Community catechesis

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With parish catechesis one is catechetical practice in the Roman Catholic Church referred to the entire Christian community of the wearer as the passing on of faith and place understands the practice of faith. The community catechetical movement that emerged at the end of the 1960s sees itself as a complement to the family as a place of learning about faith and to religious instruction in schools .

Theological background and origin

The Second Vatican Council understood the church anew as the people of God on the way . Accordingly, the final document of the Roman Synod of Bishops of 1974 states:

“It is up to the whole people of God, gathered by the Holy Spirit through God's Word and Eucharist , to proclaim the Gospel, and no one who really wants to be a Christian may consider himself dispensed from this commission, but must do it in his in a fitting manner and in communion with his Shepherd. "

At the same time, the Joint Synod of the Dioceses in the Federal Republic of Germany formulated in its working paper “The Catechetical Work of the Church”:

“The bearers of the catechetical service are not primarily the holders of certain offices, but the believers in their entirety, but in connection with the officials: the bishop not only has to supervise the catechetical work, he must promote it and secure the freedom that is required for its effectiveness is necessary. The same applies to the pastor in the community. "

The synod formulated its texts at a time when - initiated by the people of God theology of the Second Vatican Council - in more and more congregations, especially in Germany and Austria, congregational catechetical models were being developed and tested.

Community catechesis is a communicative learning process in which those affected - catechists and participants - share life and faith experiences and talk about them. Elements of celebration and liturgy in small and large groups are also included, according to the three-step life - interpretation - celebration . The adult catechists are motivated to deal with their own faith in the context of life.

Fields of the parish catechesis

The parish catechesis found its spread mainly in the sacraments pastoral. It is most commonly practiced when preparing children and young people for first communion and first confession and the reception of the sacrament of confirmation ( confirmation catechesis) as well as in the accompanying work with parents ("faith conversations with parents of first communion children").

In addition to children's catechesis, parish catechetical forms of work were tried out in baptismal and marriage ministry . Parents and godparents of a child to be baptized or bridal couples are invited to preparatory discussions that are not designed as “lessons” with presentations by experts; The priest or full-time pastor is no longer the sole interlocutor, but instead there are parishioners interested in catechism based on their own experience of faith in marriage and parenting.

Faith conversations with senior citizens, with parents of small children and with young people were also developed. Existing fields of work and institutions such as day-care centers , senior citizens' communities or youth associations are also included. This is to avoid that congregational catechesis is an isolated pastoral field of activity alongside others.

practice

For the catechesis of children and young people, lay volunteers are recruited in the community, who, alone or in pairs, accompany a small group of six to eight children or young people in preparation for receiving their first communion or confirmation. Often these are parents of children who are being prepared. For this purpose, the term table mother was formed in the preparation for first communion , further terms are confirmation helpers or lay catechists . The recruitment of these catechists is the task of the whole community, especially the full-time pastors. These prepare the catechists for work with the children, make the materials available and accompany them in the form of regular meetings, but also in long-term seminar work. Theological seminars were held repeatedly in several dioceses .

As a rule, the catechists have no professional experience and no previous theological knowledge. Interest and willingness to embark on an authentic path to faith, to reflect on one's own life experiences and to communicate with others is expected.

The catechesis of the sacraments usually takes place in the form of weekly meetings of the individual small groups, not infrequently also in the catechists' home. For the organization of these meetings by the volunteer catechists, a variety of tools with discussion models and work instructions were developed. In addition, there are elements in the large group of all applicants for the sacraments: church services, festivals or even shared weekend camps.

Criticism and further development

All Christians are responsible for catechesis. As a consequence, this leads to the “de-professionalization” of catechesis. The full-time pastors should support the volunteer workers in order to avoid “false professionalization”. The task of full-time pastors is to recruit, prepare and accompany the volunteers, as it were as “catechists of catechists”. This can be an effective form of adult catechesis. In practice, however, the opposite is not uncommon to be observed: “Many volunteers see themselves as helpers or“ extended arms ”of the priests and full-time pastors in the community. This aspect is intensified when a shortage of priests is placed in the foreground as the main motive for parish catechesis. ”In some parishes, a fixed group of volunteers has been formed for the tasks of catechesis, who tacitly assume an intact life of faith.

New considerations are based on the assumption that the transmission of the faith has to start more fundamentally and can no longer presuppose the embedding in popular church parish structures and significant experiences with Christian faith ( evangelization ). A mystagogical catechesis is suggested as a way to achieve this : “People are invited to learn to understand their own life story ever more deeply as a history of faith, that is, as a life in relation to God.” In the mystagogical process, sacraments “are the climaxes and condensation of God's history with the People "developed; this experience in and through the celebration of the sacraments should "contribute to the awakening and deepening of the faith".

literature

  • The German Bishops - Pastoral Commission: Sacraments Pastoral in Transition. Reflections on the current practice of celebrating the sacraments - using the example of baptism, first communion and confirmation. Ed .: Secretariat of the German Bishops' Conference, Bonn, July 1993
  • Dieter Emeis , Karl Heinz Schmitt: Handbook of the community catechesis. Herder Verlag, Freiburg-Basel-Vienna 1986, ISBN 3-451-20689-7 .
  • Josef Müller: Community catechesis. Perspectives on a Pastoral Concept. Matthias Grünewald Verlag, Mainz 1977, ISBN 3-7867-0575-5 (Grünewald practice)
  • Ernst Werner (Author): Lesson 23 <Parish Catechesis: Learning to Faith in the Parish. Theologie im Fernkurs (Ed.): Religious pedagogy-catechetical course. Edition 2004, Würzburg 2004

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Final document of the Roman Synod of Bishops. In: Herder Korrespondenz 28 (1974), 622-624, 622.
  2. ↑ The catechetical work of the Church. In: Joint Synod of the Dioceses in the Federal Republic of Germany. Supplementary volume. Working papers of the material commissions. Official complete edition II. Herder-Verlag, Freiburg-Basel-Wien, 3rd edition 1981, p. 49
  3. ^ Ernst Werner (author): Lesson 23: Catechesis. Faith learning in the church. Theologie im Fernkurs (Ed.): Religious pedagogy-catechetical course. Edition 2004, Würzburg 2004, pp. 18, 58 ff., 63 ff., 80.
  4. ^ Ernst Werner (author): Lesson 23: Catechesis. Faith learning in the church. Theologie im Fernkurs (Ed.): Religious pedagogy-catechetical course. Edition 2004, Würzburg 2004, pp. 38–47.
  5. ^ Dieter Emeis, Karl Heinz Schmitt: Handbook of the community catechesis. Herder Verlag, Freiburg-Basel-Vienna 1986, ISBN 3-451-20689-7 , pp. 142f.
  6. ↑ Ernst Werner (author): Letter 23 <Community Catechesis: Faith learning in the community. Theologie im Fernkurs (Ed.): Religious pedagogy-catechetical course. Edition 2004, Würzburg 2004, pp. 21f.85
  7. ↑ The German Bishops - Pastoral Commission: Sacraments Pastoral in Change. Reflections on the current practice of celebrating the sacraments - using the example of baptism, first communion and confirmation. Ed .: Secretariat of the German Bishops' Conference, Bonn, July 1993, p. 28.