South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 37, No. 2, Ed. 1 Friday, January 18, 2002 Page: 7 of 16
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January 18, 2002
in the news
South Texas Catholic -
Draft of National Directory for Catechesis sent to bishops
By Jerry Filteau
T T 7ASHINGTON (CNS) — The first
V V draft of a new National Directory
for Catechesis was sent to all U.S. bishops
Jan. 4.
The directory will be a basic statement
of what should be done in religious edu-
cation in the United States.
It adapts and applies to the U.S. situa-
tion the church’s Gen-
eral Directory for
Catechesis, which
Pope John Paul II
approved in 1997.
It also draws
exten-
sively
from
the
‘Cat-
CNS file photo/Nancy Wiechec
Roland Richard Minero and Rosa
Miriam Cornejo join in a Bible
discussion during a backyard
gathering of a parish-sponsored small
Christian community in Washington.
The first draft of the new National
Directory for Catechesis stresses
the need for religious formation at
different stages in life, including
catechesis of the elderly. It also
addresses programs for home-based
catechesis including small Christian
communities.
echism of the Catholic Church” issued by
Pope John Paul in 1992.
When completed, the National Di-
rectory for Catechesis will replace the
National Catechetical Directory approved
by the bishops in 1977 and published in
1979 under the title “Sharing the Tight of
Faith.”
Tike the earlier directory, the new one
will serve as a guide for all those who
have catechetical responsibilities in U.S.
dioceses and parishes, especially those
responsible for organizing and supervising
diocesan and parish catechetical pro-
grams.
Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes of New
Orleans, chairman of the five-bishop
Editorial Oversight Board, which was
formed in 2000 to oversee the writing of
the directory, said in a cover letter that the
national consultation on the draft text is
to be carried out from January to April.
“As you read this draft” he said, “please
keep in mind that a national directory is
to provide the guidelines and principles
that shape catechetical ministry in this
country. But that is not all: A national
directory is itself a teaching tool that
establishes the sure foundation and the
necessary formation needed for those who
catechize.”
Daniel S. Mulhall, assistant secretary for
catechesis and inculturation in the U.S.
Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Depart-
ment of Education and a staff coordina-
tor of the directory project, said 15,000
copies of the draft have been printed in
English and 2,000 in Spanish. The text,
which runs more than 100,000 words, has
been printed on newsprint in a 96-page
tabloid.
Mulhall said more than 150 dioceses
and eparchies — dioceses of Eastern
Catholic churches — have named con-
sultation coordinators who will organize
local meetings of diocesan and parish
catechetical officials and others to discuss
and critique the draft.
They have been asked to convene their
consultant groups in one to three meet-
ings, about five to six hours per meeting,
for in-depth small-group and plenary ses-
sions on the directory.
All participants in the diocesan consul-
tations are to receive copies of the draft
at least three weeks ahead of time so they
can read the entire document and write
their own individual comments, which
will also be collected and submitted to
the national office along with the results
of the group meetings. The deadline for
submitting responses to the national of-
fice is April 15.
Included at the end of each section of
the draft text is a boxed set of evaluation
questions, asking the reader to judge the
section on overall quality, tone, readabil-
ity and balance between theoretical con-
tent and practical directives. Open-ended
questions ask readers to suggest additions
or deletions in each section or make other
comments on it.
“Some dioceses have asked for as
many as 700 copies, some as few as five,”
Mulhall said. He said their approaches
vary widely, with some dioceses planning
a series of regional gatherings and others
having a single session for representatives
throughout the diocese.
Some dioceses are seeking input from
all parishes, while others are asking only
diocesan staff to review the document, he
said.
He estimated that about a third to half
of the dioceses conducting consultations
are planning to hold sessions in Spanish
as well as English.
In addition, he said, about 25 Catholic
colleges, universities and national orga-
nizations have asked to participate in the
consultation.
Archbishop Hughes’ committee is to
review the responses in June. A final draft
could be brought to the bishops for debate
and vote as early as their meeting next
November. Once the bishops approve it, it
must be sent to the Holy See for final re-
view and “recognitio,” a form of approval.
March for Life 2002 takes aim
By Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) — Organizers
of the Jan. 22 March for Fife in Wash-
ington are hoping that the 29th annual
event will help erase some of the “code
words” in U.S. political debates that they
say are used to make abortion “politi-
cally correct.”
Terms such as “the right of a woman
to her own body” are masking the fact
that 4,000 pre-born babies are killed
each day, said Nellie Gray, who has orga-
nized the march since 1974.
Gray said tightened Washington secu-
rity after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11
will present no major problems for the
march or for march participants plan-
ning to enter the Capitol and congres-
sional office buildings to discuss pro-life
issues with their legislators.
“The march is a go,” Gray told Catho-
lic News Service Dec. 26 after conferring
with law enforcement officials.
Prior to the march, the annual Na-
tional Prayer Vigil for Fife will be held
Jan. 21 at the Basilica of the National
Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
The prayer vigil is being sponsored by
the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’
Secretariat for Pro-Tife Activities, the
basilica and The Catholic University of
America.
The vigil starts with an 8 p.m. Mass.
See LIFE, page 13
Holy Family jrd A\nnual ^
Wardi Gras CaLsiLno Mite Dance jt
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2, 2002 \
OMNI BA YFRONT HOTEL
St
6 PM. - / AM.
ALL YOU CAN EAT DINNER BUFFET
6 PM. - 8 PM.
DANCE ALL NIGHT TO MUSIC BY
DJ TEJANO JOE
M
CASINO TABLES OPEN 8 PM - 12 MIDNIGHT
AUCTION WILL IMMEDIATLEY FOLLOW
A Las Vegas Trip Drawing for VIP Ticket
Holders and a $100 cash drawing for
General Admission ticket holders will be
held at the end of the evenings events.
Tickets can be purchased at the Holy
Family Parish Office located at 2509
Nogales St., Corpus Christi, TX $50 VIP
Admission or $25 General Admission
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Espitia, Paula. South Texas Catholic (Corpus Christi, Tex.), Vol. 37, No. 2, Ed. 1 Friday, January 18, 2002, newspaper, January 18, 2002; Corpus Christi, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth855642/m1/7/: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .