Parishioners who model Christ are most effective teachers, says pope

Published: 2007-10-24

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- Clergy, lay catechists and parishioners who model their lives according to Christ represent the most effective tools for teaching the word of God, Pope Benedict XVI said. "Whoever teaches the faith cannot risk appearing like a sort of clown who just performs a role for one's job," the pope said Oct. 24 at his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square. The catechist should not go through the motions, but "must be like the beloved disciple who rests his head on the heart of his Master" to hear and learn how to think, speak and act, he said. Continuing a series of audience talks about early church theologians, Pope Benedict focused his remarks on St. Ambrose, a fourth-century bishop of Milan, Italy, and a doctor of the church. St. Ambrose would prepare his catechumens by going over the moral teachings of sacred Scripture "until they were following in the footsteps of divine laws," the pope said.

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