The Catechetical Review - Communicating Christ for a New Evangelization

Saint John Paul II: A Model Catechist for our Times

Authored by Jem Sullivan in Issue #2.1 of Catechetical Review

What is it like to be a catechist in a country where Christians are persecuted? What particular virtues would a catechist need in a society where parishes are illegal, and church buildings may be constructed only with government approval? Imagine the challenges of catechizing adults, teenagers, and children when civil authorities announce plans to build a community without a church; a city where no public expression of faith is tolerated; and the State does not permit public reference to God and to the Church. This scenario is not taken from a futuristic novel or movie. It was the lived experience of Catholics in Poland, under the Communist regime in the decades following the Second World War. During this period of Polish history, the basic right to exercise and express faith in public forms and places was routinely denied or undermined. The State went so far as to plan a model workers’ town, called Nowa Huta, to be built without a church. Nowa Huta was located on the outskirts of Kraków, Poland, home to then Cardinal Karol Wojtyła, the future Saint John Paul II. This “pope of the family” is surely one of the great saints of our time. His loving and fearless witness to faith as a priest, a bishop, and as the pope offers every catechist a model to follow, even as we strive to catechize in the midst of the steady erosion of religious freedom today. From his saintly example, we may draw three lessons for catechesis in our time.

The rest of this online article is available for current subscribers.

Start your subscription today!


This article is from The Catechetical Review (Online Edition ISSN 2379-6324) and may be copied for catechetical purposes only. It may not be reprinted in another published work without the permission of The Catechetical Review by contacting [email protected]

Articles from the Most Recent Issue

Children's Catechesis: The ABCs of Children’s Catechesis
By Sr. Mary Michael Fox, OP
As children, many of us learned the “Alphabet Song.” It is a universally known jingle that helps small children learn the ABCs of the English language. Other cultures use a different tune but the purpose is the same. At the start, a child merely repeats the sounds sung to him. In due time, he gradually learns that the sounds have corresponding... Read more
Youth & Young Adult Ministry: The Intentional Community of WorkCamp
By Christine Najarian
“Whenever you are united, you have marvelous strength. Whenever you are enthused about life in common, you are capable of great sacrifices for others and for the community.” [1] Immediately upon reading Pope Francis’ words in Christus Vivit (“Christ Is Alive”), I had them highlighted and underlined, with “WORKCAMP!” written emphatically in the... Read more
Applied Theology of the Body: Gender Ideology and Homosexuality
By Dr. Donald P. Asci
Pope St. John Paul II proclaimed the theology of the body (TOB) as perennial truths revealed by God through ancient biblical texts, but he also noted that this pedagogy of the body “takes on particular importance for contemporary man, whose science in the fields of bio-physiology and bio-medicine is very advanced” (TOB 59:3). [i] While he... Read more

Pages

Watch Tutorial Videos

We've put together several quick and easy tutorial videos to show you how to use this website.

Watch Now