USCCB's NDC Denver Workshop

Mike Steier answers questions during the USCCB's Denver workshop on implementation of the National Directory for Catechesis.

NDC Workshop

I’m in Denver CO waiting to participate in the USCCB’s NDC workshop. I’ve heard good reports from several people who’ve attended the workshops. I’m looking forward to hearing what Dan and Mike have to say about the Directory. Is there someway we can share outlines we’ve created to conduct workshops on the NDC in our own Dioceses? If we found a way to share workshop outlines over the internet would you share files or accessing outlines from other dioceses? Leave a comment and let us know what you think about sharing NDC workshop outlines.

Don

Fall 2005 Rep Council Meeting

The Fall 2005 Rep Council Meeting will be held October 27-29, 2005 at the Holiday Inn in Elk Grove Village, IL. The meeting will begin with dinner at Dinner 5:30 PM. We end with Mass on Saturday at 5 PM. New Rep Council members will have an orientation on Thursday at 4:30. I will post the agenda for the meeting once the agenda is published.

Treasures from the NDC

I’m finding some treasures as I work my way through the National Directory for Catechesis. For example the Conclusion to chapter two is an excellent summary. (NDC pages 67 – 68) I find the part of the conclusion quoted below useful to explain catechesis to parents, catechists and even first year parish catechetical leaders.

Catechesis nurtures the seed of faith sown by the Holy Spirit through the initial proclamation of the Gospel. It gives growth to the gift of faith given in Baptism and elaborates the meaning of the sacraments. Catechesis develops a deeper understanding of the mystery of Christ, encourages more profound incorporation into the Church, and nourishes Christian living. It encourages discipleship in Christ and instructs in Christian prayer. Just as the mission of evangelization enlivens the Church’s pastoral and missionary activity, catechesis makes concrete her mission of evangelization. It constitutes the “Good News” that Christ commissioned his apostles to spread throughout the whole world and announce to every person. (NDC page 68)

Diocesan Directors Symposium--Info Sent

An email with registration information for the December Symposium has been sent to Diocesan Directors. As you know,Dr. Gaillardetz will be working with us to examine the contemporary cultural and ecclesial contexts in which we minister. We will have the opportunity to explore the variety of ecclesiologies underlying the pluralism in today's Church and to develop strategies for carrying out catechetical ministry in this postmodern environment.

Who: Diocesan Directors and those invited by diocesan directors

When: December 8-10, 2005
Begins 7 PM on Thursday ends 6 PM on Saturday

Where: Holiday Inn Elk Grove Village, IL

How much: The total costs for the symposium, including registration, room, reception Thursday evening, breakfast, lunch, dinner on Friday and breakfast and lunch on Saturday, are as follows:

Single 2 nights:$385.
Single 3 nights:$465 (Saturday evening)

Double 2 nights:$305.
Double 3 nights:$345 (Saturday evening)

Financial Assistance available. To obtain an application contact Patty Vrabel at pvrabel@nccl.org.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to contact Katherine J. Kandefer, BVM, 202.884.9755, kkandefer@nccl.org or Jim Kemna, 573-635-9127, DDREForum@gmail.com, who has been chairing the planning committee for the event.

Click here for a list of advanced reading material for the symposium.

Bishops' Ad Hoc Committee Meets with Publishers

Just received this from NCEA's Department Of Religious Education Executive Director Diana Dudoit Raiche

Bishops' Ad Hoc Committee to Oversee the Use of the Catechism - Meeting with Publishers of Catechetical Materials:

Approximately 20 publishers and invited representatives from national organizations met with the Ad Hoc Committee to Oversee the Use of the Catechism on September 9, 2005. Bishop Leonard P. Blaire of Toledo, OH chaired the meeting for Archbishop Alfred C. Hughes of New Orleans, who was unable to attend. Of the topics discussed, the following seven items may be of interest to diocesan and parish catechetical leaders.

1. The Compendium to the Catechism of the Catholic Church is not intended to supplant the Catechism, but it is expected to be an ancillary text suitable for Catholic high school and possibly some junior high school students. Following the four-pillar structure of the Catechism, the Compendium, a new composition, includes prayers in the vernacular as well as in Latin, and includes formulas of Catholic doctrine. Memorization of common formulas of the faith and prayers in Latin is encouraged.

2. United States Catholic Catechism for Adults awaits the recognitio from Rome. Based on the 15 months that it took to receive the recognitio for the National Directory for Catechesis, approval of the adult catechism could possibly arrive in early 2006.

3. Catechetical Treatment of the Trinity: Retaining the mystery of the Holy Trinity is a matter of concern. As the central mystery of our faith, it is necessary to present and explain the divinely revealed names of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It is acceptable to use the title God, as is commonly done for the First Person alone, provided that it is made clear that each Divine Person individually can properly be called God.

4. Justice and Charity: It is important not to confuse these two concepts and to offer a parallel treatment of them. Justice refers to what is due human beings as human beings. Rather than an act of duty, charity is giving that is motivated out of love.

5. Doctrinal Guidelines for High School Materials: Consultation from the field regarding these Guidelines is completed. It is expected the Guidelines will go before the Bishops for vote in June 2006. Each bishop will implement the Guidelines as he sees fit.

6. Guiding Principles for Education in Human Sexuality focuses on morality, virtues, the moral virtue of chastity, doctrinal elements, as well as the rights and responsibilities of parents, the Church's role and the role of directors for education. Still in process, this document is expected to go before the Bishops at the 2006 November meeting.

7. Whole Community Catechesis should be used in conjunction with ordinary, systematic catechesis.
Department of Religious Education newsletters available here.

National Directory for Catechesis

I’m thinking about the upcoming Rep Council meeting. The Rep Council will met October 27, 2005 through October 29, 2005 for its fall meeting. I hope one of the agenda items will be a discussion of the NDC. Specifically I hope we will articulate the support Provinces and Organizations would like to see NCCL offer as they implement the NDC in their provinces and organizations. Given the Directory’s emphasis on planning I would like to see a comprehensive list of planning tools parishes, dioceses and organizations could use in developing a process to plan for catechesis. What about an evaluation tool dioceses and parishes could use to evaluate their catechetical efforts based on the Directory. The list of 23 functions for a diocesan catechetical office found on pages 250 – 252 would work to create an evaluation form. What other tools do we need because of the vision painted by the Directory?

Don

Please Comment

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LIM and LIMEX Temporary Web page

The Loyola Institute for Ministry Hurricane Update Page is located here.
You will find links for sharing course materials and other LIM and LIMEX resources. The site also contains links with other information on New Orleans.

Loyola New Orleas Link

Loyola New Orleans

The following information from the Loyolan New Orleans Blog
Loyola New Orleans is closed at this time. The University experienced only minor physical damage from the storm; however, the threat of rising water is a continual concern. At this time, we have personnel onsite assessing the damage and making necessary emergency repairs. Obviously, no determination has been made about resuming normal operations.

Click here for the blog.

Communicating with Loved ones!

I can't take credit for this idea. I first read it here. With my own children in three different cities and my parents and siblings scattered all over the country I plan on implementing this idea.

"have we conjured a definitive communications plan, for our loved ones, to employ in the event of a disaster? The American Red Cross encourages every household to develop a 'Family Communication Plan.'"

We've already added the "ICE" item to our cell phones and PDAs. (ICE stands for Incase of an Emergency.) Now I see it is time to take the next step.

If you have word from or about any of our members in the HURRICANE region leave us a comment (Click on the comment link below) or send us an email at DDREForum@gmail.com and I'll post your comment.

Don