I would like to thank The Sunday Times for carrying a front page story last week containing the comments of psychiatrist Anton Grech on catechism and Holy Communion.
Fear and coercion are not part of catechetical methodology or content. Should that happen, even one case would be one too many- Fr Giovanni Curmi
Though many public commentators see religion on the decline and Church attendance inexorably decreasing, the fact that The Sunday Times gave it such importance may indicate otherwise.
The interview and title of the article may induce one to make a sweeping statement on what happens during catechism meetings. One might be tempted to think that children are by and large being psychologically abused and traumatised by catechists who speak threateningly of devils and hell.
Fear and coercion are not part of catechetical methodology or content. Should that happen, even one case would be one too many. Catechism is about God’s love and beauty, manifested through the humanity of Jesus Christ, Son of God.
We will undoubtedly take notice of Grech’s conclusions. Even in catechism, expert help from professionals in such fields as psychiatry is indeed of great benefit. We will continue to work harder in order to be not only experts and professionals in catechesis and child psychology, but above all, witnesses of the Gospel to children, their families and society at large.
For the benefit of readers who may be interested, I would like to offer a synthetic view of a new catechetical experience in the Gozo diocese. It is not without its shortcomings, but we have been receiving positive feedback both from children and their parents. We hope to continue improving. Many young catechists, including young mothers, are involved in this project.
Some three years ago the Diocesan Catechetical Commission, with the approval of the bishop, decided to employ the Godly Play methodology of Jerome Berryman for the first three years of catechism (five to eight-year-olds), preparing children for their first Confession and First Holy Communion.
Berryman’s approach is based on the ‘Good Shepherd Catechesis’ developed by Sofia Cavalletti, and has the elements of a lectio divina for the children. Godly Play gives children the opportunity not only to listen to a biblical story or how the Church celebrates and expresses its faith through the liturgy, but also to appropriate these stories and liturgical explanations.
Children come to this ‘sacred’ room where they sit on a carpet in a circle to hear and visualise a biblical story. They have the opportunity to react to the story and then are given enough time to continue to think and reflect on the story or any other story they may have heard previously.
After this ‘play’ time, the children come again in the circle and spend a few moments in silence in the presence of a small statue of Baby Jesus. They are then invited to share their prayers and conclude their sessions with a common prayer. The session lasts about an hour.
Two catechists are responsible for organising and conducting each catechetical session. They have different roles, but work as a team. Catechists receive formal training in this methodology and continuing formation meetings are held for them throughout the year.
Half of the parishes in the diocese have adopted this method and others are planning to introduce it. The parish priests have invested in setting up a specific room for this type of catechesis as well as buying the required resources.
The Church and most Catholic families in general appreciate the personal commitment of our catechists whose only motive is to help our children experience God’s love.
As a general rule, these ‘teachers of faith’ are well aware that “authentic catechesis is always an orderly and systematic initiation into the revelation that God has given of Himself to humanity in Christ Jesus, a revelation stored in the depths of the Church’s memory and in Sacred Scripture, and constantly communicated from one generation to the next by a living, active tradition” (CT 22).
On a more personal note, I have very fond memories of my childhood catechism years. I loved going to catechism meetings.
Catechists not only transmitted faith, but they loved us, believed in us and empowered us especially through theatre. I wish to thank them, though one has already passed away to finally contemplate Jesus face to face.
Fr Giovanni Curmi is the pastoral secretary of the Gozo diocese.