BRIDGEPORT— In June 2020, The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization released a new Directory for Catechesis. The new Directory for Catechesis presents fundamental theological-pastoral principles for the ministry of catechesis while responding to current social conditions and cultural forces that shape the church’s communication of the Faith.
The Leadership Institute has released great resources and developed a webinar series on the topic.
The Directory affirms the presentation of the Catholic faith articulated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church as a sound point of reference for instruction while drawing deeply from Scripture and the writings of recent popes, especially Pope Francis’s Evangelii Gaudium.
The video series presented on the Institute’s website will provide insights into eight new emphases which the Directory proposes.
The first part of the Directory is entitled “Catechesis in the evangelizing mission of the Church,” and treats the formation of catechists.
The Directory points out that in order to be credible witnesses of the faith, catechists have to be “catechized before being catechists.” This involves working with gratuitousness, dedication and integrity, according to a missionary spirituality that is an antidote from “sterile pastoral fatigue.”
Catechists are also called to be vigilant in performing their specific task “so that absolute protection is guaranteed to every person, particularly to minors and vulnerable person.”
The Leadership Institute has developed a series of webinars, led by catechetical experts from around the country, to help members of our diocese learn more about the Directory and its implications for teachers, parents, priests and catechists.
The first week of the webinars begins this Thursday, October 29 and will feature Marilyn Santos from the 
USCCB.
Other webinar topics will include The Catechetical Process, The Catechetical Community, and a summary and discussion of implications of the Directory on the community.
About Marilyn
Marilyn Santos is the associate director of the Secretariat of Evangelization and Catechesis at the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. She previously served as the director of mission education in the National Office of the Pontifical Mission Societies in the United States. She has spoken and presented workshops at multiple national and diocesan conferences and gatherings including those sponsored by NCEA, NCCL, NFCYM, LA Religious Ed Congress and the Mid-Atlantic Congress. Marilyn was an invited speaker at the 2017 USCCB Convocation of Catholic Leaders: The Joy of the Gospel in America and the 2019 USCCB National V Encuentro.
(To join these webinars, please visit: www.formationreimagined.org/new-directory-for-catechesis.)
