State of Cathechism in U.S. (fwd)

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Okay, now I done it.  Tyler had asked:

>  Wow!  If the official Catechism states that, then why wasn't
>  I ever taught it?

So I thought I'd ask a Catholic for the answer.  It's a bit more
long-winded than I expected, but here it is ;-)

Richard
--

Forwarded message:
> Date: Thu, 21 Dec 1995 11:49:46 -0600
> From: Dave Wagle <dave@aries.uthscsa.edu>
> Organization: UT Health Science Center
> To: Richard Masoner <richardm@cd.com>
> Subject: Re: State of Cathechism in U.S.


First of all, we have to ask something about what the Catechism is, and
perhpas more importantly, what it is not.  The Universal Catechism is a
collection of explanations of acceptable teachings, practices,
attitudes, dogma, and doctrine of the Latin Catholic Church. It is ment
to be used as instructive material in instructing Catholics about their
faith, and as a handy reference guide for those who do the teaching.
It is not a theological text, and does not represent the standing of
theology in the Catholic Church, nor should its contents be looked upon
as limiting. That is, if an idea or expression does not appear in the
Catechism, that does not mean that such an idea or expression is not
orthodox, or even normative.

So, the Cathechism is an "instruction book" for Catholics, but that
doesn't make it the only valid beliefs on all subjects. For example,
the question of the sin of Adam as being necessary or not for the
Incarnation is not addressed at all. (as an aside, the Benedictines say
it was necessary, Franciscans say that it was not -- I personaly like
the Franciscan view. The official Catholic position, as stated by Papal
decree, is that both views, though mutually exclussive, are exceptable)
So, we should not make the mistake of thinking that the Catechism is
authoritative on all subjects as to what Catholics must believe.

Moreover, it must be recognized that the Catechism presumes a certain
theological system for its teaching statements, and those who are not
of a particular theological school may hold genuinly orthodox beliefs
which are not expressed or even seemingly contradicted by the
Catechism. Such instances are probably rare, but they are genuinly
possible.

Now, we see that the Catechism is ment as a teaching tool to instruct
in A correct understand of the Catholic faith, not the only correct
understanding of the Catholic faith; it is neither comprehensive of
issues or ideas within orthodox Catholicism. But how do we answer the
question of "why was I never taught that?"

Well, the answer to that question is many and varied, and there are as
many asnwers as there are people asking the question. Let's look at
some of the more common reasons:

1) The quality of Catechists. Most teachers of religion and catechism
at the parish and Catholic school level know very little about the
subject themselves. Very few have any formal theological training, and
even fewer have that training from respected Catholic institutions.
Very often they are well meaning, faithfull people who are simply
largely ignorant of the subject they are trying to convey. They are
forced to rely on supplementary materials to help them teach their
subject matter. Until the publication of the New Catechism, there was
very little in the way of comprehensive, orthodox Catholic material on
the market for the Catechists  to use. Moreover, due to budget
constraints in most parishes and Catholic schools, what quality
materials were available were often outside the available means of the
schools and parishes to obtain them.

2) Political motivations in the local hierarchies. Politics, in the
history of the Church, has done far more harm than good. Liberal
Catholics scoff at tradition while conservative Catholics scoff at
Papal statements on allowing the faith to expand its horizons; people
of both stripes often conspire, either intentionally or
unintentionally, to foist their views onto those over whom they have
influence.  It is not unheard of for people who are teaching orthodox
Catholicism to be removed from teaching positions because their
teaching did not line up with the political views of those to whom they
report. As a result, many Catechists have resorted to teaching a very
watered down Catholicism that tries to stear clear of any of the
"politically incorrect" subjects. With groups like Dignity on one hand
and the SSPX on the other, it is not hard to see why this is the case.

3) Different theological schools. More than one person who was raised
in the Augustinian, Franciscan, and other non-thomistic schools have
looked in the Catechism and went "huh?!" Again, just becuase what you
were taught does not appear to line up with the Catechism does not mean
that what you were taught is incorrect or unorthodox in any way. It may
mean that you were taught something in a different theological school
than that upon which most of the Catechism is based.

4) Failure to instruct. I know I am not alone when I note that by the
time I was ready for conformation, I knew about Adam and Eve, Noah,
Abraham and Isaac, Jesus, and Peter and Paul, then I knew that there
were 7 sacraments, I had to go to confession now and again, and that
you should never throw spit balls at a nun. In other words, what I was
taught was not a deep understanding of Catholicism, nor even a deep
understanding of general Christianity, but a concise overview of
Judaic-Christian tradition. I think there are several reasons for this,
the biggest is that CCD classes are often run by volunteers who are
even less schooled in the subject matter at had than the few paid
Catechists in the parish. Moreover, because of the frequent dirth of
volunteers, far more time is paid to "classroom managment" than to
instruction.

5) Failed family support. Education begins and ends at home, that fact
can not be denied. If parents encourage and support reading, kids read;
if parents encourage and support being a couch potatoe in front of the
tv, then kids are couch potatoes in front of the tv. Likewise, if
parents encourage and support a strong religious faith, then the kids
will take religion seriously. If, on the other hand, religion, God, and
Church life are treated as a Sunday morning annoyance and unappreciated
obligations, then that is the level of importance children will place
on their religious education.  How many people who say "Why was I never
taught that?" lived in homes where the Liturgy of the Hours was said,
or the family prayed Rosaries together, or even said grace after each
meal and prayed together before bedtime (and not just when the kids
were little, but when they were in the teen years) ? In other words,
when folks say "Why was I never taught. . . " and try and foist the
blame of their failed religous education on the Church is it really a
failed home upbringing that did not emphasis God  in the family?

These are just some reasons, there are many others. The simple fact is,
is that Catechesis in Church in general and in the US in particular is
in an abysmal state. Most priests spend more time taking courses on
parish managment then they do taking courses in theology. Now, this
isn't entirely bad -- the Church needs priests, nuns, brothers, and
laity that are managers, liturgists, and councilors, but she also needs
sound theologians to bring the state of Catechesis back to something
more respectable. The problem is so great that the Church authorized
the writting and publication of the first official Catechism since the
Catechism of Trent, so the hierarchy is aware of the difficulty, and
perhaps we will see the tide turn.

The real answer to "Why was I never taught that?" Is that the Church is
made up of failable and failed human beings, but we all have a chance
and a choice to daily return to Truth and to daily instruct ourselves
in our faith. We can't change the past, but we can make up for it.

Peace,

Dave