By Marie Mulvenna

In the first major report issued on the status and progress of the National Catechetical Directory, Monsignor Wilfrid Paradis, executive director of the project, told members of the National Conference of Diocesan Directors of Religious Education (NCDD) that “religious education would not be frozen” with promulgation of the major document, anticipated in 1976.

The directory has termed the most important statement on religious education in the United States during the 20th century and was mandated by the nation’s bishops during their 1972 spring meeting in Atlanta. Monsignor Paradis said he was “very encouraged with the progress of the directory to date,” adding its overall development was going “quite well.”

The document will, he said, in very basic terms “be a handbook containing directives and guidelines for the religious education of all Catholics in the country, in our times.”

Responding to a question on the difference between past catechisms and the forthcoming Directory, Monsignor Paradis said that catechisms “normally tell only what is to be taught, whereas the Directory will tell what is taught, how to teach it, when, why etc.” It would involve making use of all the ecclesial and sacred sciences and all human sciences related to teaching,” he reported.

Expanding his comment on the fear of “frozen” religious education, Monsignor noted that “religious education is a life-long process, from the cradle to the grave.” He added that the Directory committee had planned that the document would be subject to periodic review to keep it up to date with Church documents and valid developments in the sciences that would have a bearing on religious education. “We must evaluate our goals constantly,” he said.

As of last week, the Directory process has completed the first stage of consultation and is now ready for the first draft which will then be distributed for the second round of consultations. The process involves three periods of consultation resulting in the third and final draft which then goes to the Bishops Committee on Policy Review.

Reviewing the historical background of the U.S. major religious education document, Monsignor said a decree of the Bishops’ Pastoral Office from the Second Vatican Council in 1965, called for the formation of a general catechetical directory, which he termed a “drastic break from the past.” He said that for 400 years prior to 1965, the Church council has traditionally mandated a catechism containing authentic truths of the Church. Such a catechism was mandated during the First Vatican Council, but never came to fruition due to the Franco-Prussian War and other factors.

“At Vatican II, the majority view was that another catechism would be mandated. Instead, the Council asked for a general directory, breaking with past traditions of the Church.”

The General Catechetical Directory was published by the Sacred Congress of the Clergy in April 1971, concluding five years of preparation and work with many experts. “It is in the General Directory itself,” Monsignor Paradis notes, “that they called for the preparation of national directories according to local conditions.”

“American Bishops were quick to react, Monsignor states, and by December of 1971 had the General Directory translated into English. During their Atlanta meeting in 1972, the U.S. Bishops laid down several directives and established the bishops committee on policy and review, a seven-man committee headed by Archbishop John F. Whealon of Hartford, Conn.

The huge process of compiling the document is now in the hands of a 12-member Directory committee, chaired by Brother Cosmos Rubencamp, CFX. “There were 300 candidates for the committee, and they wanted a committee that would represent the Church all over the nation. They represent a spectrum of the Church in the United States, eliminating the extreme ends of right and left. And, each of them has several areas of expertise.”

According to Monsignor Paradis, “the process developed for the preparation of the Directory has three major objectives: 1) a program of education for the Church at large, including hundreds of thousands of persons 2) the establishment of a model for consultation by the American Catholic Church to be used in resolving major issues in the future and 3) the development and publication of the National Catechetical Directory.”

The Directory will be written for all age levels; for all circumstances of life – inner city, rural, urban, suburban, isolated; for all educational levels; for the handicapped – mentally, emotionally, physically; for all cultural and ethnical groups – Blacks, Spanish, Oriental etc., Monsignor said.

The present model of the Directory, which was approved last week at a Cleveland meeting, will be a model only and subject to change during future deliberations on the document. The tentative model, now being used for the first draft, will read as follows:

Preface (statement concerning for whom it is being written, why it is being presented, how it is prepared, to what degree it is binding, evaluation, periodic review, program of implementation).

Listing of the various categories are: Contemporary Scene in the United States; Mystery of Revelation; God’s Invitation to Community; Christian Message; God’s Call to Service; Catechetical Personnel; Growth in Faith; Liturgy and Growth in Faith; and Organization, Models and Materials.

Monsignor Paradis said the document will be in clear, simple and intelligible language without sacrificing accuracy. It will, he explained, have certain characteristics: pastoral and practical, biblical, patristic and liturgical, creative, pluralistic, contemporary, futuristic, expressing social concern throughout, presenting theological and psychological positions compatible to Catholic tradition, prophetic, prayerful, for all Catholics, and recognizing the relationship of Christian to Jew. He added that peace and justice will be an actual part of the document and not a separate entity.

To date, over 100 of 158 dioceses in the country have taken an active part in the first consultation phase which ended March 31. 17,000 responses have been received at the Directory headquarters in Washington. In addition to diocese, consultation has been made with the U.S. bishops, the Committee on Education of the USCC, the NCDD, the National Catholic Education Association, graduate schools of religious education, all major seminaries, major theologians, all publisher’s of Catholic books, and many others. Monsignor Paradis reported consultations with over 170 professionals in 18 sacred sciences and human sciences and extensive and on-going collaboration with scholars.

“I am very pleased with the input to date,” he said, explaining that the 17,000 replies actually represent 50,000 to 100,000 persons since some came in as a group response. Monsignor said he “expected about 10,000 replies and we actually received 17,000. I think when the people become accustomed to the consultation process, there will be far more feedback. This is something very new and unusual for them and it’s normal that they would not, so far, know exactly what to do with such an opportunity.”