refer to the great events of salvation history which are relived anew in the life of the Christian. In short, catechesis should teach the faith which uncovers God’s self-revelation in the sign of the Incarnation, in the sign of the Church, and in the “signs of the times” (Ibid., No. 108).

Catechesis inculturates the Gospel. It addresses the Gospel truth to the deepest reality of individuals and their culture. It takes up what is compatible in the culture, but it will also have to purify and transform what is contrary to the Gospel. Inculturation through catechesis is delicate and must be carried out gradually by catechists who are deeply rooted in their faith and in their culture, by local catechisms, by catechetical institutes and through apologetics which puts the faith in dialogue with culture.

Catechesis presents the Gospel in its integrity. The catechist must avoid any partial or distorted presentation of the doctrine of the faith. The entire message of the Gospel must be presented gradually and with respect for the capacity of the catechized to receive it. This criterion demands that the catechist neither diminish the truth of the Gospel to avoid rejection not exaggerate the truth of the Gospel by imposing heavy burdens which the Gospel itself does not impose. The close connection between the inculturation of the Gospel and the respect for the integrity of the Gospel is clear. It is the missionary aspect of the faith which will keep the catechist true to the Gospel “without falling into closed inflexibility or into facile accommodations which enfeeble the Gospel and secularize the Church” (Ibid. No. 113).

The message transmitted is comprehensive and hierarchical. The truths of the faith are based upon one another, and some have a higher priority because the others depend upon them. The presentation of salvation history can only be understood in reference to Our Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostles’ Creed is an excellent reflection of the hierarchy of the truths of the faith. In the presentation of the Sacraments, “the Holy Eucharist occupies a unique place to which all of the other sacraments are ordained” (Ibid., No. 115). In the moral order, the great commandment of love of God and neighbor has primacy of place. In the presentation of prayer, the Our Father uncovers the dispositions and desires of the one who prays.

Catechesis should reveal man to man. Seeking to place the catechized in ever fuller communion with Our Lord Jesus, the catechist will relate the human experience of the catechized to the experience of the Incarnate Son of God. In the very first catechesis, it is important to show how the Gospel responds to the deepest desires of the human heart. In biblical catechesis, the interpretation of the present is sought in the events of salvation history, especially in the life of the Savior and of the early Church. In teaching the Creed, the catechist will present the doctrines of the faith as the “sources of life and light’ for daily living” (Ibid., No. 117). Moral catechesis relates the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes to the human virtues. Liturgical catechesis relates liturgical signs and symbols to the deepest human experiences.

The question of the order in which the doctrine of the faith is to be presented is left to the local ecclesial community which has the responsibility to present the whole of the Gospel according to the methods best adapted to the circumstances of the place and times.

The Catechism, a Synthesis of the Faith
From the very beginning of her life, the Church has developed brief statements of the essential truths of the faith. These are found in the New Testament, in ancient professions of faith and in liturgical texts. Twice thus far in the history of the Church, there has been the need to put together a catechism or complete and systematic presentation of the faith, drawing upon the official brief statements developed over the centuries. At the Council of Trent, it was decided to draw up the first such catechism, which served the Church well up to our times. On October 11, 1992, Pope John Paul II promulgated the second universal catechism, the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catechism of the Catholic Church plays an essential part in the work of catechesis as it unfolds in every part of the Church throughout the world.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church provides catechists with a complete statement of the Church’s faith which they seek to hand on to the catechized. It is a statement of the faith which is enriched by references to the Holy Scriptures, Apostolic Tradition and the Magisterium. The Catechism was presented by Pope John Paul II “as a point of reference for the authentic presentation of the content of the faith” (General Directory for Catechesis, no. 120b). It stands out among any other reference for catechists because it was presented to the whole Church with the apostolic authority of the Holy Father.

The General Directory for Catechesis goes hand in hand with the Catechism. The Catechism provides the norm for the content of catechesis. The General Directory provides the norm for the method of catechesis. In fact, in distinction from the last directory for catechesis, presented in 1971, that is before the development of the Catechism, the new directory does not provide a synthesis of the contents of catechesis. Rather, it simply refers to the Catechism.

Catechism of the Catholic Church
The Catechism, which offers a systematic presentation of the Church’s teaching regarding faith and morals, serves a number of important purposes in the life of the Church. It promotes the unity of the Church by assisting her members to make a full and coherent profession of faith. It provides for all believers a clear and reliable statement of what the Church believes. In this respect, the Catechism is “an obligatory point of reference for catechesis” (General Directory for Catechesis, no. 121a). It is also the reference text for the development of local catechisms. In fact, the Catechism encourages the Church in its various localities to develop catechisms which take account of local historical and cultural situations. The Catechism is universal; it pertains to the whole Church throughout the world. Local catechisms pertain to the Church in a particular place and time.

The Catechism follows a structure based on the four fundamental aspects of our life in Christ: what we believe or the Creed (belief in God — Father, Son and Holy Spirit — and in His plan for our salvation); the celebration and communication of what we believe in the Sacraments (the sacramental life by which we receive divine grace); how we act because of what we believe or the Ten Commandments (the moral life: loving God with all our heart and our neighbor as self); how we pray because of what we believe or the Our Father (the life of daily prayer during our earthly journey by which we anticipate with hope our meeting of God at the end of time). As can be seen, the structure of the Catechism makes it very apt for carrying out the basic tasks of catechesis.

The Catechism is inspired by the fullness of the revelation of the Triune God in the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity in the womb of the Virgin Mary. It is centered on the Incarnate Son of God, Our Lord Jesus Christ. At the same time, it is inspired by the mystery of man called to share in the life of God. The mystery of man is also revealed in the Incarnation of Our Lord Jesus.

What type of literature is the Catechism? The Catechism can be described in the following way. It is an official text by which the Church presents what she believes, celebrates, lives and prays in brief and precise formulations. It presents only what is “fundamental and common” to the Catholic faith; it does not present private opinions or positions of particular schools of theological thought. Lastly, it is universal, giving a complete picture of the Catholic faith, incorporating the teaching of the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council, especially in the light of religious and moral concerns of our time. It does not provide an adaptation of the presentation which is suited to the local culture or to the age, spiritual maturity or condition in society or in the Church of the catechized. It is local catechisms which provide such an adaptation of the presentation of the faith.

The Catechism has a particular relationship to what the Second Vatican Ecumenical Council called “the precious deposit of Christian doctrine.” It helps to transmit the complete and pure doctrine of the faith. As such, it helps the catechized to read and pray over the Sacred Scriptures. Catechesis, therefore, should be rich in references to the divinely revealed Word of God contained in the Sacred Scriptures. Through the Catechism, the catechist knows how to present the Word of God in all its truth. Likewise, the Catechism makes frequent references to the Fathers of the Church, helping the catechized to see how the doctrine of the faith has been taught, celebrated and practiced. The sayings of the Fathers of the Church help us to see how catechesis must proceed by stages, in imitation of the stages of coming to faith, baptism and full life in the Church. Especially through the Fathers of the Church, we come to appreciate the importance of the assent of the intellect and will to the truth of the faith and of the various dimensions of the life of faith: Creed, Sacraments, Ten Commandments and Our Father.

Local catechisms
Local catechisms are developed and promulgated by individual Bishops or the Conference of Bishops. They aim to address fully the doctrine of the faith to the local culture and to the different circumstances of age and condition of the catechized. The local catechism strives to present the faith in the most accessible language without in any way compromising the truth or completeness of the faith.

What kind of literature is the local catechism? It is official because it from the local Bishop or Bishops. Like the Catechism of the Catholic Church, it presents a synthesis of the whole doctrine of the faith. It, too, constitutes a point of reference for catechesis.

To what does the local catechism adapt the presentation given in the Catechism of the Catholic Church? “This synthesis of the faith must exhibit the adaptations which are required by ‘the differences of culture, age, spiritual maturity, and social and ecclesial conditions among those to whom it is addressed’” (General Directory for Catechesis, no. 122). It will, therefore, make frequent references to the experiences of the catechized, to the relationship of the lived faith to the local culture, to social conditions and to the concrete situation of the Church.

Clearly, the local catechism will have constant reference to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The goal of the local catechism is to adapt the presentation of the full content of the Catechism. The development of local catechisms, in fact, manifests the Catholic nature of our faith. It addresses the one faith to every culture. It also shows the unity of all the local Churches in the one Church established by Christ, as it is also expressed in the communion among all Bishops. Lastly, the local catechism, together with the Catechism of the Catholic Church, is “a renewing leaven of catechesis in the Church” (General Directory for Catechesis, no. 136).

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