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ALLOUEZ — Beginning in October, diocesan employees will spend one hour each month studying the U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults (USCCA). During a meeting Sept. 22 at St. Francis Xavier Conference Room, Bishop David Ricken and three other speakers introduced the initiative to about 100 employees.
According to Dr. Joe Bound, director of the Department of Education, 12 staff members have volunteered to serve as facilitators of the USCCA course. Employees will be asked to study one chapter of the catechism each month and then gather for one-hour sessions to discuss the chapter. The Catechism for Adults consists of 36 chapters.
Bishop Ricken told employees that understanding the Catholic faith is essential to the diocesan staff. "Be open to the process of learning so you can understand the mission and the culture" of the church, he said.
This is the cover of the U.S. Catholic Catechism for Adults, the first official catechism produced by the nation's bishops since the creation of the Baltimore Catechism, first published in 1885 and revised in 1941. (CNS)
"It requires studying, but it will pay off by understanding who we are and what we are about," said the bishop. "I ask you to be open to learning and understanding."
Norbertine Fr. Alfred McBride, who served as a consultant to the U.S. bishops on the Catechism for Adults, was invited by Bishop Ricken to address the diocesan staff. Fr. McBride, who attended three papal liturgies in London in mid-September, including the beatification Mass for Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman, said the 19th-century theologian and writer, who converted to Catholicism from Anglicanism in 1845, was a model for all Catholics seeking to grow in faith.
He said Cardinal Newman espoused three beliefs that are pertinent to the diocesan staff:
• That the church is a revelation from God. "We didn't make up our religion, we got it from God," he said, noting that it comes to us through the creeds, the catechisms throughout church history and the teaching office of the church.
• That one who serves the church or who represents it must have faith. "It's not going to work if you don't believe what you teach," he said.
• That education is paramount. "We need to use the catechism to present a comprehensive and systematic (understanding) of the faith," he said. In addition, passing on the faith requires story-telling, which is a teaching tool found at the beginning of each chapter in the adult catechism.
Bound, who is coordinating the USCCA course, told employees that the course was designed "with a great deal of flexibility. Each instructor brings his or her own teaching style, but the course material put together is the same."
The course is designed to engage people in discussion, "in how to make faith real, practical and applicable to life," he said.
Julianne Donlon-Stanz, director of adult faith formation and one of the 12 course facilitators, told her colleagues that some of the stories in the USCCA "can resonate with us. They are going to enliven your view on Christianity."
"I hope that this is a real blessing to the diocese and to us," added Bishop Ricken.
Each employee was given a copy of the USCCA and a companion study guide to be used during the 36-session course.
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