CCEE Conference on Catechesis held in Malta

In Malta, twenty-five national directors or delegates for catechesis belonging to eighteen Catholic Bishops’ Conferences in Europe met to share on the present situation of catechesis, catechumenate, and the Year of Mercy. The meeting – promoted by the “catechesis section” of the CCEE “Catechesis, Schools, and Universities” Commission chaired by Msgr. Đuro Hranić, Archbishop of Dakovo-Osijek (Croatia) – was the first stage of a process at the end of which the national leaders for catechesis, schools, universities, vocations, and youth ministry of all the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences in Europe shall meet in the spring of 2017 in a Symposium on the following of young people in their journey of faith.

In Malta the first issue on the agenda was catechumenate. In this area, the distinction between first proclamation and re-evangelization is increasingly unimportant. In some countries, the growing number of catechumens is closely related to migration and conversions. In fact, the number of Muslim migrants and/or refugees who ask for being baptized or simply for approaching Christianity out of “disappointment/rejection” vis-à-vis their own religion is on the rise. This phenomenon is very complex and has very deep roots, which are to be found in the process of formation of one’s own religious identity. The challenge in these cases lies also in discerning the true path of faith, a fair desire for integration, or even the hope that a new “Christian identity” may facilitate the issuing of documents or the concession of the status of refugee.

Another recurring theme in the reports was the relationship between catechesis and ecclesial identity: in addition to sacramental preparation and the transmission of the content of faith, catechesis today is called to invest more on the meaning and conditions of ecclesial belonging. The issue of infant baptism in the light of Pastoralis actio was also frequently mentioned. Many reports emphasized the role of mass media in catechesis, in the transmission of faith, and in Christian proclamation, as well as the role of catechesis addressing people with different abilities, which made a good progress in recent years.

If the parish is the privileged place of catechesis, the reports pointed out the huge efforts of the Church to carry out catechesis in other places too.

During this Year of Mercy, the national offices have been active in preparing various materials to facilitate the participation in this ecclesial event, especially in reference to the opening of the “holy doors” and for approaching the sacrament of reconciliation.

In Malta, the theme of youth ministry in our digital and multimedia world has been dealt with thanks to a contribution by Sr. Nathalie Becquart, head of the national service for the evangelization of youth and vocations (Catholic Bishops’ Conference of France). The speaker has highlighted the variety and creativity of young adults and the “digital natives” in their pastoral service to their peers. The social media and the new technologies, in fact, allow for developing a pastoral model based on participation that takes into account the changes that are taking place. Pastoral workers are called to figure out their presence in the network as an important part of their mission. They need to know how to integrate this presence in the virtual world. This involves not only their appropriation of the ‘screen culture’ – which focuses on images as a means of communication – but also of the ‘Google mentality’, widely based on a question-answer scheme. From the pastoral point of view, the pervasiveness of the new media and their significance among young people, defined as ‘individualistic but collaborative in solidarity’ requires a real work of inculturation, primarily based on listening, and a ‘Gospel 2.0 style’ which favours  co-participation, co-production, and co-responsibility. Here, again, the relationship between catechists and youth is not only vertical, but mostly horizontal. In short, this ‘2.0 catechesis’ must be based on an idea of ​​the Church where the ministry is not focused on a territorial approach, but on a network-based approach. The debate revealed a great richness on a local level, while on the national level the main resource is the web site as a place for gathering documents, materials, and proposals. An approach, therefore, which is more oriented to information than to communication and evangelization.

During the meeting, the situation in the Church and the pastoral work of catechesis in Malta were introduced by Fr. Carl Mario Sultana, coordinator for catechesis of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Malta. In the island, which is famous for its relationship with Saint Paul, a significant role is played by the Societas Doctrinae Christianae, an association founded by St. George Preca and on which much of the island’s catechetical work relies.

Finally, a long time for reflection was dedicated to the working document for the forthcoming Symposium on the following of young people in their journey of faith, due to take place in Barcelona in the spring of 2017.

The works, moderated by Fr. Michel Remery, Deputy Secretary General of CCEE, and Fr. Luc Mellet, secretary of “catechesis section” of the CCEE Commission, were also attended by H. Ex. Msgr. Franz-Peter Tebartz-van-Elst, head of the catechesis section of the Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization, and H. Ex. Msgr. Charles Scicluna, Archbishop of Malta.