Catechesis and Zoom

Now that we have resumed Catechesis in person, should we still continue to provide Catechesis by Zoom as well? This is an important question that requires careful consideration.

First, we considered how Catechesis works

• The Aim of Catechesis is to develop, advance, and nourish the Christian life of the faithful.
• The Elements of Catechesis are preaching the Good News of salvation, explanation, experience of Christian living, sacraments, community, and witness 
• Both knowledge and community are important 
• The young person (our teens) going through Catechesis needs to be in community with other Catholics
• Without the support of a faith community, their faith can lapse even after Confirmation.
• These faith communities grow out of meeting one another in person, and discussing faith issues together, which our teens have missed during the pandemic years

Then we considered what Zoom sessions can and cannot do for us

• Zoom sessions were the only way for us to continue providing Catechesis through knowledge during the pandemic restrictions.
• But there were serious limitations, as many teens struggled with distractions (family, environment, technical problems, phones, social media, games) while attempting to learn online.
• Zoom sessions were not effective in providing Catechesis through community.

We then considered what we learned from running hybrid sessions (some in person, some on Zoom)

• When we first resumed face to face sessions and many teens were unable to attend because of COVID restrictions (e.g. close contact), we attempted to include some on Zoom by running hybrid sessions (some in person, some online)
• We discovered (as the corporate world also has) that in a hybrid session, it can be unfair to the online participants as they often learn less than those attending in person
• Hybrid sessions were not effective in providing community
• Now that restrictions are being eased, more teens are able to attend in person

Finally the Catechists of Level 9 came to this conclusion

• Under the current public health conditions, we should conduct all Catechesis in person
• We should only use Zoom again when circumstances require, e.g.
• The teen has a medical condition or vulnerabilities that already prevent him/her from attending education or school in person, or
• The public health situation changes, or
• We are only providing information not Catechesis, or
• We are providing a briefing for parents who are overseas (who can better manage distractions), or
• Other similar situations
• Teens who are unwell should rest, they do not need to attempt to join a session, even online

We thank all parents and guardians for continuing to support the faith formation of the teens, and ask for your continued prayers for the Catechesis.

Source Material - CATECHESI TRADENDAE by Pope John Paul II

https://www.vatican.va/content/john-paul-ii/en/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_jp-ii_exh_16101979_catechesi-tradendae.html

The Aim of Catechesis

"...the specific aim of catechesis is to develop, with God's help, an as yet initial faith, and to advance in fullness and to nourish day by day the Christian life of the faithful, young and old." (para 20)

The Elements of Catechesis

"...catechesis is built on a certain number of elements of the Church's pastoral mission
.. These elements are: the initial proclamation of the Gospel or missionary preaching through the kerygma to arouse faith, apologetics or examination of the reasons for belief, experience of Christian living, celebration of the sacraments, integration into the ecclesial community, and apostolic and missionary witness." (para 18)

The Role of Community in Catechesis

"...catechesis is closely linked with the responsible activity of the Church and of Christians in the world. A person who has given adherence to Jesus Christ by faith and is endeavoring to consolidate that faith by catechesis needs to live in communion with those who have taken the same step. Catechesis runs the risk of becoming barren if no community of faith and Christian life takes the catechumen in at a certain stage of his catechesis." (para 24)