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With Pope Francis’ emphasis on the family and the energy and spirit he brings to the Church, the archdiocesan Catechetical Office is grateful for its participation in his apostolic visit to the United States and seeks to capitalize on the faithful enthusiasm it generates.
“We just gave away over 1,000 tickets to children and their guardians to see Pope Francis at Central Park,” said Sister Joan Curtin, C.N.D., director of the Catechetical Office. Those tickets were all gone in less than four hours.
They went to students in parish religious education programs across the archdiocese. “People were willing to make the sacrifice to travel,” said Sister Joan, referring especially to Catholics in the upper counties who had to traverse long distances to see the pontiff.
Other tickets for the Papal Mass at Madison Square Garden were distributed to religious directors and coordinators and those involved in instruction for the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA).
Oscar Cruz, director of family catechesis and RCIA ministry, was planning to attend the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. “We are delighted he is able to go,” Sister Joan said. “There is a great emphasis on family catechesis. He can go and learn and bring that back.”
To strengthen family catechesis, the office relies on mentors to train parish religious educators for the five-hour family catechesis component required of religious education students. “Parents realize they need to experience the faith to talk to their children about it,” Sister Joan said.
In a letter to the more than 9,000 catechists in the archdiocese for Catechetical Sunday, Sept. 20, Cardinal Dolan noted that the year ahead could be challenging for them. “This is a year of change, and I know well that change can be unsettling, perhaps even frightening. You may be a member of a parish that merged,” the cardinal wrote, alluding to the Making All Things New pastoral planning process that affected many parishes in the archdiocese.
“However, because you are so dedicated to the catechetical ministry, you have put those worries and concerns aside when you begin your religious education class. I will pray for you, your loved ones, and all the children and families whose lives you as a catechist touch,” he added.
With 90,000 children and youths in religious education classes across the archdiocese, Sister Joan said her office was working closely with merged parishes to make sure students know exactly where they are going. She said she has been encouraged by the early response from parishes.
“People are sad, but they love Jesus, they love the Church and they are trying their best,” she said.
The office is sponsoring its annual Catechetical Forum focusing on the Biblical quote: “Love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34).
The first session will be held Saturday, Oct. 3, at Cardinal Spellman High School in the Bronx and will feature keynote speaker Victor Valenzuela, national religion consultant for bilingual resources for William H. Sadlier Inc. The second session will be held Saturday, Oct. 17, at Sacred Heart Church in Monroe and feature keynoter Dr. Joseph White, author and speaker at the World Meeting of Families. The forum is for directors and coordinators of religious education, parish catechists and anyone interested in catechetical ministry.
The Catechetical Office and the New York Catholic Bible School will co-sponsor an invitation-only event on “Dei Verbum,” the Vatican II document on divine revelation, which is marking its 50th anniversary. It will feature Cardinal Jesus Ruben Salazar, Archbishop of Bogota, Colombia, and president of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM). It will take place on Thursday, Oct. 1, at the New York Catholic Center in Manhattan.
Maureen McKew, who directs the Bible School, noted that many students “are working people who are excited and ready to go out and share their faith as catechists in the religious education program or RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation). It’s so important that those who hand on the faith be knowledgeable about Scripture, whether they are teaching children or their parents.”
The Bible School is planning to open a site in Rockland County at St. Augustine’s parish in New City and a Spanish-language site in the Bronx at St. John-Visitation, Kingsbridge, by January.
The Catechetical Office is co-sponsoring, along with the Office of Priest Personnel and the Liturgy Office, a “Clergy Day” on Friday, Nov. 6, at Maryknoll in Ossining. It will feature Father Paul Turner, author and pastor of St. Anthony’s parish in Kansas City, Mo.
