Francis has given the American Bishops some more work. Perhaps it will keep them out of trouble
The ministry of Catechist in the Church is an ancient one
Therefore, after having taken all things into consideration, and by apostolic authority
I establish
the lay ministry of Catechist.
9. I invite the Episcopal Conferences to render effective the ministry of Catechist, determining the necessary process of formation and the normative criteria for admission to this ministry and devising the most appropriate forms for the service which these men and women will be called to exercise in conformity with the content of this Apostolic Letter.
Earlier this year the Pope determined the women could be given the permanent ministries of Lector and Acolyte. So the bishops will have to do the same things as above for both those ministries.
It a good time to think about how our parishes might look if with had laity instituted in all these of these ministries.
Think about your parishes and parishes with whom you are familiar. How many of these might their be, what might be their duties, how might they related to one another, various ministries in the parishes, priests and deacons and various paid people in the parish, e.g. the choir director, pastoral associates, business managers, etc. What relationship might they have to parish schools? RCIA?
Should all these ministries be mostly voluntary as is the case with deacons, or should we institute a lot of our paid parish personnel into these ministries?
Do you have any concerns about turning limited term appointments to reader, Eucharistic ministers, and religious educators into more permanent ministries? What are the advantages and disadvantages to this?
Catechists, choir and instrumental musicians, EMHCs, etc. are volunteers here. That's the way most of us like it. We can decide for ourselves how much we are able and willing to do. Deacons are volunteer, too. There are some who have jobs at the archdiocese level which are paid positions. One deacon is chancellor, for instance.
ReplyDeleteOne catechist, at least, is a candidate for sainthood, Servant of God Nicholas Black Elk.
Not that Nicholas Black Elk was local. He was Lakota, from South Dakota. He was a survivor of Wounded Knee.
DeleteMaybe not a great idea, it could just create yet another level of clericalism. Think of Jean’s Church Ladies, who are found in every parish. They already have a clericalism mindset.
ReplyDeleteHaha, Jack. Something to keep the bishops occupied and away from mischief. I like that.
ReplyDeleteMost parishes in this area have a professional staff member in charge of religious education (or, as we referred to it when I was a kid, CCD). The actual classroom content is taught by volunteers.
ReplyDeleteThe archdiocese has had a certified catechist designation for a number of years now. I think some of our volunteers have achieved certification. I assume this instituted ministry, though, is different than a certification - it would be an acknowledgment that a person is called to this as a vocation (or avocation). It should have a spiritual dimension to it.
My guess is that it both professional staff members and volunteers will be nominated.
And then there are the Catholic school teachers - I don't exactly how many there are, but there could be tens of thousands in the US. Surely some of them would be considered candidates for this instituted ministry.
About the Catholic school teachers, I'm guessing it would be the ones who actually teach religion who would be candidates for an instituted ministry. In our school there have been teachers who were Christians of other denominations. The religion classes are normally taught by Catholic staff members.
Delete