By Kathi Stearns, Staff Writer

ATLANTA – For those in catechetical ministry, the newly released Catechism of the Catholic Church has resulted in more questions than answers. As the catechism continues to climb the New York Times best-seller list, catechists must learn to utilize and integrate the text into their ongoing faith formation and teaching.

Guidance was provided at the 1994 Catechetical Conference and Exposition entitled “Excellence in Catechesis: Embracing the Challenge To Seek God’s Wisdom” held at Holy Cross Parish Friday, Nov. 4 and Saturday, Nov. 5.

Fourteen national and 24 local speakers made presentations to the 1,600 people who attended the two-day workshop sponsored by the archdiocesan Department of Catholic Education.

“It’s getting larger and larger each year,” said Annette Kulasa, consultant for children’s catechesis and coordinator of the conference. Registration increased five to seven percent over last year. “Parishes are learning that if their people (directors of religious education, youth ministers, teacher, catechists, volunteers) are formed well, they will form others well. Pastors have begun to realize that this needs to be a priority.”

Ms. Kulasa believes that 90 percent of the parishes, all archdiocesan schools and Marist School were represented at the seventh annual conference. Catechists also came from the Dioceses of Birmingham, Charleston, Charlotte, Knoxville and Nashville, Tenn., Raleigh, Savannah and the Archdiocese of Mobile, Ala.

For the first time a three-hour track was established to allow participants a chance to study a topic in depth. “When you are focused on one specific topic you want to be able to pick somebody’s brain as long as you can,” said Dorothy Schechterle, coordinator for elementary religious education at St. Jude the Apostle in Sandy Springs. “The tracks let you do that. The tracks included discussions on early childhood ministry, youth ministry and adult formation ministry.

“The goal of this year’s conference was to have something for everyone,” said Ms. Kulasa. The topics included: the catechism, early childhood ministry, adolescent ministry, AIDS ministry, youth ministry, the sacraments, multicultural catechesis, human sexuality, religious education for the physically challenged, teaching faith in fun ways and sacraments in the African-American community.

“The array of topics not only allowed for personal spiritual development but also taught catechists practical skills they can use in catechesis,” said Mrs. Schechterle.

Three national speakers were asked to lay a foundation and provide an overview of the catechism. The archdiocesan Office of Religious Education, in turn, will continue to build catechists’ knowledge of the new catechism as it hosts four catechetical programs in 1995 and 1996.

“We used this conference as a kick-off for introducing the catechism to the grass-roots people,” Ms. Kulasa said.

“The catechism is important because we now have a resource besides Scripture and Tradition that sets forth the teachings of the Catholic Church. We need to work with it, not against it.”

Father Jeremy Driscoll, OSB, instructor of theology at Mount Angel Seminary, St. Benedict, Ore., spoke on the four-pillar structure and content of the catechism.

He said that the first pillar, “Profession of Faith,” focuses on what God has done and later treats of what man can and ought to do in response. The second pillar, “Celebration of the Christian Mystery,” explains how God’s salvation is present in the sacred actions in the Church’s liturgy and in the seven sacraments.

The third pillar, “Life in Christ,” deals with the final end of man who was created in the image of God and is helped by God’s grace to follow his law. The final pillar, “Christian Prayer,” discusses the meaning and importance of prayers in the lives of believers.

Father Driscoll said all four pillars are intrinsically linked to one another. “In part one, the church professes its creed; in part two it celebrates through its sacraments; in part three the faithful live out their beliefs; in part four they choose to participate in a more personal way, and prayer is that way.”

Father Driscoll also explained that the catechism has a trinitarian and christocentric focus. It is through the Incarnation that the Father is revealed and the Spirit is given. Christ is at the heart of catechesis. As explained by pope John Paul II, “Catechesis aims at putting people … in communion … with Jesus Christ.”

Father Driscoll believes catechesis should lead primarily to the worship of God.

Mary Jo Tully, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Portland, Ore., discussed how the catechism can be used and integrated into faith formation programs.

“If we intend to encourage people to read the catechism, we ought to teach them to read it so that it will offer the most benefit,” Ms. Tully said.

She reiterated Father Driscoll’s concern that the catechism should not be a textbook but a resource book. “The catechism is not intended to be used as a textbook precisely because it does not and cannot express the unique characteristics of different cultures around the world,” she said. “Neither can it take into account the intellectual, emotional or spiritual development of those being catechized. Neither does it address the pedagogical insights of the last generation.”

Ms. Tully suggested that people read the fourth section on prayer first and view it as a meditation reading from the context of the fathers of the church.

The catechism is a document issued by the official teaching authority of the church that serves as a reference book for those teaching the faithful. “Catechists proclaim in the name of the church and by the authority of their bishops,” Ms. Tully said. “The message that they (catechists) announce is not their own. In an age of information and religious curiosity, it becomes increasingly difficult for ordinary people to determine precisely what belongs to the magisterium.”

The third speaker was Joanna Case, director of the catechumenate at St. Patrick Cathedral in Charlotte, N.C. She discussed the development of the catechetical process and what catechetical sessions look like for those preparing to join the Catholic Church.

“This year it has been important for people to come together as the body of Christ and learn together how the catechism itself fits into the catechetical mission of the Church,” said Carol Hamill, Atlanta archdiocesan consultant for adult faith formation. “We’re showing people how to embrace the catechism.”

Even though the discussion of the catechism remained prevalent in numerous workshop presentations it was not the only focus of the workshops.

Father Richard Kieran, pastor of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Atlanta, discussed the best way to bring the content of Catholic social teaching, documents alive.

Father Kieran used scriptural sources, parables and stories such as the rich fool (Luke 12:16-21) and Lazarus raised from the dead (Luke 16:19-31) to illustrate the history of social justice in the church and to demonstrate how Jesus promoted justice in his life and teaching.

“Social justice is not a new concept to the Catholic Church,” he reminded his audience.

Justice is dealt with in the third pillar of the catechism, which presents the moral teaching of the church.

Irene Murphy, the vice president and national consultant for Benziger Publishing Co., spoke about the Catholic perspective on human sexuality. As of September 1996 all parochial schools and parish religious education programs will be using the Benziger Family Life Program. The Benziger series approaches sexuality in the context of family and social living, personal growth and self-understanding, respect for life and the spiritual dimension of the person. Ms. Murphy, who is the guardian of seven children, advised participants to set rules for their children about what is acceptable behavior and what is not.

“The work you do early on will pay off in the long-run,” she said.

She encouraged parents not to be afraid to talk about sexual topics with their child. “If your child isn’t getting the answers to his questions from you, he’s getting them from somebody.”

And finally Ms. Murphy encouraged participants to use the documents of the church, like the catechism and the encyclical Humanae Vitae, as resources to know where the church stands on sexuality issues. “If you want your child to know the church position on birth control, then you had better know it,” said Ms. Murphy.

Youth ministers Lisa Bohn, St. Catherine of Siena Parish, Kennesaw, Patti Jugenheimer, St. John Neumann, Lilburn, Randy Raus, St. Ann’s, Marietta and Barbara Garvin, St. Pius X, Conyers, gave presentations on the basic skills needed for youth ministry, development of the spiritual life of teenagers, how to work with teens in crisis and reminding teens of the social justice issues. National speakers Lisa and Steve Walker, the co-directors of religious education and youth ministry for St. Mary’s Church in Winter Park, Fla. Demonstrated how to plan a successful retreat for teens.

“It was a good time for us to come together and network and dialogue about each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” said Kathy Wolf, youth consultant for the Archdiocese of Atlanta. “It helped us share some common concerns and helped us develop some methodology for addressing those concerns.”