Archbishop says catechists need strong faith, no fear proclaiming it

Published: 2007-04-16

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Catechists must have a strong faith in Jesus and his church and must not be afraid to proclaim that belief to a culture that is sometimes hostile to the message, Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl of Washington said April 13 in an address to the National Catholic Educational Association convention in Baltimore. "Our teaching task is every bit as much to introduce someone to the faith as it is to strengthen and deepen their already present knowledge of the faith," Archbishop Wuerl said. "We preach and teach to people some of whom have not really tasted the joy of personal faith" in Jesus Christ. Catechists have a difficult job, he added, because they are teaching the faith in a culture that is "aggressively secular, to such an extent that the environment can be actually hostile to Christian faith." Archbishop Wuerl spoke in Baltimore to the 104th annual NCEA convention and the 15th annual National Association of Parish Catechetical Directors convocation held in conjunction with it. At the convention, he was awarded the 2007 Emmaus Award for Excellence in Catechesis.

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