TS relates his experience of Catholic school during the seventies.
…How well could I have been spiritually formed given that we’re dealing primarily with the years 1975-1981? This is sort of like being eighteen years old in 1941 isn’t it? You’re pretty much doomed. By 1975 I think even Ohio (where everything other than puberty is delayed ten years) was infected by the whole “spirit of Vatican II” thing, where "spirit" is defined by "whatever the hell I want the document to say".
He also talks about the books used and the "infamous “Christ Among Us”" and is tempted to read it just to be able to judge it. I picked up that book in a used book store early in my conversion. I am not sure why I read the whole book and even as I was reading it I knew there was something wrong with it. I hardly ever quit a book and heck I even finished reading Fr. O’Brien’s Catholicism which should have been called "My Catholicism."
Not surprisingly the book relatives the Eucharist and even talks about the real presence in terms of non-Catholic celebrations. This was of course the trend at the time to downplay the Sacrament of the Eucharist in favor of Christ present in the congregation. Though with the increase of Eucharistic celebration thankfully that trend is fading .Anthony Wilhelm, the author, even makes the mistake of equivocating the reality of Christ’s presence with the fervor of the people.
Wilhelm even goes on to write that premarital sex is okay for the engaged, so I guess you can commit a retroactive sin if the engagement breaks off. Of course as you would expect contraception and women’s ordination is also endorsed. Even though my understanding of Catholicism was definitely at its infancy this book sounded klaxons of alarm to me throughout.
Unfortunately this book is still used in RCIAs throughout the country. Sean Roberts who was RCIA blogger, a former atheist, and is now a monk detailed how the book was used in his RCIA class. The book also had an imprimatur at one time though then-Cardinal Ratzinger later ordered that it be removed. Also unfortunately since over 2 million copies of the book have been printed it will continue to have a negative impact.
I have wondered at times if it might be good for the bishops conference to set the curriculum for RCIA, but at the minimum it should be set by the local bishop. I was quite fortunate in the RCIA that I went to was filled with people faithful to the Church and who didn’t play fast and loose with the doctrines of the Church. Though I have heard and read plenty of horror stories of what have been taught in these classes. Right now RCIA classes vary from parish to parish. I have read that there have been recidivism rates in RCIA in the area of 70% to 80% throughout the country. While of course there can be plenty of factors leading to this – watered down Catholicism is not exactly the elixir to help Catholics maintain their faith.
The Bishop’s conference as it currently stands could probably even produce a fairly good curriculum based on the CCC or the new Adult Catechism. This ability might have been in question 10 or 20 years ago, though it would probably been better then those relying heavily on Christ among us. Though I am quite open to ideas why the USCCB doing this might not be a good thing. But each parish doing there own thing will certainly insure varied results depending on the parish. The fact is also that regardless of how good a curriculum is it can be subverted
I would be interested to hear others experience in RCIA.
21 comments
I entered the Church about 15 years ago, and was instructed by a VERY liberal priest, with whom I constantly disagreed(I tend to be a traditionalist) I was one of those who “read” their way into the church, spending some time reading church history and some of the writings of the Fathers before formally entering the RCIA. Believe it or not what first attracted me to the faith was one of those old Lives of the Saints books written like ninety years ago. The faith that it expressed seemed so beautiful, I had to learn more.
After explaining what inspired me to convert to my Liberal Priest, he handed me a copy of Christ Among Us and said that my view of the Church needed to be “enlarged.” By which he meant I made the fatal mistake of actually believing in what the church taught.
My question is this: Shouldn’t we just scrap the RCIA? It reflects a 70’s, one size fits all, bureaucratic, faith-by-committee mentality, that doesn’t meet the needs of differing people. Sure, the guy who’s converting to please his spouse and who has never picked up a bible before in his life, may need eight months of ninety minute weekly sessions. But what about people who come already well informed about the Faith. Didn’t priests before Vat-II instruct people individually, and confirm them whenever they were ready.(i.e. not necessarily waiting for Easter Vigil)?
MY RCIA experience in 1996 was pretty bad. I remember our Paulist priest quickly skipping over Vatican I with this dismissal: “The Pope was scared of the modern world, so he call the council to give him more power. Then the Italian troops showed up. Not much happened.” I raised my hand and asked about papal infallibility. He scowled at me and spent 10 seconds explaining the concept. The whole process was pretty much: read this Bible passage, emote to the group about the passage, pat yourself on the back for emoting, and don’t worry, you’re going to heaven regardless.
Fr. Philip
A friend of mine and I stopped by an RCIA meeting in my parish for one session only.
At the end of the session, we were told by the priest in charge, in so many words, that we were not welcome.
His explanation was that the presence of new people inhibits others from “sharing”.
My friend and I were both members of the parish, and did not actually say or do anything in the group that would be understandable red-flags (like wave dog-eared copies of the Baltimore Catechism around).
But the session consisted primarily of breaking up into groups of about 8, and “sharing” your “feelings” and about baptism.
I began teaching RCIA this year, and we use a liturgically-based curriculum. Most of the teaching was informed and our small group sessions actually gave them time to ask questions about various things.
Several weeks ago we met with the DRE (who happens to be very solid in knowledge, but is a baby-boomer and thus on the “liberal” end of the spectrum). She is recommending, per the USCCB, apparently, that we do more to incorporate their recently published catechism, and I, for one, thing it’s a good idea. They are looking at consistency due to the bad RCIA’s all over the country.
My biggest recommendation to our group and to all around the country is to spend time talking about moral teachings. We didn’t have a single class sleited for this so I found that I had to bring up certain teachings even if it wasn’t related, just to keep it at the forefreont. “Oh, and this is why respect for life is so important and why the Church teaches NFP versus contraception…” Etc.
People know that the Church’s teachigns on morality are stringent…but they are still coming home. Why, then, do we seem to insist on not talking about the most difficult issues? If they walk away, they walk away, adn they have a right to do so. We don’t do them any favors by avoiding the truth.
Please pray for RCIA everywhere.
I’m a cradle Catholic, but I’ll chime in anyway.
I have a friend who went through it ten or twelve years ago at the insistence of her parents, when she was in college. I didn’t quiz her, but from what she told me, most of the classes consisted of providing an overview of a few major Catholic doctrines and then explaining how nobody had to believe them anymore. It sounded like they only covered about half the stuff an RCIA class should, too–there were things I remember actually learning in my 1980s catechesis that she’d never heard about.
On the other hand, I just came off being an RCIA sponsor for a buddy of mine, and I can’t come up with one valid criticism of the program he went through.
At the Paulist Center in Boston in 1980, our RCIA texts were the notorious Dutch Catechism — an edition in which the Vatican-ordered corrections were not applied to the text, but printed as an appendix in the back of the book; and Dick Chilson’s “Introduction to the Faith of Catholics”. At the time, I thought it tended to downplay and almost deny the bodily Assumption of our Lady; I hope that wasn’t intended!
During one class, when the catechist asked for topics to address in future sessions, I asked for an explanation of the concept of “magisterium”. He looked at me as if I had spoken in tongues.
I was a sponsor in the RCIA a few years ago. I was disappointed that there was more emphasis on “how I feel about God” than actual Catholic doctrine. The “exercise” that sticks in my mind is, Illustrate how your relationship with God has developed during your life..” or something like that…a nun wrote a poem, someone drew a picture…I just sat there wondering how on earth anyone could do this in 10 minutes….and what that had to do with the teachings of the Catholic Church, which they were preparing to join. The Sacraments were not taught clearly, if at all; attendance at Sunday Mass was an option rather than an obligation. I would love to see a program developed from the Catechism.
I consider myself very fortunate to have been
part of the “Baltimore Cathecism generation.
Well, I was just confirmed this past Easter vigil at the ripe old age of 42. I have been and am still part of the RCIA class at my parish. The class is conducted by a commitee of sorts – one main teacher and four part-timers, each whom cover topics closest to the heart of each. It seems to have gone off very well. Indeed it occurs to me that the experience has been reflective of the Church itself. One of the ‘part-timers’ is rather liberal (wishes the Church would be more accepting of homosexuality), another is quite liberal (asserts that there is no scriptural basis for an all-male priesthood), yet these two are and have always been respectful and loving.
There are traditionalists on the ‘commitee,’ but they are not assertive enough, I feel. For example, during a discussion on sexuality, it became clear to me that some of us present (sponsors, mainly) disagreed with the Magesterium’s teaching regarding homosexual behavior. To support my position, I quoted the CCC: “Homosexual persons are called to chastity.”
Dead silence.
I was at first irritated that I was the only one sticking up for the Magisterium, but I got over that quickly. It was a valuable learning experience. And that’s what I’m in RCIA for!
Have any of you been told that the CCC was “really just for bishops”?
The old RCIA model avoided catechesis. By policy. As in most misreadings of documents, there was an overemphasis on one paragraph, which became the lens through which everthing else was read (paragraph 75 of the Rite).
But there’s a new model. Check out the leadership:
http://www.acmrcia.org/bod.html
And news of an upcoming event:
http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:EaVHg-MlscoJ:www.cathnews.com/missionspirit/issue0704/docs/National_Conference.pdf+rcia+training+acm&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=2&gl=us
And international recognition:
http://www.cts-online.org.uk/RCIA.htm
http://www.sydney.catholic.org.au/events/caec/200706_formingNewCatholics_agenda.shtml
After reading these posts, I praise God for our parish. I went through RCIA last year, even though I was not able to come into the Church until this past Easter Vigil. At that time, our Pastor was the only priest in a parish of 5,000. (I know that sounds like not many, but in our state smack dab in the Southern Bible Belt there are only 117,000 Catholics total). Father insisted that he be the only one doing the teaching. He had handout sheets on the topics he wanted to cover copied and we put them in our notebooks each week. He also wrote on the blackboard and we took notes. Lay people assisted with handing out materials, getting people registered, handing out videos on makeup day, etc. If there was an emergency that needed his attention, we just canceled class and made it up on a Sunday morning between masses (it only happened once). Classes were Wednesday nights 6:30-8:00, with a 10-minute break. If you missed a class, you had to make it up by watching the video in the Kindergarten classroom on one of the 3 makeup days. If you missed more than 3 classes, forget it–sign up for next year’s class. The classes lasted all 8 months and were STRICTLY on Church doctrine. In fact, there was a separate day set up for questions, because he did not answer questions during the class (unless you went up during the 10-minute break). The last class is a half-day retreat session on Saturday 2 weeks before Easter Vigil that consists only of the Church’s teaching on sexuality (adults only). After RCIA, no one could claim that they were ignorant of what the Church really teaches. In fact, all members of the parish and their non-Catholic friends and relatives are invited and are strongly encouraged to attend the classes. The announcement for RCIA classes appears in the bulletin each August before classes start and each Sunday bulletin for the entire 8 months. I only recall our “feelings” mentioned once during the whole RCIA process. At the end of the inquiry period, Father said, “If you’re at the point of declaring that you want to enter the Church but FEEL that you just cannot accept ANY ONE OR MORE of the Church’s doctrines, do not become a Catholic. We have enough bad Catholics–we don’t need any more.” I think that says it all.
Sounds like a good parish, Amy. Do you mind identifying it or the diocese where it is?
To make a long story short…
Pant-suited nun
Tambourine
Curriculum from St. Anthony Messenger
Round church with all pews facing the center containing…the priest
Tabernacle somewhere else
Sigh.
I went through RCIA 15 years ago. I don’t remember much about the curriculum (except for a priest telling us we only needed to go to Confession 4 times a year maximum). But I had a solid sponsor and a mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law who prayed for me. Since then I have been fortunate to assist some wonderful priests with the RCIA process in a couple of parishes. The parish I am in now utlizes the fabulous program from Liturgy Training Publications edited by Barbara Morgan and William J. Keimig. Info below.
RCIA Catechist�s Manual
Association for Catechumenal Ministry (ACM)
Edited by Barbara A. Morgan and William J. Keimig
Price: $39.95
ISBN: 978-1-933374-00-0
Code: RCIACM
There is also a Leader’s Manual.
RCIA Leader�s Manual
Association for Catechumenal Ministry (ACM)
Edited by Barbara A. Morgan and William J. Keimig
Price: $39.95
ISBN: 978-1-933374-03-1
Code: RCIALM
And a Participants’ Book.
RCIA Participant�s Book
Association for Catechumenal Ministry (ACM)
Edited by Barbara A. Morgan and William J. Keimig
Book
Price: $289.95
ISBN: 978-1-933374-01-7
Code: RCIAPB
Don’t be put off by the price. This is a great set of handouts that can be photocopied and used in the program.
Barbara Morgan is a retired catechesis prof from Franciscan University in Stuebenville.
This is truly the best program for RCIA and if adopted by each Diocese and parish would provide a SOLID foundation for each participant.
A few years ago, I was called in to RCIA about half way through the year to take the place of a confirmation sponsor who had to move suddenly. But the half year I experienced was excellent. The priest and the lay people who ran the program really made it an overview of the entire body of the faith.
I have taught RCIA for 4 years now. It’s a six-month course that starts just after Labor day and continues till the Easter vigil. We meet weekly, for 90 minutes.
My goal is to teach what the Catholic Church believes, and to the best of my ability to present those teachings as reasonable and life-enhancing and worthy of belief. My secondary goal is to teach what Catholics do: viz., how the Faith shapes our worship and lives, both public and private.
The CCC (NOT the American Catechism just published) is the text for my RCIA program. We start at the beginning and work through it all the way to the end. I quote from it a lot, but more often use it as a springboard for commentary. I certainly don�t just read from it, though it�s usually open while I teach, and I use its outline and marginal annotations by me as I cover each evening�s material.
I also distribute copies of the Compendium of the Catechism (the auxiliary bishop to whom I described all this in last Fall�s visitation to our parish seemed unaware of the existence of this Ratzinger-inspired book), but haven�t used it in class. We also discuss sacred art and scripture, literature, liturgy, Church history, and pious customs. I avoid current controversies and disputes, and try very hard to keep my personal opinion (including politics) out of it. I ask for questions and welcome discussion (but not dissent or speculative theology). I happen to be profoundly attached to the traditional rite, but the Novus Ordo is presented faithfully and respectfully.
My bride, who happens to be not only a convert but a graduate of last year�s class, helps keep me grounded and attuned to the background and concerns of my students. Finally, I make a point of praying for them all � past, present, and future � and solicit your prayers for them as well.
My husband and I converted in Italy, where we were handed a copy of Christ Among Us and told to read it. Tim had already read the entire CCC and we chatted about it every night at dinner. We ditched the book and had another military priest over for dinner each week to discuss things more in depth. 6 months later we were confirmed at the 1999 Easter Vigil. My husband’s take on this horrid book was published in New Oxford Review a few years back, titled: A New Catholic Enters the Church.
http://cathmedweekly.blogspot.com
We had the “Christ Among Us” book when I went through RCIA in California in 1985. My instructors may have not been the most knowledgable people in the Church, but bless their hearts, it was evident that they disliked the book and were being forced to use it (I wonder if it had anything to do with the fact that the Archbishop in that area at the time was now-Cardinal Roger Mahoney. Hmmm…). Anyway, they made it clear that much of the book was the author’s opinion, and that it was meant to be helpful, not definitive. Even as a new, know-nothing Catholic, it seemed pretty bad to me.
I went through Confirmation classes as a grad student. The text was the CCC, and the classes were good, with lots of guest speakers. However, there was little emphasis on making sure people actually learned the Catechism, and as a lot of students were asleep during classes I suspect many did. There was also a lot of touchy-feely ‘how does God make YOU feel’ stuff and some Taize prayer. But, overall, not a bad experience, and it was Catechism-based.
I’m sorry, Lynn, I didn’t mean to be rude and not answer your question–I’ve not been online for a couple of days.
Yes, I’d be happy to identify my parish and diocese, although I’ll bet nobody has heard of it or knows where it is 🙂 Church of the Immaculate Conception in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The entire state is one diocese. We presently have no bishop but are praying for one.
I should mention, too, one thing that was good about our RCIA classes is that Father teaches a lot of apologetics in the classes along with doctrine. That is a must in this part of the country.
Thanks, Amy!