A national directory for catechesis, evangelisation and religious
education, the first of its kind to be published in Ireland, has been
described as "revolutionary" and a "time bomb" by Archbishop of Dublin
Diarmuid Martin.
Both Dr Martin and Cardinal Seán Brady were both present for the launch of Share the Good News in the Mater Dei Institute of Education in Dublin.
The
directory was launched by Bishop Bill Murphy, Bishop of Kerry and
chairman of the Episcopal Council for Catechetics and the document's
author and editor Rev Dr Gareth Byrne.
The directory is a 10-year
plan for the Catholic Church in Ireland covering evangelisation,
religious education and catechesis - the process by which people are
introduced to faith.
Dr Martin described the directory as a "time
bomb" thrown into the catechetical establishment and the religious
education establishment.
"It is an invitation to break away from
our current situation which is overly school-oriented and bring back
into the picture in a more focussed way the central role of the parish
and the family. It is a reminder that catechesis does not end with the
Leaving Certificate," he said.
He noted that the directory was
being published at a time of great change in Irish religious culture
where the faith education in schools was under scrutiny.
"There
are various contending voices and interest groups, speaking often in a
polarised way, and there is very little common reflection on what the
right way forward should be. I still believe that a broad National Forum
on the future of education provision and the place of faith education
in the Irish educational system would be of value."
He said the
proposals made in the directory were "revolutionary" for parishes:
"There is need to provide a new generation of catechists in our
parishes, both full-time professional catechists but above all as a new
group of committed lay people who will take on a period of formation to
be voluntary catechists in their parishes."
"I know that what I am
saying may upset some and that it might also delight those who would
like to see all forms of faith formation removed from schools that
receive State funding.
"The right of parents to choose the type of
education they wish for children is a fundamental right. This right is
not an invention of the Catholic Church in Ireland or of an out-of-date
Irish Constitution. It is clearly present in all the major international
human rights instruments."
He said that, if the new national
directory was to be effective for evangelisation and renewal in the
Church that it must address the current situation directly.
"One
way or other we have to recognise that our system of school catechesis
is not drawing young people in sufficient numbers into the life of our
sacramental communities," Dr Martin said.
Cardinal Brady described
the directory as a "most significant document" which addressed in a
unified, coherent and co-ordinated manner many of the issues pressing
for the Irish Catholic Church.
"I believe that there are many
people who know they have a part to play in handing on that faith to the
new generations," he said.
"My hope is that as many adults as
possible will engage with this beautifully produced document and make it
their own - so that what we are launching today will really be a decade
of renewed evangelisation and catechesis in Ireland."
SIC: IT/IE