“Catechesis is the echo of the Word of God … to transmit the joy of the Gospel in life,” the pope said.
“Sacred Scripture becomes the ‘environment’ in which we feel part of the same salvation history, encountering the first witnesses of faith. Catechesis is taking others by the hand and accompanying them in this history. It inspires up a journey, in which each person finds his or her own rhythm, because Christian life does not even out or standardize, but rather enhances the uniqueness of each child of God.”
Pope Francis recalled that St. Pope Paul VI had said that the Second Vatican Council would be “the great catechism of the new times.”
The pope went on to say that there is a problem today with “selectivity with respect to the Council.”
“The Council is the magisterium of the Church. Either you are with the Church and therefore you follow the Council, and if you do not follow the Council or you interpret it in your own way, as you wish, you are not with the Church. We must be demanding and strict on this point,” Pope Francis said.
“Please, no concessions to those who try to present a catechesis that does not agree with the Magisterium of the Church."
The pope called catechesis “an extraordinary adventure” with the task of “reading the signs of the times and accepting present and future challenges.”
“Just as in the post-Council period the Italian Church was ready and able to embrace the signs and sensibilities of the times, so too today she is called to offer a renewed catechesis that inspires every area of pastoral care: charity, liturgy, family, culture, social life, economics,” he said.
“We must not be afraid to speak the language of the women and men of today. To speak a language that is outside the Church, yes, we must be afraid of that. [But] we must not be afraid to speak the language of the people,” Pope Francis said.
Courtney Mares is a Rome Correspondent for Catholic News Agency. A graduate of Harvard University, she has reported from news bureaus on three continents and was awarded the Gardner Fellowship for her work with North Korean refugees.
