"By contrast, the Cincinnati Archdiocese, led by Archbishop Daniel Pilarczyk, instructs catechists to choose a book from its own preferred list, which includes more than 30 texts that have not been found in conformity with the Catechism.
Catechists in Cincinnati also are allowed to choose any book as long as it has an imprimatur and 'nihil obstat' ensuring the book is free from doctrinal error. The bishops' review process checks books not only for error, but for completeness of presentation.
Despite Cincinnati's policy, a random check of parishes and schools there found many using texts in conformity with the Catechism."
Ms. Roberts raises a great point: that error is one thing and completeness another. Belloc wrote that "[h]eresy means, then, the warping of a system by 'Exception': by 'Picking out' one part of the structure and implies that the scheme is marred by taking away one part of it, denying one part of it, and either leaving the void unfilled or filling it with some new affirmation."
That's the nub of the problem with much of what passes for catechesis, and I think it's what most people intend to convey when they grouse about "social justice." In other words, there's nothing wrong with addressing the importance of our obligations to our fellow man so long as it doesn't supplant or leave "unfilled" dogma on the Incarnation, the Redemption, and the Resurrection. Otherwise we run the risk of devolving those obligations into a shallow, ethics-driven materialism.
That's also why I've spent considerable time fisking St. Anthony Messenger Press's Catholic Update publications. Far too often, when they aren't presenting outright erroneous teaching, they're "warping" the Faith by cherry-picking favorite topics and excluding other, more central, ones.
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I spent a few years in the Cincinnati Diocese (Dayton area) in the mid-90’s. I didn’t really find the religious education program much different from many other areas of the country I have called home over the years. There were a few oddities. For example, the sacrament of reconciliation was not required to receive First Holy Communion. Parents were told to take their child to confession they deemed the child ready. Try to do it by fourth grade. Well, I can tell you there were many children older than fourth grade who were receiving Communion and had never been to confession. The biggest problem with religious education programs is the lack of parental catechesis. Those of us who received our CCD classes after Vatican II were often caught in the confusion of what to teach. That is why I like the family model of religious education. It brings the parents in and gets them up to speed as well as teaching the children. I agree that concentration on social justice without understanding the basic tenets of the Faith is a problem.
As a parishoner and catechist in the Cincinnati diocese, my issue is less with the materials than the diocesan classes required for catechist certification. Having only attended 3 of such classes, I have learned:
that Eucharistic miracles are silly nonsense and only for "those" people who require that kind of thing for faith;
that Baptism isn't a "spot remover" and that original sin is really a state of the world - not an individual thing, therefore, feel free to hold on infant baptism since it's really more of an initiation than an efficacious sacrament;
that maybe Mary wasn't really a virgin at all (even at the conception of Jesus) because her "theological" virginity is more important than her "biological" virginity;
that all religions are truth and reasonable paths to heaven and "people" (like BXVI)who write "things" like Dominus Iesus were a "stumbling block" to true ecuminism;
that we as a culture have an incorrect understanding of the word "symbol" and that it is perfectly ok to teach people that the Eucharist is a symbol of Christ (heard this at more than one);
and that keeping Sunday holy (like going to Mass) isn't really so much an issue as long as you find one day a week (maybe Wednesday!) to focus on God (actually, I wasn't there for that one, a friend of mine was.)
When I spoke with one of the instructors after a session and asked about Magisterial documents that support some of these items, I was informed that "we" (her and I!?!) were the magisterium and that it is the "people's" understanding of these issues that guides the Church.
Net end, you can use the best texts in the English language (not to say that we do), but that won't help as long as you have catechists who are misinformed and parents who are only slightly informed. IMHO, we need to start with the adults when it comes to RE.
The Catholic Updates are a sore spot with me. They are (or were) used extensively by our parish RCIA team. I didn't so much find them heretical (teaching postively false things) as designedly tendentious (omitting things that didn't fit with the squishy, feel-good Catholicism that seemed to be their guiding light). While still a new Team member I approached the Team Leader to complain about the Update on Conscience. It completely ignored the Church's clear and consistent teaching about the duty to form your conscience. The "your conscience is supreme" of course was prominent. What kind of formation is that for prospective Catholics?
dennis, as a convert who heard the "your conscience is supreme" drivel in RCIA, i can tell you point blank it has caused me a great deal of pain. after the birth of my last child, i had a tubal ligation, after all, my conscience said i couldn't handle anymore kids. it wasn't until i found an orthodox parish and "Familia" that i came to realize the horrible mistake. i hope to have a reversal soon.
Anon 10:38AM.,
Would you mind dropping me an email?
Hey, they let me into the Catholic Church with NO catechesis at all. This was the Jesuits in Chicago in the late seventies. No danger of heresy there but they spared me a lot of details.
I told Father that I wanted to make a confession before I was confirmed. He absolved me but I don't remember getting any kind of penance. I did have a sin on my conscience from the 16 year period commencing with my baptism at age 12.
The Jesuits certainly know a wise and saintly 28 year old convert when they see one.
I have been in the Cincinnati Archdiocese for the last 13 years -the entire time my son was in school - all but kindergarden in a 'Catholic' school. Now as a senior of one of the well know 'West Side' all boys Catholic High Schools (think purple) - I have had several run-in's with the so called religion teachers at his school. Last semester he was taught by one of the Co-Chairs of the HS Religion department. The teacher asserted in class that Mary wasn't a virgin (this veiw was taught by the Church because of it's unhealthy view of sex), that woman should be allowed to be priests (yes, Jesus only picked men but that was due to the culture at the time) and that we should address God as He/She. When my son questioned him in class - the teacher couldn't give any real answers and the other 'guys' laughed at him.
When I called and questioned his teaching - as my son had decided he was heretic (and he was correct), the teacher claimed that he had said these were his personal beliefs and he had explained that to the students. It is no wonder that most of the high schoolers at this HS were called 'effective agnostics' by a priest who recently taught there.
All for lack of truth and LEADERSHIP.
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