Catechetics

CATECHETICA. — The science of catechesis; that is, the science which teaches that particular didactic method which, adapted to the spiritual mentality of its hearers, leads them to knowledge and understanding of religious truths. Strictly speaking, it is therefore an “art of teaching”; however, from the earliest times the Church did not adhere to this narrowly limited concept, but rightly broadened its meaning to include education, that is, the formation of the will and character of the catechumen and the Christian. Indeed, as the catechumen advanced in religious instruction, he also underwent a process of purification and justification; and once the baptism of children became customary, catechetical instruction aimed at making conscious and freely willed the supernatural life received in germ in Baptism. For this very reason, c. becomes an ecclesiastical and theological discipline, a branch of pastoral theology and not merely of ordinary pedagogical science, although it rightly appropriates from the latter its useful methods and genuine advances. And if at times, as, for example, during the period of the Enlightenment, the educational and formative purpose was relegated to a secondary position and almost faded into the background, the Church reacted and always sought by every means to restore c. to its original concept and practice.
THE LAWS OF C. — Setting aside here the rules offered by general methodology for teaching, we shall limit ourselves to indicating those that must specifically be followed in order to fulfill the dignity and requirements proper to the transmission of religious instruction.

1. The method in its characteristics

a) Naturalness. The method must naturally conform to the nature of the pupils. In children, intellectual life is more closely bound to the use of the senses, which are therefore called the gateway to knowledge. It will consequently be necessary to employ all those means (comparisons, parables, examples, stories, images) that serve to make perceptible the abstract ideas and formulas with which religious truths are presented in the catechism. With young people, on the other hand, whose intelligence is becoming more refined, and with adults, reasoning will be used more effectively, and therefore those means that display the logic of doctrine with precision; b) unity. The subjects must be clearly determined and logically coordinated so as to form a harmonious whole; c) clarity, for an exact understanding that does not give rise to doubts or false ideas.

2. The method with regard to the division of the material

It may be: a) cyclical, when one seeks to develop the whole of the material within a given period, then taking it up again, even several times, but with ever greater breadth and depth; b) linear, when, after the material has been divided according to a logical order, it is treated thoroughly once, without repetitions or returns.

3. The method with regard to exposition

It may be: a) analytical, when it investigates all the details of a truth; b) synthetic, when, in the principles, it recalls what has been developed in the details; c) inductive, if it rises from a fact to its cause; d) deductive, if it seeks the principle as realized and living in individual facts and phenomena; e) historical, if it deduces the truth from the exposition of ordered and interconnected facts; f) logical, if it rationally links two or more successive ideas or facts; g) abstract, if it expresses concepts and ideas without drawing support from facts; h) concrete, if it presents facts and things as proof and support of the ideas it wishes to clarify.

All these methods have their importance and usefulness; but rather than adopting one or the other rigidly, it will be useful to know how to alternate or harmoniously combine them, according to the circumstances.

Much is said or written about the «active method», about «activism», which, just as it is applied to other subjects, is also properly applied to religious instruction. It is an ancient method, and always new—or rather, continually renewed according to the genius, zeal, and activity of the teacher. It consists in applying the principle: the pupil does not merely wish to listen; the pupil must be impelled to take an interest in the subjects and, so to speak, to live them. Hence the many devices ordinarily used to arouse interest and participation. The principal ones, shown to be highly effective, are: gathering around a truth or precept observations derived from the environment or from the history unfolding before the pupils’ eyes; graphic representations and drawings; collecting poems and clippings concerning what has been said in the lesson; competitions; questionnaires, to which the pupil must respond in writing; «life notebooks», in which the pupil sets out his or her impressions and resolutions regarding the truths heard. Effectiveness in terms of the outcome will depend on always keeping in view the goal to be attained—the formation of the will and character—and on not confusing the means with the end.

4. Teaching aids

These are ancillary means which, while sharpening interest, also help to fix the truth more firmly in the mind, facilitate remembrance, and promote practice: artistic and religious illustrations (churches, cathedrals, paintings, statues, sanctuaries, famous pictures), geographical maps, still projections, short films, attendance at liturgical services, accompanied by a clear explanation that makes participation in the rite more intimate and conscious (cf. L. Vigna, L'introduzione nella istruzione religiosa, Torino 1924; id., Ai maestri. Linee e indirizzi pratici di didattica catechistica, Milano 1931; both with extensive catalogues of aids; likewise V. Brescia).

5. The catechism and teaching methodology

The qualities of a good teaching method must also be reflected in the text of the catechism, which constitutes the first and most indispensable aid to instruction. The text must therefore contain: a) sound doctrine, expressed in simple and clear forms that are easy to remember; b) appropriate illustrations, well chosen and attractive. The same should be said of the other «religious textbooks», which must avoid digressions, superfluity, oratory, etc., so that the pupil may clearly discern what must be studied and retained (from the illustrative standpoint, one may cite the publications of «Cultura religiosa popolare» of Viterbo, which cover the subjects of the catechism, as well as Sacred History and Church history; and, as an example, the elementary-school texts: Il re dei libri, by the Salesians of Turin; and the texts of Catholic Action for the various types of religious schools).

6. Learning by heart

The tendency to eliminate it is not sound. Without reducing it to deplorable parrot-learning, one must acknowledge that it is also necessary to know the principal prayers by heart for use in life, as well as the principal formulas, in order to avoid vague and unstable notions that easily degenerate into arbitrary and erroneous interpretations. Learning by heart is, moreover, consonant with the nature of the child and traditional, especially since the sixteenth century, when Cardinal Bellarmino entitled his small catechism: Dottrina cristiana breve, perché si possa imparare a memoria. It is also urged by Pius X in the Letter of 18 October 1912, Fin dai primordi, prefixed to his catechism: «In the first five elementary classes the entire text in the catechetical section must be learned word for word, so that the fundamental truths of the Faith may remain firmly impressed upon the mind. It is nevertheless of the utmost importance that the pupil understand, in a manner suited to his age, what he is learning; hence a twofold explanation is necessary: one of the words, which might prove more obscure (as far as possible), and the other of the content of the formulas to be studied. It is, however, always advantageous to require pupils also to express, in their own words, the answers learned by heart».

7. Catechetical centers

The establishment of international, national, and diocesan catechetical centers has proved highly useful for the pedagogical orientation of religious instruction; these centers can be consulted in order to facilitate all the tasks of C. Worthy of note is the Centre internazionali d'études de la formation religieuse, established at Louvain (and now transferred to Brussels) through the work of the Jesuits in 1934; since 1947 it has published a quarterly journal, Lumen vitae, containing formative articles, discussions, expositions of teaching methods, and religious texts; Les dossiers «formation religieuse», synoptic tables, and pamphlets; it organizes exhibitions, conferences, auditions, and screenings; and provides an extensive information service. In Italy, d. Pietro Ricaldone, fourth successor of s. Giovanni Bosco, founded the Salesian Catechetical Center for the purpose of promoting the Crociana catechetical movement among all social classes; it consists of a Catechetical Office (1939) and the publishing house «La Dottrina cristiana» (1941). Twenty-two Salesians are engaged there in its direction and organization, spreading the catechetical idea through congresses, exhibitions, screenings, propaganda in the dioceses, and the compilation and dissemination of texts and aids. The following journals are affiliated with it: Catechesi (since 1931), now in two editions: for secondary schools and for parishes and oratories; Teatro dei giovani (for religious performances for young people); Voci bianche (for sacred and recreational music); and various periodical series: Lux (catechism in examples for everyone); Fidens fulgens, veritas (for educated persons).